Prowl was designed to take advantage of existing web conventions and to minimize the need for a common “boundary” or technology between transactors. That is, market participants do not have to be members of the same community or to pre-approve a credit limit towards other participants in order to complete a transaction. Also, transactors do not have to use the same software application or type of transaction device.
The goal is to minimize the hassle of using ledger-based currencies, and ubiquitous web publishing is the most practical approach towards that end. Essentially, a URL domain name becomes synonymous with an independent currency issuer — an entity that publishes its willingness to bypass traditional currencies when transacting. The publication of such intention and the auditability of its fulfillment is important to the sustainable spread of ledger-based currency systems.
Some might be wary of losing privacy when using Prowl, but a URL domain name does not have to reveal anything about a specific market participant. In fact, recorded URLs domains do not even have to identify transactor account numbers - what matters is that matching copies of the same record are published, not the level of detail indicated in the transactor URL domain name.
Another concern is the accumulation and maintenance of records. Prowl does not assume permanent record retention, but instead has a mechanism for auditing parameter values that are carried over from one period to the next. Published records are expected to be purged periodically, and reports may have to be kept based on applicable customs for retaining account books. Publishing reconcilable records and reports is simply a means toward building auditable market history and reputation.
