Here’s the gist of my idea so far:
stores (or alliances of stores in similar industries) :: instances
inventory items :: posts
counts :: votes
item categories (or entire stores depend on implementation) :: communities
moderators are only allowed to post items to their own community or instance.
comments can still exist (perhaps as item reviews with the same upvote/downvote mechanic).
No actual transactions would be processed over this protocol. It would be solely for inventory broadcast/aggregation (like Shopify in that it houses the inventory of many vendors except without the transaction ability built-in since pub-sub is horrible for that kind of thing).
Edit: if you have any opinions (even “what a stupid idea!”) I’d be open to them. I haven’t even written a single line of code yet and it’s a fresh idea in my head waiting to be shot down by someone less idealistic than myself.
I don’t really get the idea you’ve explained, but i’m sure its good. I’m generally excited at the prospects of less centralised internet, and so can’t wait to see projects like yours grow.
Flibboard is a social magazine thats jumping into federation. They’re doing a really uplifting podcast. Their conversations might help you clarify your idea. Or even just pump you up when your feeling less motivated.
I like it, i always leave it feeling excited and hopeful about the fediverse. Anyway heres a link, https://dot-social.simplecast.com/episodes/mike-masnick-cuZMZfe9