Talk:IOU

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Move both as proposed by Cybercobra. Ucucha 17:47, 27 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

IOU (debt) → IOU — The informal acknowledgement of debt is the primary topic. 3 of the other uses are named for it, and the remaining meanings of "IOU" are comparatively obscure. Cybercobra (talk) 07:27, 17 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

• IOU → IOU (disambiguation)

• I would normally support this since the other uses at IOU are derivative but IOU (debt) is not a particularly encyclopedically notable topic and therefore does not have automatic claim to primary topic-hood. — AjaxSmack 05:11, 19 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  • FWIW, there are economics-related books using it as a title (speaks to cultural impact), and the IOUs issued by the state of California got significant news coverage. Merging & redirecting to a more formal equivalent such as promissory note is also an option. --Cybercobra (talk) 05:46, 19 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    • To be clear, I don't oppose the proposal. — AjaxSmack 03:54, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I added a short "IOU (debt)" section to the article Warrant (of Payment) so that the IOU (debt) article can be REDIRECTed to the "Warrant (of Payment)" article. Greensburger (talk) 06:30, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure that would be the best merge target; while I can see overlooking the difference in specifying a specific repayment time, the rest of the definition of a warrant of payment doesn't fit quite as well (California media's use of the term notwithstanding): "a warrant is a written order from a first person that instructs a second person to pay a specified recipient [...]" --Cybercobra (talk) 06:50, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

True, it is an order to a treasurer to pay a specified recipient, but the face of the Warrant promises to pay: "The treasurer of California will pay out of Fund 1234" or "... out of available funds". That makes it a non-negotiable and unenforceable promise, just like an informal IOU. So Warrants and IOUs are similar. Greensburger (talk) 07:23, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, it's just that promissory note seems more similar, imo (if one wants to opt for a merge). It's also entirely possible we're overlooking some third, even better target (I'm not a finance person). :-) --Cybercobra (talk) 08:02, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Promissory notes are negotiable and enforceable promises to pay, unlike warrants and IOUs. Greensburger (talk) 08:27, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Promissory notes are not necessarily negotiable and unlike warrants are directly between the payer and payee. IOUs are of course neither promissory notes nor warrants; they're not promissory notes in that they're unenforceable and they're not warrants in that there's only 2 parties involved; and unlike both, IOUs don't typically specify a repayment date. I personally just find the unenforceability a less drastic difference than the number of parties. --Cybercobra (talk) 09:06, 23 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.