However if the transaction never happens (e.g., my trading partner backs out and doesn't end up sigining in to ClearCoin) then is there a way for me to get the escrow fee that I prepaid back?
Great suggestion, I will modify the code to refund the escrow fee (if any) and donate the rest.
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Like a mediator's address? This is the most critical feature, IMO. Though it will be awkward to try to obtain in advance a bitcoin address for the mediator for each transaction. Hmm ...
I have some preliminary plans for mediated escrows that will require all three parties to have ClearCoin accounts. I'm still thinking about how to make it as simple to use as possible.
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3. If the coins are refunded to charity, show Alice and Bob the transaction ID so it is easier for them to make sure ClearCoin isn't taking the coins.
If they are a 501 (c) 3 (U.S. charitable organization) , I might like that so that, at a minimum, I have a "receipt" to claim that refund as a charitable contribution.
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I want greater control over the escrow ending date. Contracts generally have specific date for things to happen and ClearCoin should match that practice by allowing me to specify the exact date (and time?) that the escrow ends.
Easy to do. How critical is time? Plus or minus 1 hour would be easy (there's a 'cron job' that runs once per hour to process refunds), but I don't want to make the Create an Escrow page more complicated than it really needs to be.
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Will the threshold continue to be 100 BTC? When ClearCoin started, that 100 BTC represented about a $25 max amount. Today that is about a $93 amount. I'ld like to know if there is a general USD dollar amount target for the "no fee / fee" threshold, or can I cound on up to 100 BTC being free for quite some time yet?
I'll probably target transactions under $50 remaining free, and I'm thinking of capping fees at $4... but it is likely I'll experiment with different pricing models as I fill out features. Paying mediators (before and/or when mediation is required) adds lots more wrinkles...
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Jurisdiction: Might there be plans for a ClearCoin service residing in a different jurisdiction?
Nope. Maybe I'll franchise later if Bitcoin and ClearCoin really take off.
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Anonymity: Currently if my Google account gets hacked, then my ClearCoin escrows are vulnerable should the attacker know that I use ClearCoin. Are there any plans to allow registration using an authentation method other than a Google account?
No-- what authentication method would you like to see? I don't like the idea of supporting arbitrary OpenID authentication, because it is so easy to create throwaway OpenID identities (creating throwaway Google identities is at least a LITTLE bit harder...).