Author

Topic: 2013-11-6 CoinText.com/Another Bitcointalk.org Scam Falls Apart – More than $1M (Read 1978 times)

legendary
Activity: 1498
Merit: 1000
It has become a lot more difficult to get valuable information out of this forum.

Judicious use of the Ignore feature, both for posters and for entire sections of the forum helps, but new users aren't going to start out knowing where to begin.

Yep. That's to be expected, unfortunately.

It's a trend with all good Internet communities. They start out good, because they are a niche, but if they are really good they invariably become highly popular and so begin a rapid descent. I came here, to this forum and Bitcoin actually, from Hacker News. I haven't been back there in a long while, but before I left there for here the admin/creator Paul Graham was openly soliciting the community for ideas on how to fight off the decline cycle he saw coming. He was trying to stave it off as long as he could, mostly with programming/vote tricks to separate signal from noise, but those options are limited here.

LMAO you guys aren't serious? I really hope not, maybe you should just go make your own private forums. Everyday I see amazing threads on here, but I guess I know where to look. Old members will never be happy cause they liked having all that attention less people, more attention. Also this is how bitcoin becomes mainstream, this is why it is at ~$300 and not $0.20.
full member
Activity: 183
Merit: 100
Ads

No one works for Free. It takes time and effort to manage a forum. Time people have to take away from their family's . Ads are a great way to help keep this forum the pinnacle of bitcoin news and information. This Site helps a lot of people find and stay inside the bitcoin community. Yes their are some bad apples but so does the world. There is an ignore button for a reason.

So many of the major advertisers on this site are outright scams like BFL that when I see something advertised here, I just assume it's a scam automatically and put it on my list of things to avoid unless given information otherwise.  So at least for me, advertisers who pay for ads on this site are basically slapping a big SCAM sticker all over their product.  Perhaps this is something the forum should consider when taking ads, because that is the kind of thing that determines their value.

I don't think these policies make the site itself a scam, but I do think it shows a willingness to fund the site by other people's fraud while willfully turning a blind eye to it.  That may not be illegal, but it certainly isn't admirable.  That doesn't mean I still wouldn't recommend it as the best source of information on the subject matter, at least to a jaded cynic who starts out with the assumption that everyone is a crook and a scammer unless shown to be otherwise, but I'd never send anyone less than that here without stern warnings to beware everything.  At least unless I didn't like them much.

I can understand the general libertarian idea that what people say and do is their own business and taking a hands-off moderation policy to an extreme.  But they don't do that.  The mods are abusive and arbitrary and delete posts on pure whim with no explanation whatsoever.  So the policy has nothing to do with that kind of thinking, because they're control-freakish in the extreme on that.

But when you publish ads, you're making an editorial statement about what you're made of, and if what you're made of is BFL, well, you're at least half a scumbag.

As a person who paid for pre-orders with BTC from BFL when the price was like 5-$10 per BTC i could not Agree with you more. BFL has set bitcoin back. They have created distrust that has made legit companies work twice as hard to fix the down right scandelish nature that Butterfly Labs owns.
legendary
Activity: 1050
Merit: 1002
It has become a lot more difficult to get valuable information out of this forum.

Judicious use of the Ignore feature, both for posters and for entire sections of the forum helps, but new users aren't going to start out knowing where to begin.

Yep. That's to be expected, unfortunately.

It's a trend with all good Internet communities. They start out good, because they are a niche, but if they are really good they invariably become highly popular and so begin a rapid descent. I came here, to this forum and Bitcoin actually, from Hacker News. I haven't been back there in a long while, but before I left there for here the admin/creator Paul Graham was openly soliciting the community for ideas on how to fight off the decline cycle he saw coming. He was trying to stave it off as long as he could, mostly with programming/vote tricks to separate signal from noise, but those options are limited here.
legendary
Activity: 1176
Merit: 1005
In my State users can sue for up to 3 times the amount lost if it was an intentional conspiracy to commit fraud.

New Jersey's delicious Consumer Fraud Act, yes, I'm familiar with it.  More importantly, it allows attorney fee-shifting, making it much easier to find representation in such cases.  Some lawyers make that their entire practice.  Why nobody in NJ has gone after BFL is beyond me.  However, it's generally pretty difficult to establish advertiser liability short of conspiracy, and § 230 of the CDA has been construed as providing near-absolute immunity to liability for Internet providers for the content of third-party ads they run.
legendary
Activity: 1176
Merit: 1005
Ads

No one works for Free. It takes time and effort to manage a forum. Time people have to take away from their family's . Ads are a great way to help keep this forum the pinnacle of bitcoin news and information. This Site helps a lot of people find and stay inside the bitcoin community. Yes their are some bad apples but so does the world. There is an ignore button for a reason.

So many of the major advertisers on this site are outright scams like BFL that when I see something advertised here, I just assume it's a scam automatically and put it on my list of things to avoid unless given information otherwise.  So at least for me, advertisers who pay for ads on this site are basically slapping a big SCAM sticker all over their product.  Perhaps this is something the forum should consider when taking ads, because that is the kind of thing that determines their value.

I don't think these policies make the site itself a scam, but I do think it shows a willingness to fund the site by other people's fraud while willfully turning a blind eye to it.  That may not be illegal, but it certainly isn't admirable.  That doesn't mean I still wouldn't recommend it as the best source of information on the subject matter, at least to a jaded cynic who starts out with the assumption that everyone is a crook and a scammer unless shown to be otherwise, but I'd never send anyone less than that here without stern warnings to beware everything.  At least unless I didn't like them much.

I can understand the general libertarian idea that what people say and do is their own business and taking a hands-off moderation policy to an extreme.  But they don't do that.  The mods are abusive and arbitrary and delete posts on pure whim with no explanation whatsoever.  So the policy has nothing to do with that kind of thinking, because they're control-freakish in the extreme on that.

But when you publish ads, you're making an editorial statement about what you're made of, and if what you're made of is BFL, well, you're at least half a scumbag.
full member
Activity: 183
Merit: 100
Ads

No one works for Free. It takes time and effort to manage a forum. Time people have to take away from their family's . Ads are a great way to help keep this forum the pinnacle of bitcoin news and information. This Site helps a lot of people find and stay inside the bitcoin community. Yes their are some bad apples but so does the world. There is an ignore button for a reason.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1013
It has become a lot more difficult to get valuable information out of this forum.

Judicious use of the Ignore feature, both for posters and for entire sections of the forum helps, but new users aren't going to start out knowing where to begin.
legendary
Activity: 1666
Merit: 1010
he who has the gold makes the rules
Instead of looking for typos or looking for ways to attack the messenger I would like to see the people on here come out and say it is perfectly alright for this site to take money for ads for products that they know won't get delivered and that is perfectly alright to run ads and direct new users to things like inputs.io when they knew the issues.



I do not think that is a true and factual statement. More like wishful thinking.  No one can know the future....

Furthermore,  as adults we have certain responsibilities like making sure to do due diligence before giving over money to someone.
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1018
HoneybadgerOfMoney.com Weed4bitcoin.com
Bitcointalk.org is ... damaging to the value of Bitcointalk...

What??

It should say Bitcoin.

With bitcoin reaching  new highs that statement doesn't hold a lot of weight. I don't think the market value of bitcoin takes into account anyone's opinion of bitcointalk.org.

You are avoiding the issue.  People are getting ripped off left and right and anyone can see that is a major issue.  Some people just want to look for excuses to go along with crowd.  You want to divert attention to these issues by pointing out typos and looking for irrelevant excuses.  I assume nobody can complain about anything and there are no issues because we are at a high at the moment?  The high is based on forwarding looking anticipation that there will be mass adoption, it is not approval of what is currently happening at Bitcointalk.org

As for respect, the people who run this forum deserve none.  People like DannyHamilton who spend a lot of time helping users and warning them about the scams deserve respect. 

As for some yellow strip on some goofball forum I can assure you I couldn't care less.  I have already made enough money on the internet where I don't have to work any more and I don't have to worry about how long my friends list is.  I am going to do what I think is right.

lol someone just lied about ignoring me if they read that Grin  Yea I was on the fence with you like two months ago, but now at this point, if you're a new person, you should have been at bitcoin.com or bitcoin.org - just like I did when I was uninformed....better yet...before going there....you should go to wikipedia.  Fools and their money are parted - you found inspiration to write about that article based on the brothers who spend a million dollars on a bfl preorder.  This news with tradefortress completely seals the deal.  The fact that something identical happened nearly a year ago when he gipped people using ripple shows me that its obvious why this occurred.

By the way, if you've had coins taken from inputs.io and you want to complain to Trade Fortress directly, his email is: [email protected]
BCB
vip
Activity: 1078
Merit: 1002
BCJ
Bitcointalk.org is ... damaging to the value of Bitcointalk...

What??

It should say Bitcoin.

With bitcoin reaching  new highs that statement doesn't hold a lot of weight. I don't think the market value of bitcoin takes into account anyone's opinion of bitcointalk.org.
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1018
HoneybadgerOfMoney.com Weed4bitcoin.com
 Good day to you sir.

I don't remember why but I already had you on ignore and I had to click the link to see what you posted.  I must be on the right track.

I would venture that your ignore link is darker yellow than mine.


MIlly bitcoin aka Metta world peace  Good job  Wink

I feel kinda bad for starting shit...reading the first few lines, I was like oh crap wow - I totally remembered those inputs.io wallets ads - Tradefortress was on them tough.  His coinchat service is down too...yet coinlenders is still live. 
BCB
vip
Activity: 1078
Merit: 1002
BCJ
Bitcointalk.org is ... damaging to the value of Bitcointalk...

What??
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1018
HoneybadgerOfMoney.com Weed4bitcoin.com
Bitcointalk.org is a trap to new users and is designed to defraud them.  It is damaging to the value of Bitcointalk and it makes the people involved look ridiculous.  Further. it is difficult enough to bring in new users and explain all the risks without the added burden of explaining the stuff that goes on here.  It scares people away.

It is bizarre that so many people go along with all this stuff.  I realize a bunch of goofballs are going to start taking pot shot at me rather than address the actual issues but that is the way it goes.


You do realize that we have no respect for you right?   Huh Right?

Seriously, who comes to a forum to link to their own article that is talking shit about "said" forum?  Are you that desperate that you need to beg here for traffic too?  I've seen your ploys on reddit...hot linking to your own content shows your own lack morals.  Good day to you sir.


Its obvious that Milly purchased hardware from BFL.  No other vendors...cept metabank and KNC miner have purchased forum advertising as far as I know.  Metabank is suppossed to deliver later this month and next month....KNC delivered.  Thus Milly is only talking about BFL.    Get off your whine horse...write something productive for a change.    I'll eat those words, looking at your articles, you've got nice content to mull over while not here or on reddit. 
legendary
Activity: 1078
Merit: 1003
Bitcointalk.org is a trap to new users and is designed to defraud them.

That's quite the accusation; can you present evidence of this website or its owners actively defrauding its users?
legendary
Activity: 4466
Merit: 3391
Milly's vendetta against bitcointalk.org is bizarre. I wonder what is behind it.
hero member
Activity: 510
Merit: 500
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