Is there a good reason to implement ERC721 standards?

Question

I am working on a non-fungible token implementation and like everyone else, I started with the ERC721 standards. However, my use case is not exactly fitting in the standards defined by ERC721. For instance, I want multiple person to own one token (non divisible) and there are other issues as well because of which I am unable to implement all those functions.

My question is: Is it really necessary to implement those standards if my web client is the only client that is going to interact with my contract?

I do understand that the standards provide a generic interface for existing wallets to interact with the contract. What if I don't want this functionality? Can I skip the standards and implement a non fungible token without ERC721?

Answer 1

Is it really necessary to implement those standards if my web client is the only client that is going to interact with my contract?

No, it isn't strictly necessary to implement the ERC-721 standard for your non-fungible token. ERC-721 compliance makes it easy for other developers to make contracts/software/websites that interact with your contract. This could include displaying your tokens in a 3rd party wallet, and listing/trading your tokens on a 3rd party exchange. But if your web client is the only one which will interact with the contract, then it ERC-721 compliance needn't be a priority.

Can I skip the standards and implement a non fungible token without ERC721?

Yes, your NFT will still be perfectly valid. It just won't be an ERC-721 Token.

Answer 2

If you want wallets to show your deeds in them (deed is the new NFC) then yes!

We are now having active discussion on this. Please come to https://github.com/ethereum/EIPs/pull/841 and share more details about your use case.