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(Added several more paragraphs, up till the patent boom of 2009)
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SSS was first started by a nine-year-old named Lavanya. It was originally a game of collecting certain types of stones. Soon, however, people began to trade stones for services, such as getting a stone sharpened. This slowly morphed into trading other things. But as stones were the currency, people would just pick up stones, rather than using the stones they had actually earned. This led to the creation of notes. And the rest, as they say, is history...
 
SSS was first started by a nine-year-old named Lavanya. It was originally a game of collecting certain types of stones. Soon, however, people began to trade stones for services, such as getting a stone sharpened. This slowly morphed into trading other things. But as stones were the currency, people would just pick up stones, rather than using the stones they had actually earned. This led to the creation of notes. And the rest, as they say, is history...
   
== Origins ==
+
== 2008: Early Days ==
 
Although there was no definite "beginning" of SSS, it is generally considered to have been started by Lavanya M.M. when she started her shop [[Rock Seller]] in 2008.
 
Although there was no definite "beginning" of SSS, it is generally considered to have been started by Lavanya M.M. when she started her shop [[Rock Seller]] in 2008.
   
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This exchange soon evolved into a system where people could take any amount of stones, and exchange them with another set of stones of (approximately) the same volume. Meanwhile, Lavanya started a stone-sharpening service, where one could get their (big) stone sharpened in exchange for two small stones. Soon, sharp stones became the unit of exchange, with people trading in units of small, medium, and large sharp stones.
 
This exchange soon evolved into a system where people could take any amount of stones, and exchange them with another set of stones of (approximately) the same volume. Meanwhile, Lavanya started a stone-sharpening service, where one could get their (big) stone sharpened in exchange for two small stones. Soon, sharp stones became the unit of exchange, with people trading in units of small, medium, and large sharp stones.
   
== Shops and products ==
+
=== Shops and products ===
 
As the game progressed, the rock-gardens turned into "shops", where people could come and exchange stones or purchase any services (currently only sharpening stones) that they wanted. The shops soon started having names—usually stone-related, like H-Stone and Rock Seller. Some shops continued operating without names, however, and were still referred to as the shop belonging to that person.
 
As the game progressed, the rock-gardens turned into "shops", where people could come and exchange stones or purchase any services (currently only sharpening stones) that they wanted. The shops soon started having names—usually stone-related, like H-Stone and Rock Seller. Some shops continued operating without names, however, and were still referred to as the shop belonging to that person.
   
 
The first non-stone to be "sold" using sharp stones was the [[Abramelin's Dragon Attractor]], which was put on sale at 60 small sharp stones apiece by H-Stone, the shop then run by Hippo. After this other people also started making small things and selling them in exchange for stones.
 
The first non-stone to be "sold" using sharp stones was the [[Abramelin's Dragon Attractor]], which was put on sale at 60 small sharp stones apiece by H-Stone, the shop then run by Hippo. After this other people also started making small things and selling them in exchange for stones.
   
  +
After a while, Valles Marineris (now Ares Vallis), run by Pulippo, started selling "shops". This was actually a package of a few products (usually stones) that people could sell to get started with SSS. Some of the profits were to be paid back to Valles Marineries when enough money was made, and the purchaser could then continue their business on their own.
== The Bank ==
 
  +
After some time, Lavanya came up with the idea of having a [[Bank]], where people could store their stones if they didn't want to keep all of them in their shops. Originally, the Bank was simply an big rock under which anyone could come and deposit or take out their stones. People soon started making their personal "Bank books" so that they could keep track of how much money they had put in the bank.
 
  +
=== Establishing the Bank ===
 
After some time, Lavanya came up with the idea of having a [[Bank]], where people could store their stones if they didn't want to keep all of them in their shops. Originally, the Bank was simply an big rock under which anyone could come and deposit or take out their stones. People soon started making their personal "Bank books" so that they could keep track of how much money they had put in the bank.
   
 
Initially, people only withdrew stones that they themselves had put in; however this convention was soon relaxed and people could take any stones they wanted as long as they added up to the same amount.
 
Initially, people only withdrew stones that they themselves had put in; however this convention was soon relaxed and people could take any stones they wanted as long as they added up to the same amount.
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The setting of conventions was one of the first of a series of decisions made by the Bank. At that time, anyone could make up the rules of the game, but it was the Bank which seemed to have the most authority over the final decision. Even today, the Banker's job is not so much about managing the Bank as looking over the way SSS works and helping it to run smoothly.
 
The setting of conventions was one of the first of a series of decisions made by the Bank. At that time, anyone could make up the rules of the game, but it was the Bank which seemed to have the most authority over the final decision. Even today, the Banker's job is not so much about managing the Bank as looking over the way SSS works and helping it to run smoothly.
  +
===Falcon Aviators: Paper planes, gambling, and "leaving SSS"===
  +
In 2008, the shop Falcon Aviators was started by Abhay Regi. Falcon Aviators was the first shop to introduce paper-planes, which later became one of the main lines of SSS products. Most shops began selling paper-planes as at least one of their product. There was even a [[Plane Contest]] where people could show off their plane-making and flying skills, though some say it was just a gimmick to make people buy more planes.
  +
  +
Falcon Aviators also introduced the slightly more controversial concept of gambling to SSS, running a "contest" where people could pick a random card from a pile with positive and negative numbers. A positive number meant you would win that amount, while a negative one compelled you to pay that amount back to Falcon Aviators.
  +
  +
Falcon Aviators was also the first shop to "shut down". After a while, Abhay shut down his shop because he said he got "bored" of SSS, and the money he left was later redistributed among all the SSSians who requested it. However, the owner changed his mind later and restarted Falcon Aviators, albeit without his original earnings. This shutdown might have contributed to creating the idea of "leaving SSS", because until then there was no such concept. Anybody and everybody, whether they had heard of SSS or not, was considered equally "part of SSS", except that some people had money and followed the rules and others didn't.
 
===The Flipper===
  +
  +
Soon after the plane phenomenon began, Vallis Marineris, run by Chutty, invented a new type of plane called the [[Flipper]] which went on to become the most popular SSS product of all time. Even today, the Flipper is sometimes used to signify creativity, innovation, and SSS in general.
  +
==2009==
  +
2009 was the first full year of SSS, and it saw many new people and shops joining in. It was also the year when the SSS Google Group was formed, and SSS and its shops began to have an online presence. However, most of the sales were dominated by what later came to be known as the Big Four shops of SSS: [[Ares Vallis]], [[Vallis Marineris]], [[Dracoshop]], and [[Alpha Centauri]].
  +
===Comic books and magazines===
  +
Comic-books were probably one of the greatest introductions to SSS in 2009, with series like ''[[Slanch comics|Slanch]]'', ''[[Oinker|Oinker the Super Pig]]'', and the ''[[Super Pie]]'' series all starting around this time.
  +
  +
[[Sirius]] and [[CATS]], the two main SSS magazines also started in the beginning of this year. Both of them introduced their magazines at the ultra-low rate of ᐁ6 per seven issues, or around ᐁ0.86 per issue. However, comic-books turned out to be more popular, and the magazines stayed stuck with under 4 subscribers until the magazine boom a few years later.
  +
===Patents and Copyrights===
  +
Unlike the Bank, the Patent companies didn't start for any particular reason, except to get copyrights into SSS. The first patent company was started by Vallis Marineris, soon to be followed by its competitor Dracoshop. After a few weeks of competition, the two decided to team up and form a unified patent list.
  +
  +
The patents in SSS were not Bank-regulated. Instead they were simply listed by the private companies. If anyone violated the patents, the companies promised to "take action"; however as no violations were reported, nobody ever found out what that "action" was. However, the patent companies encouraged the use of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons Creative Commons]-style copyrights for their patents. These patents are less restrictive, with conditions like "give credit to the original inventor" or "do not use this invention for commercial purposes", making them more open than normal patents. This is a distinction that is usually missed by [[Adult perceptions of SSS|adults]] when discussing the usefulness of patents in SSS.
  +
  +
Alpha Centauri was not happy with the way its two chief competitors were monopolizing the patent scene. It first tried to sabotage the patent system by creating Alpha CopyCo, a company that was allowed to copy products even if they had been patented. Dracoshop retaliated by introducing a new patent symbol called "Do not copy, even with Alpha CopyCo". Eventually, Vallis Marineris and Dracoshop gave permission to Alpha Centauri to join their group, starting the third patent company. Up to this date, there are three patent companies, each with a copy of the list of patented items. When items are patented, the profit is divided between these three companies.
  +
===Websites and the Google Group===
  +
[please fill in this section!]

Revision as of 12:48, 6 October 2016


SSS was first started by a nine-year-old named Lavanya. It was originally a game of collecting certain types of stones. Soon, however, people began to trade stones for services, such as getting a stone sharpened. This slowly morphed into trading other things. But as stones were the currency, people would just pick up stones, rather than using the stones they had actually earned. This led to the creation of notes. And the rest, as they say, is history...

2008: Early Days

Although there was no definite "beginning" of SSS, it is generally considered to have been started by Lavanya M.M. when she started her shop Rock Seller in 2008.

Before this time, Lavanya and her friends were making "rock gardens" in the Nesting Grounds, where they would collect and display any interesting sticks, stones, or other objects they found. It was Lavanya who had the idea of starting an exchange system, where people could take any stone they liked from her shop, in exchange for another one of the same size.

This exchange soon evolved into a system where people could take any amount of stones, and exchange them with another set of stones of (approximately) the same volume. Meanwhile, Lavanya started a stone-sharpening service, where one could get their (big) stone sharpened in exchange for two small stones. Soon, sharp stones became the unit of exchange, with people trading in units of small, medium, and large sharp stones.

Shops and products

As the game progressed, the rock-gardens turned into "shops", where people could come and exchange stones or purchase any services (currently only sharpening stones) that they wanted. The shops soon started having names—usually stone-related, like H-Stone and Rock Seller. Some shops continued operating without names, however, and were still referred to as the shop belonging to that person.

The first non-stone to be "sold" using sharp stones was the Abramelin's Dragon Attractor, which was put on sale at 60 small sharp stones apiece by H-Stone, the shop then run by Hippo. After this other people also started making small things and selling them in exchange for stones.

After a while, Valles Marineris (now Ares Vallis), run by Pulippo, started selling "shops". This was actually a package of a few products (usually stones) that people could sell to get started with SSS. Some of the profits were to be paid back to Valles Marineries when enough money was made, and the purchaser could then continue their business on their own.

Establishing the Bank

After some time, Lavanya came up with the idea of having a Bank, where people could store their stones if they didn't want to keep all of them in their shops. Originally, the Bank was simply an big rock under which anyone could come and deposit or take out their stones. People soon started making their personal "Bank books" so that they could keep track of how much money they had put in the bank.

Initially, people only withdrew stones that they themselves had put in; however this convention was soon relaxed and people could take any stones they wanted as long as they added up to the same amount.

After some time, it was decided that it would be better to have a Banker to manage the Bank and handle the transactions. The Banker wasn't actually chosen then; however an account-book was made by Lavanya and Hippo (now Cheetaplaza owner) to keep track of how many stones people were storing. Some conventions were also made, with 10 small sharp stones equalling 1 medium sized stone and 10 medium sized stones equalling one giant stone. These denominations were soon abbreviated to S.S.S., M.S.S. and G.S.S.

The setting of conventions was one of the first of a series of decisions made by the Bank. At that time, anyone could make up the rules of the game, but it was the Bank which seemed to have the most authority over the final decision. Even today, the Banker's job is not so much about managing the Bank as looking over the way SSS works and helping it to run smoothly.

Falcon Aviators: Paper planes, gambling, and "leaving SSS"

In 2008, the shop Falcon Aviators was started by Abhay Regi. Falcon Aviators was the first shop to introduce paper-planes, which later became one of the main lines of SSS products. Most shops began selling paper-planes as at least one of their product. There was even a Plane Contest where people could show off their plane-making and flying skills, though some say it was just a gimmick to make people buy more planes.

Falcon Aviators also introduced the slightly more controversial concept of gambling to SSS, running a "contest" where people could pick a random card from a pile with positive and negative numbers. A positive number meant you would win that amount, while a negative one compelled you to pay that amount back to Falcon Aviators.

Falcon Aviators was also the first shop to "shut down". After a while, Abhay shut down his shop because he said he got "bored" of SSS, and the money he left was later redistributed among all the SSSians who requested it. However, the owner changed his mind later and restarted Falcon Aviators, albeit without his original earnings. This shutdown might have contributed to creating the idea of "leaving SSS", because until then there was no such concept. Anybody and everybody, whether they had heard of SSS or not, was considered equally "part of SSS", except that some people had money and followed the rules and others didn't.

The Flipper

Soon after the plane phenomenon began, Vallis Marineris, run by Chutty, invented a new type of plane called the Flipper which went on to become the most popular SSS product of all time. Even today, the Flipper is sometimes used to signify creativity, innovation, and SSS in general.

2009

2009 was the first full year of SSS, and it saw many new people and shops joining in. It was also the year when the SSS Google Group was formed, and SSS and its shops began to have an online presence. However, most of the sales were dominated by what later came to be known as the Big Four shops of SSS: Ares Vallis, Vallis Marineris, Dracoshop, and Alpha Centauri.

Comic books and magazines

Comic-books were probably one of the greatest introductions to SSS in 2009, with series like Slanch, Oinker the Super Pig, and the Super Pie series all starting around this time.

Sirius and CATS, the two main SSS magazines also started in the beginning of this year. Both of them introduced their magazines at the ultra-low rate of ᐁ6 per seven issues, or around ᐁ0.86 per issue. However, comic-books turned out to be more popular, and the magazines stayed stuck with under 4 subscribers until the magazine boom a few years later.

Patents and Copyrights

Unlike the Bank, the Patent companies didn't start for any particular reason, except to get copyrights into SSS. The first patent company was started by Vallis Marineris, soon to be followed by its competitor Dracoshop. After a few weeks of competition, the two decided to team up and form a unified patent list.

The patents in SSS were not Bank-regulated. Instead they were simply listed by the private companies. If anyone violated the patents, the companies promised to "take action"; however as no violations were reported, nobody ever found out what that "action" was. However, the patent companies encouraged the use of Creative Commons-style copyrights for their patents. These patents are less restrictive, with conditions like "give credit to the original inventor" or "do not use this invention for commercial purposes", making them more open than normal patents. This is a distinction that is usually missed by adults when discussing the usefulness of patents in SSS.

Alpha Centauri was not happy with the way its two chief competitors were monopolizing the patent scene. It first tried to sabotage the patent system by creating Alpha CopyCo, a company that was allowed to copy products even if they had been patented. Dracoshop retaliated by introducing a new patent symbol called "Do not copy, even with Alpha CopyCo". Eventually, Vallis Marineris and Dracoshop gave permission to Alpha Centauri to join their group, starting the third patent company. Up to this date, there are three patent companies, each with a copy of the list of patented items. When items are patented, the profit is divided between these three companies.

Websites and the Google Group

[please fill in this section!]