Bitcoin - The Libertarian Introduction (a primer on Bitcoin) - page 3.

PrintCoins

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Quote from: FreeMoney on April 17, 2012, 12:30:23 PM

Quote from: evoorhees on April 17, 2012, 10:27:21 AM

Quote from: mcorlett on April 17, 2012, 08:35:03 AM

Quote from: PrintCoins on April 17, 2012, 08:32:28 AM

Maybe it is smarter now and allocates 10K addresses for itself so that you don't need to be backing up all the time.

It does this, only with 100 keys. See wiki: key pool.

Yeah the wallet has 100 addresses ready in its queue - most casual users are not going to use more than this (especially for a crucial savings wallet - it'll probably only have a few addresses used), and I'm quite sure the deterministic wallets will become standard, so the potential problem of which you speak should go away on its own. I was trying to make the article somewhat future-proof (and had to keep it simple), so I didn't delve into nuances like this.

100 transactions ever isn't that unlikely. And probably by the time they are putting serious money in and then retrieving their backup they'll be past that. It is sends (new change address) and newly generated payment addresses (used or not, click that button 100 times and your backup won't work from that point).

Maybe devs could change the default to 1000 if bulk generation can/is done smoothly now. But that's still not foolproof.

Yeah, 1000 isn't that big of a deal, and really 10000 isn't either (as far as storage). This extra bit of data will make it so backups for 99.99% of people would be unneeded, which is awesome.

Boussac

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e-ducat.fr

Great article Erik, very inspiring and informative: the best bitcoin primer I have read to date !

Per a comment by Portnoy, I would rather use your second choice of "hydra" as a metaphor for the resilience of bitcoin than a lethal disease.

Overall, it's fun to read because of lines like that one:

"Try fleeing a country with $1,000,000 in bullion without the government knowing about it. Easier said than done. With Bitcoin, it's almost easier done than said"

evoorhees

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Democracy is the original 51% attack

There is always an issue when explaining Bitcoin: thoroughness vs simplicity. One cannot cover every nuance and still retain an audience. For example, I'll typically tell people Bitcoin has "no fees"... which is partly true, but there is a caveat as we all know. But going into every caveat on a first discussion is a great way to alienate the listener, and often too much info all at once has the effect of making the listener absorb less than otherwise.

Bitcoin requires education, and that education has to occur in pieces. This is a challenge we all struggle with daily

FreeMoney

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Strength in numbers

Quote from: evoorhees on April 17, 2012, 10:27:21 AM

Quote from: mcorlett on April 17, 2012, 08:35:03 AM

Quote from: PrintCoins on April 17, 2012, 08:32:28 AM

Maybe it is smarter now and allocates 10K addresses for itself so that you don't need to be backing up all the time.

It does this, only with 100 keys. See wiki: key pool.

Yeah the wallet has 100 addresses ready in its queue - most casual users are not going to use more than this (especially for a crucial savings wallet - it'll probably only have a few addresses used), and I'm quite sure the deterministic wallets will become standard, so the potential problem of which you speak should go away on its own. I was trying to make the article somewhat future-proof (and had to keep it simple), so I didn't delve into nuances like this.

100 transactions ever isn't that unlikely. And probably by the time they are putting serious money in and then retrieving their backup they'll be past that. It is sends (new change address) and newly generated payment addresses (used or not, click that button 100 times and your backup won't work from that point).

Maybe devs could change the default to 1000 if bulk generation can/is done smoothly now. But that's still not foolproof.

evoorhees

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Democracy is the original 51% attack

Quote from: mcorlett on April 17, 2012, 08:35:03 AM

Quote from: PrintCoins on April 17, 2012, 08:32:28 AM

Maybe it is smarter now and allocates 10K addresses for itself so that you don't need to be backing up all the time.

It does this, only with 100 keys. See wiki: key pool.

Yeah the wallet has 100 addresses ready in its queue - most casual users are not going to use more than this (especially for a crucial savings wallet - it'll probably only have a few addresses used), and I'm quite sure the deterministic wallets will become standard, so the potential problem of which you speak should go away on its own. I was trying to make the article somewhat future-proof (and had to keep it simple), so I didn't delve into nuances like this.

mcorlett

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Quote from: PrintCoins on April 17, 2012, 08:32:28 AM

Maybe it is smarter now and allocates 10K addresses for itself so that you don't need to be backing up all the time.

It does this, only with 100 keys. See wiki: key pool.

PrintCoins

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Quote

Put this wallet.dat file on a USB drive in your safe or mail it to your parents. Burn it to a CD and put it in a bank safety deposit box. Put it on a different computer. You can even email the file to yourself. Better yet, do two or three of the above. You only need to back up the wallet file once at the beginning (you don't need to do it every day or week, etc), and you should do it before you've received any money. Back it up, keep it safe, and the likelihood of you losing your Bitcoins will be lower than you dying in a car crash. If you don't back it up, the likelihood of you losing your coins is almost guaranteed.

Um... isn't this wrong (unless you are using a deterministic wallet). Every time you create a new address for receiving, or for change when sending, the wallet.dat gets a new keypair added. If you don't backup after this, then that money is lost (in the event of failure).

Wallet.dat needs to be backed up with every new transaction, or at least when enough transactions have occurred that it the loss would matter to you.

To me, I find this is the biggest problem with the software. When you do a lot of transactions, you need to make backups frequently. Practically this means that your backup device is likely sitting right next to your computer (not in a cd mailed to ma and pa). If my house burns down, my bitcoins are lost.

Now, I might be ignorent of a recent change to the software, but that was my original understanding of how it worked. Maybe it is smarter now and allocates 10K addresses for itself so that you don't need to be backing up all the time.

hazek

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I think it's only fitting to post this piece on the 5th most visited libertarian website, right? Cool

http://www.dailypaul.com/226936/if-the-government-hates-it-dont-you-think-you-should-at-least-consider-learning-about-it

coinuser4000

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Excellent plain-english explanation of Bitcoin from the Libertarian perspective. An essay like this was long overdue imo.

evoorhees

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Democracy is the original 51% attack

Sincere thanks to everyone who said such kind words about the piece, really made my day when I checked all the messages this morning! It really makes all the effort worthwhile to have such compliments from such honorable people here in this wonderful community.

For those asking about translations and any kind of distribution or re-posting, feel free to do whatever you'd like, however you'd like.

Onward!

evoorhees

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Democracy is the original 51% attack

Quote from: FreeMoney on April 14, 2012, 02:13:51 AM

Thanks for the link to Seals. SealsWithClubs.com is wrong but does forward to SealsWithClubs.eu so it's not that wrong.

Fixed, thanks!

FreeMoney

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Strength in numbers

Quote from: Red Emerald on April 14, 2012, 11:52:28 AM

Great read, even for those who just want Bitcoin to be the currency of the Internet and not the world.

The Internet is like cancer, there's not going to be a difference eventually.

bc

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Quote from: Explodicle on April 13, 2012, 08:50:29 PM

Quote from: jack (in the blog post comments)

Great Post! I love reading bitcoin articles from people who genuinely 'get it'

+1
It always makes me feel better to know some other people realize what is happening, and maybe I'm not so crazy. Cheesy

+1

Gabi

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If you want to walk on water, get out of the boat

The article is just... perfect. Awesome.

Great job!

Realpra

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Quote from: wachtwoord on April 13, 2012, 05:45:12 PM

Nah I love the metaphor and I have lost two family members to cancer. People should grow up.

Very nice piece of work evoorhees, the best description of Bitcoin for non-technical yet intelligent people I have read thus far.

Didn't bother me either BUT:

The word you WANT to use is "FIRESTORM" - it sounds awesome and you can make the exact same analogy.

Also "your it" should be "your wallet" or "it".

Great read.

Red Emerald

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Great read, even for those who just want Bitcoin to be the currency of the Internet and not the world.

cypherdoc

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Erik,

thanks for taking the time to do this. it really was excellent.

i do hope you reactivate your blog for Bitcoin related writings. i think you'd develop a large following and it would be good to hear regularly from someone who can articulate the community's feelings on these matters.

herzmeister

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seeds and green life in general spreading would be considered positive... especially through the cosmos... panspermia Cool

waspoza

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Firstbits: 1waspoza

Great article, thanks!

FreeMoney

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Strength in numbers

Quote from: ?? on ??

Quote from: Portnoy on April 13, 2012, 05:40:53 PM

"Bitcoin cannot be turned off - it is like a benevolent cancer which, so long as a few hosts survive somewhere in the world, can perpetuate itself and regrow at the speed of information."

Shocked

Even with the qualifier "benevolent" and even if it is technically accurate... in my opinion... that is a terrible metaphor to use.

Do you know how many people in our modern world have lost loved ones to cancer?

No amount of qualifiers are going to remove the negative psychological weight from a word like that.

And surely you must know how the enemies of something like bitcoin would just love to have good key words to jump on and
use against it.

( below said in something like a Rush Limbaugh voice )
"Harumpf! And here we have another article where we have another bitcoin "expert", comparing this new "technology", to cancer! People, I ask you!"

Yeah that one made me cringe a little. Feel free to take and modify some of these:
"like a struggling life form that will survive as long as there is air to breathe"
"like a forest that will always regenerate as long as there's a little sunlight"
"like a bonfire that will keep burning as long as there is kindling somewhere in the world"
"like hot custard that always grows a thick skin, no matter how it gets stirred."
"like an Olympic torch that keeps on burning, as long as there is someone to pass it on to."

"Benevolent weed" might be better than cancer.

Topic: Bitcoin - The Libertarian Introduction (a primer on Bitcoin) - page 3. (Read 7074 times)