So what happens when everyone adopts slightly incompatible variants of this system?
Endless loops of "Please pay me 2 cents via PayPal so I will read your message with the Subject: Please pay me 3 cents via PayPal"
Oh, you'll put in an exception for those messages?
Next message is from your mother. You're going to charge her 2 cents?
Ah, whitelists. Management problem.
Also: PayPal can't efficiently handle micropayments. (Well, for 33 cents apiece, they will.) So you need your own micropayment system. Which will be incompatible with your prospective customer's micropayment...
Comments
> (x) Ideas similar to yours are easy to come up with, yet none have ever been shown practical
Seems to me a very good reason to go ahead! It' less about the what and more about the how.
> (x) No one will be able to find the guy or collect the money
I don't see any problem there - all it takes is an automated response with a PayPal link
> (x) Many email users cannot afford to lose business or alienate potential employers
They are out of target anyway; this idea applies super-busy/famous people who can afford to lose a few messages.
So what happens when everyone adopts slightly incompatible variants of this system?
Endless loops of "Please pay me 2 cents via PayPal so I will read your message with the Subject: Please pay me 3 cents via PayPal"
Oh, you'll put in an exception for those messages?
Next message is from your mother. You're going to charge her 2 cents?
Ah, whitelists. Management problem.
Also: PayPal can't efficiently handle micropayments. (Well, for 33 cents apiece, they will.) So you need your own micropayment system. Which will be incompatible with your prospective customer's micropayment...
Bitcoins?
I'm going to call these "Libertarian Fairy Pennies" from this point forward.