for earthlings

FAQs for players

1. What are CATS?

'CATS' is a placeholder name for our game reward points. we have not launched yet. so, for now, let's talk about different ways to win our hypothetical CATS:

by submitting reports (eg, 3 reports ➔ 3 CATS)
referral bonuses

each day, your accrued CATS show up in your Litterbox. then magic happens:

at 19:45 UTC, we calculate everyone's Litterbox totals (reports + referrals)
at 20:00 UTC, we automatically empty everyone's Litterbox
your day's worth of CATS show up as super-duper encrypted CATS on a ... wait for it ... ethereum ... blockchain. lmoew.

2. Do I need to pay anything to anyone?

nope! you're the one contributing. if anyone's supposed to be getting paid, it's YOU.

3. But what about the blockchain gas stuff?

we take care of it. you did the hard work CleanApping. you only need gas stuff if you wanna transfer your CATS or whatever.

but if you want to just play, score points, climb leaderboards, no need to stress about gas or 'claiming' or any of that jazz. you can always check up on your CATS on etherscan.

4. Can I buy CATS? Or trade my DOGE for CATS?

not yet. we expect novel market dynamics to emerge around CATS, but for now, the only way to get your hands on some CATS is to play the game.

541 reports ➔ 541 CATS. plus you win a % of all CATS won by players who join the game through your referral code.

that said, if you send us a meeeeowlion dollars, we'll gladly honor your contribution to the game with a 10% allocation of CATS. first come, first served. we're not kitten.

5. Is CleanApp a play-to-earn game?

not really. CleanApp is a play-to-play game. over time, active players should be able to feed their families from a day of CleanApping. because CleanAppers generate enormous value to property operators, to their communities, and to society and the planet as a whole.

obviously everyone's incentivized to figure out a way to value those contributions so that we get even more valuable contributions. but for now, we're all playing for the lulz and CATS.

6. Isn't this perverse incentive?

won't CleanApp incentivize more people to litter, just so they can take photos & win CATS?

this is the most common question we get. the short answer is no. incentivized waste/hazard mapping apps don't see widespread vandalism or malicious use because the overwhelming majority of players are intrinsically motivated to play by the rules. just ask Seán Lynch at OpenLitterMap.

the longer answer is, 'it depends.'

yes, there will be some malicious antisocial players who'll tip over dumpsters to win more CATS. but there are many safeguards against that: (1) that's straight up illegal; (2) it's antisocial; (3) there will always be more honest players than malicious players. see, eg, research on wikipedia vandalism.

ultimately, the best way to fight CleanApp vandals is to make sure there are always more good faith players than bad faith actors. note, in game theoretic terms, it's the same honest majority node assumption underpinning every blockchain protocol that's successfully defied attacks.

where protocols offer general purpose hyperutility, attackers do find it more profitable to play by the rules rather than attack.

7. What do you mean by waste and hazards?

great question. whatever YOU think is waste and hazards.

8. Can I submit anonymous reports?

yes, and pseudonymous reports.

our app code is open source so you can double-check our privacy practices. and suggest even stronger privacy rules. we dogfood our own game, and obviously don't want anyone tracking where we CleanApp. we're as incentivized as everyone else to get privacy right.

putting CleanApp aside, please keep in mind that going full anon is really hard with all the other apps one typically has running in the background, tracking location & other data. but it's certainly possible.

9. Does CleanApp track my location?

no. all players sign up with their own avatars & can choose to upload reports full anon (default privacy setting), or with their avatar name (useful for team play). your privacy, your choice.

if you want to use your irl name as your avatar, that's your choice, but then others will see where you submitted reports. fwiw, internally, we all play under game nyms.

10. How do you fight bots & spam?

to download from AppStore & gPlay, one needs an id; otherwise, every scam app would have 20B+ downloads & 5+ star ratings. that's one line of sybil defense.

by default, there's no limit on the number of reports players can submit.

if we suddenly notice some players uploading thousands of fake reports a day or something like that, we'll take corrective action. but this can only be tested in prod.

11. What gives CATS value?

whether private (eg, malls) or public sector (eg, parks), property operators waste $100s of billions yearly on excess maintenance & legal liability costs. naturally, they want to know where waste & hazards lurk. everyone wins with prompt waste/hazard detection & remediation.

property operators subscribe to our API. if they're cool & pay with CATS, they get a 50% discount. if they prefer to pay with dollars or euros or whatnot, great. in that case, we'll take 50% of their subscription fee and buy CATS on the open market. the result is a natural market demand for CATS balancing the protocol's supply of CATS.