To do an online market place, publicly visible Pedigrees are, most definitely, a requirement.
Without pedigrees publicly visible, any online market listing would be nothing more than seller-entered claims; the purchaser would have no way to verify those claims. You could do exactly that, now, for boxes or starving lives using the Second Life Marketplace.
Yes, you could do a listing with an SLURL to a Pedigree giver script. But, as it now stands, you'd do better simply walking around a large marketplace area. The same effect as an online cat market can be achieved simply keeping a well-maintained listing of areas offering cats for sale. The Marketplace forum, here on the KittyCatS web site, does most of the job, already. Its only lacking is some assurance of timeliness and accuracy.
Here's my take on the start of an SRS (System Requirements Statement) for an online marketplace for the KittyCatS product.
- The system must be hosted at http://kittycats.biz/. The system will require access to cat details only possible from within the company's systems.
- Cats and boxes offered for sale must be placed in the Cattery. Passing physical (sic) control of the cat/box to the Cattery ensures the offering is actually available for transfer when a sale consummates.
- To list a cat or box the seller must select to do so. This listing can be revoked at any time prior to sale. Removing the cat or box from the Cattery automatically, and immediately revokes the listing. Consummation of a sale automatically revokes the listing.
- The public Pedigree (what we now see from the in-world script) must be made available. This view must include the asking price. It should also include an area for a brief comment from the seller, and a link to the seller's Profile page so that purchasers can send private messages, check the seller's reputation score and comments, and add their own (if possible). Public access to the limited Pedigree Tree view is automatic upon listing the cat or box, and is automatically revoked when the item is un-listed or a sale consummates.
- Sale prices must be in Kitty Dollars. This is the only currency understood by the existing system.
- Paypal (and, through that service, major credit cards) should be accepted for the purchase of Kitty Dollars. This should be a separate system as it can be used elsewhere on the site and has its own set of requirements.
- The sales consummates by transfer of Kitty Dollar credits from the purchaser to the seller's account, and the transfer of the cat(s) or box(es) from the seller's Pedigree Roster and Cattery to the purchaser's.
- Sale of Genesis and Special Collection Starters directly from KittyCatS should be enabled through this system.
