Clearly, some level of "societal acceptability through the use of currently used conventions" is desirable. If that were not the case we wouldn't much care if we had a three-letter code or a four-letter code. A three-letter code is the current standard.
From http://www.xe.com/iso4217.php , "Currency codes are composed of a country's two-character Internet country code plus a third character denoting the currency unit. For example, the Canadian Dollar code (CAD) is made up of Canada's Internet code ("CA") plus a currency designator ("D")."
If we attempt to follow the above convention, then the question is - assuming we believe in some sort of Internet or Cyberspace Sovereignty, what should this Sovereign Cyberspace be designated as? Once we have that, appending the E on the end for Ether, is simple.
Perhaps the use of an X would be useful, in attempting to designate the futility of the question of a name for Cyberspace, or as opting out of the notion of nations.
Some examples (I verified none of these examples have been taken by other countries - there are currently ZERO currencies that start with an X):
SCE ~ Sovereign Cyberspace Ether SEE ~ Sovereign Ethereum Ether (might yield itself to interesting promotional campaigns such as "Can you SEE where the future is headed?") XXE ~ the XX sort of denoting that we are not a country SXE ~ another version of Sovereign Cyberspace Ether (obviously has some sex appeal) XSE ~ Cyberspace Sovereign Ether CSE ~ Cyberspace Sovereign Ether ECE ~ Ethereum Cyberspace Ether (less hubris in this, not assuming to be a currency for all of cyberspace ) EXE ~ Ethereum Cyberspace Ether, with the X again standing for Cyberspace or the lack of a country - with the obvious advantage to also alluding to the executable nature of Ethereum.
Taking this approach gives us some talking points that could lead to serious public debate (assuming we would want to have such debate).
Regarding currency symbols like the dollar sign "$", the Pound sign "£", and the Euro sign "€", I would submit that perhaps our currency symbol could be "Æ"
Aether, e.g. ÆTR -or- ÆTH -or- ÆHR are more likely going to be perceived as a logical interpretation of the true meaning of "ether" as well as offering up the original symbolic (Latin, Greek) spelling of the "ligature currency" term = Æ
We share the definition that follows: Aether means "countable, uncountable" (protocol) which fits logically into the vernacular (the original language meaning ) of the protocol's underlying attempt to register the unique currency meaning. From Ancient Greek ????? (aith?r, “air; ether”) i.e. uncountable, uncountable noun, mass noun
Source: Wiktionary
Aether: (Greek mythology) One of the Greek primordial deities, the first-born elementals; Aether was the personification of the bright, glowing upper air of heaven - the substance of light: Above him lay the solid dome of the sky-god, Uranus/Ouranos, and below, the transparent mists of earth-bound air. His sister-wife was Hemera. His Roman counterpart was "Ether". From Old French, from Latin aether (“the upper pure, bright air”), from Ancient Greek ????? (aith?r, “upper air”), from ???? (aith?, “I burn, shine”)
(archaic, physics, uncountable) A substance (aether) once thought to fill all space that allowed electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance to matter or energy (disproved by Einstein in his theory of relativity)
(organic chemistry, countable) A compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups. ("C-O-C")
The keyboard typing step in this particular ligature is unique. The "Æ" is created by acting on the "Option, Shift, Apostrophe"
Vote change to: ETH I appreciate what CloudCover had to say about Aether meaning "countable, uncountable," but most people would not know how to type Æ and, therefore, would have trouble searching for ÆTR. It does have a neat and unique look, though. My first vote was for EXE, but since others seem to prefer ETH, and since that was my first thought, I am changing my vote to ETH. It produces the initial sound of Ether, reinforcing the name in people's minds, and it is easy to remember as it is the first 3 letters of the name.
I think ETH is a fine option for a currency code - but better yet, it's a fine name for a protocol abbreviation.
If one expands on the Ethereum = TCP and Bitcoin = SMTP analogy, then it makes sense that we'd want to use a similar acronym to refer to the protocol that is Ethereum. So in a few years' time, developers would speak of something built on "ETH," rather than "Ethereum" - much like today we refer to CSS, HTML, TCP, etc.
But we have to be mindful to avoid the confusion that's resulted from the use of "Bitcoin" as both a currency and a protocol. So perhaps "ETH" could be a shorthand for the protocol itself, while "XET" could be the currency code.
If a currency is not associated with a country then it starts with an “X.” US Dollar is USD and Gold is XAU. International Standards Organization (ISO). Talks of BTC changing to XBT.
Comments
From http://www.xe.com/iso4217.php , "Currency codes are composed of a country's two-character Internet country code plus a third character denoting the currency unit. For example, the Canadian Dollar code (CAD) is made up of Canada's Internet code ("CA") plus a currency designator ("D")."
If we attempt to follow the above convention, then the question is - assuming we believe in some sort of Internet or Cyberspace Sovereignty, what should this Sovereign Cyberspace be designated as? Once we have that, appending the E on the end for Ether, is simple.
Perhaps the use of an X would be useful, in attempting to designate the futility of the question of a name for Cyberspace, or as opting out of the notion of nations.
Some examples (I verified none of these examples have been taken by other countries - there are currently ZERO currencies that start with an X):
SCE ~ Sovereign Cyberspace Ether
SEE ~ Sovereign Ethereum Ether (might yield itself to interesting promotional campaigns such as "Can you SEE where the future is headed?")
XXE ~ the XX sort of denoting that we are not a country
SXE ~ another version of Sovereign Cyberspace Ether (obviously has some sex appeal)
XSE ~ Cyberspace Sovereign Ether
CSE ~ Cyberspace Sovereign Ether
ECE ~ Ethereum Cyberspace Ether (less hubris in this, not assuming to be a currency for all of cyberspace
EXE ~ Ethereum Cyberspace Ether, with the X again standing for Cyberspace or the lack of a country - with the obvious advantage to also alluding to the executable nature of Ethereum.
Taking this approach gives us some talking points that could lead to serious public debate (assuming we would want to have such debate).
Regarding currency symbols like the dollar sign "$", the Pound sign "£", and the Euro sign "€", I would submit that perhaps our currency symbol could be "Æ"
Aether, e.g. ÆTR -or- ÆTH -or- ÆHR are more likely going to be perceived as a logical interpretation of the true meaning of "ether" as well as offering up the original symbolic (Latin, Greek) spelling of the "ligature currency" term = Æ
We share the definition that follows: Aether means "countable, uncountable" (protocol) which fits logically into the vernacular (the original language meaning ) of the protocol's underlying attempt to register the unique currency meaning. From Ancient Greek ????? (aith?r, “air; ether”) i.e. uncountable, uncountable noun, mass noun
Source: Wiktionary
Aether: (Greek mythology) One of the Greek primordial deities, the first-born elementals; Aether was the personification of the bright, glowing upper air of heaven - the substance of light: Above him lay the solid dome of the sky-god, Uranus/Ouranos, and below, the transparent mists of earth-bound air. His sister-wife was Hemera. His Roman counterpart was "Ether". From Old French, from Latin aether (“the upper pure, bright air”), from Ancient Greek ????? (aith?r, “upper air”), from ???? (aith?, “I burn, shine”)
(archaic, physics, uncountable) A substance (aether) once thought to fill all space that allowed electromagnetic waves to pass through it and interact with matter, without exerting any resistance to matter or energy (disproved by Einstein in his theory of relativity)
(organic chemistry, countable) A compound containing an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrocarbon groups. ("C-O-C")
The keyboard typing step in this particular ligature is unique. The "Æ" is created by acting on the "Option, Shift, Apostrophe"
I therefore, recast my vote once again for: ÆTR
But ETC is interesting - from branding perspective too (ETC as in etcetera...'and other things / and more!').
If one expands on the Ethereum = TCP and Bitcoin = SMTP analogy, then it makes sense that we'd want to use a similar acronym to refer to the protocol that is Ethereum. So in a few years' time, developers would speak of something built on "ETH," rather than "Ethereum" - much like today we refer to CSS, HTML, TCP, etc.
But we have to be mindful to avoid the confusion that's resulted from the use of "Bitcoin" as both a currency and a protocol. So perhaps "ETH" could be a shorthand for the protocol itself, while "XET" could be the currency code.
If a currency is not associated with a country then it starts with an “X.” US Dollar is USD and Gold is XAU. International Standards Organization (ISO). Talks of BTC changing to XBT.