That is reassuring. I'm finding that other witnesses don't know how to program in C++.
I'll make a deal with you. I have found some people that would vote you as witness if you can code the handshake and get it implemented. It is not much witness votes about 100 million vests. I would give you my vote for doing this, but I already vote you as witness. f you could pull it off, I would certainly post about your good deed and encourage others to vote you as witness. You could name it something else or name it after yourself. Just imagine 5 years from now and many millions of users are using the thing that you created. It won't be some off-site tool that nobody uses. It would be something that everyone uses. They will always remember you.
I've pitched the concept to other witnesses and they think that it would give value to STEEM. The problem is that they couldn't program it. I don't think you would get any push-back from witnesses as the use of the handshake would be optional and does not change the functionality of the social media system or change the currency. I'm sure that Steemit Inc would welcome software upgrades that witnesses have reviewed and then add that software change to the next fork.
I know that it is likely a long time before another fork. As long as Steemit Inc accepts the completed code for implementation on the next fork, I will consider you effort a success.
To be honest, right now you would have to pre-fund me with $100.000 for me to consider starting to develop this over all the other things I think are worthwhile doing.
I see that the handshake is useful, but I don't see what it solves that the escrow service does not solve. Also how do you go about failure cases? Say the buyer sends a pending tx and then the seller sends the goods. The buyer cancels the tx and gets the goods. Sounds bad.
Or other way around the buyer sends a pending tx, the seller tells that goods are on their way and the buyer releases, but then the sender lied.
The handshake sounds fancy in it's success case but I can't see how it gives security for a failure case.
I think you are focusing too heavily on on the concept of escrow. This is not something that requires a 3rd party and is not an escrow. Please, go back an read my post a few more times to let the concept sink in. This is simply a mechanism that protects the sender from sending the wrong type of currency, incorrect amount, or incorrect address used. It is a simple hold placed on the pending transfer. That is it. details of the pending transaction would show up in the deposit wallet. Think of it like a memo that sends 0.001 STEEM. It would send a memo to the deposit address and include details of the pending transaction.
In the future, STEEM will become something that you can use at starbucks, walmart, or the gas station. There needs to be a way for the sender to verify that he/she is sending the currency to the correct address, the amount is correct, and the type of currency (STEEM vs SBD) is correct. I can picture it now. The merchant would have a 2D barcode of their wallet address. I make a payment and start the handshake. There would be a screen that the merchant has set up that shows the memo. we can verify it manually or the merchant could have some simple software that verifies the transaction details.
You know, that system already exists with credit cards but is optional. Sometimes when you go to make the transaction, the details of the pending transaction are provided and you have the choice to continue. The handshake is inevitable. Eventually it will come whether you program it or someone else programs it. The question is if you are going to be the one that takes credit for creating it or will it be someone else?
I think such a feature does not need to be in the blockchain itself. Steemit.com has it, Steem keychain has it. And if you have a qr code, the company providing the qr knows it is correct and you can verify it with your frontend that asks for confirmation.
You have completely missed the point
Sounds like a confirmation mechanism.
What the handshake gives you is a blockchain proof of the seller confirming that the tx is well formed for whatever purpose that means. And I don't see much value in that so far.
But feel free to make a point as to why this is the next killer app.