Look at a pirate, eye to eye if you dare. - page 12.

finkleshnorts

sr. member

Activity: 336

Merit: 250

Quote from: jamesg on July 30, 2012, 02:08:10 AM

It seems that many of the posts since my "I've seen a pirate post" claim that I am somehow lying or misleading people on the forums. Here is the simple truth.

I brought my brother-in-law to Vegas to hang out and meet some people related to bitcoin. We've had the opportunity to meet pirateat40, reeses, Goat, copumpkin, pidgeons, Coinabul, Partrick from Intersango, OneFixt and his girlfriend, BurtW and Scared. I've probably missed a few people in the list.

I must say, meeting all of these people has been a pretty awesome experience. Pirate is a nice guy and we had a great time playing craps (BurtW taught pirate, Goat and I how to pay), roulette and 3 card poker. I also got to spend some time in the poker room with OneFixt. We've eaten dinner together, talked bitcoin and it's future and played some games in the casino.

Does this make me an expert in what pirate does? No.

For all of you that claim that because I've met pirateat40 I am now somehow responsible for his actions, well, you're logic is flawed.

Thank you for posting this! I've been waiting to hear something, anything.

It was so strange to me that Goat's posts were deleted.
I'm glad yall had a blast.

farfiman

legendary

Activity: 1449

Merit: 1001

I guess people just what to know what you think... does he look like he will walk away tomorrow with all the coins or not.
The whole bitcoin community is holding their breath waiting for info... ( they do anyway every monday now even more so...)

jamesg

vip

Activity: 1358

Merit: 1000

AKA: gigavps

It seems that many of the posts since my "I've seen a pirate post" claim that I am somehow lying or misleading people on the forums. Here is the simple truth.

I brought my brother-in-law to Vegas to hang out and meet some people related to bitcoin. We've had the opportunity to meet pirateat40, reeses, Goat, copumpkin, pidgeons, Coinabul, Partrick from Intersango, OneFixt and his girlfriend, BurtW and Scared. I've probably missed a few people in the list.

I must say, meeting all of these people has been a pretty awesome experience. Pirate is a nice guy and we had a great time playing craps (BurtW taught pirate, Goat and I how to pay), roulette and 3 card poker. I also got to spend some time in the poker room with OneFixt. We've eaten dinner together, talked bitcoin and it's future and played some games in the casino.

Does this make me an expert in what pirate does? No.

For all of you that claim that because I've met pirateat40 I am now somehow responsible for his actions, well, you're logic is flawed.

notme

legendary

Activity: 1904

Merit: 1002

Quote from: Shadow383 on July 29, 2012, 07:04:04 PM

Quote from: notme on July 29, 2012, 04:03:32 PM

Looks mostly the same as it did when I first invested many months ago. Now the interest rates are lower, payouts are less often, and it's still a great return. Nobody expects this to last forever and pirateat40 has demonstrated several times he will adjust his interest rate down as his profit margins are squeezed by competition. I have had several private conversations with pirate and I am fairly confident of at least two legitimate revenue streams he has, and I suspect two others. None are illegal as far as I know, and despite weeks of screaming, nobody has been able to provide one scrap of evidence to the contrary. I will not provide more information about what I believe he is doing other than the obvious (gpumax) because competition will reduce his profits and thus my payouts.

I know it's tempting to believe something that's too good to be true if it's making you money, but let's examine that statement:

Let's say I tell you I have a business that turns over $10 million a year that you can invest in and I'll pay you very high returns.

"How about some accounts?" you say. No chance, my finances are private.
"Okay, what is your business doing?" you say. Not telling, you'd steal my idea.
"Okay, why don't you let me speak to some of your customers?" you say. I'm sorry, my customers are very private people.
"Right, well can I see some ID for you?" you say. No, sorry, my name is Captain Gobblescoque, please refer to me as that.
"Okay, how about a picture so I can at least see what you look like". No, Captain Gobblescoque is a very private person.

Do you:

A- Call me a lying sack of shit and tell me to stick my investment plan somewhere painful.
B- Give me all of your money and tell other people how amazing I am and that they should also give me all of their money, to the tune of millions of dollars.

1. I have had private conversations with pirate about what he's doing. No, I won't share.
2. I have never encouraged anyone to invest their money with pirate. Nor does he hold all my money.
3. I have asked people to quit spamming the same points repeatedly and also to provide evidence for their claims. My requests have been in vain.

teflone

hero member

Activity: 770

Merit: 500

You're fat, because you dont have any pics on FB

Quote from: Spekulatius on July 29, 2012, 07:23:40 PM

In Vegas:

teflone, BitBlitz, Casascius, Micon (local in Vegas), Scared, Andrew Bitcoiner, ..?

Not sure if any and all of the above mentioned actually attended Defcon or just met privately outside of it. The names are taken from this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=90726.20

also:

DrHaribo (post #64, 125 of this thread)

Attending Defcon:

- gigavps (self disclosed)
- goat (self disclosed)
- TORwallet (self disclosed #38,39)

anyone else??

Met a few great bitcoiners... Tux, Bitblitz, Andrew, and Alex... You guys made my trip..

Where was Pirate.... we dont know...

dooglus

legendary

Activity: 2940

Merit: 1333

Quote from: ribuck on July 29, 2012, 05:08:43 PM

Nor did pirate say that he was attending DefCon, he just said he was going to Vegas. For all we know, he may be putting all the BS&T funds on red at the roulette table in a desperate attempt to keep his scheme afloat.

In that case, pirate may be lucky and can prolong his scheme long enough to win his bet with vandroiy.

Note that the bet doesn't end until October 1 2013, so putting it on red wouldn't be enough. He's going to have to put it on a number. Would 36x be enough to last until October?

iCEBREAKER

legendary

Activity: 2156

Merit: 1072

Crypto is the separation of Power and State.

Quote from: rjk on July 29, 2012, 06:33:59 PM

Right, so you are ignoring the actual case law rulings (granted, Dutch law, but so what), and instead pointing out other parts of the article that don't have any bearing on Bitcoin outside of games. I would say you are the one that is failing here.

You are extrapolating the actions of one quirky judge in Holland, who made some bizarre ruling about virtual amulets and online runes, four years ago, to mean that a generic District Attorney and average Grand Jury would accept an indictment based on accusations of Magic Internet Money fraud/theft?

Wow.

Please, for the love of comedy, provide us with a transcript of your conversation when you report Pirate or whatever Bit Bandit to (what passes for, in your feverish, cloistered worldview) the Proper Authorities. Wink

Spekulatius

legendary

Activity: 1022

Merit: 1000

In Vegas:

teflone, BitBlitz, Casascius, Micon (local in Vegas), Scared, Andrew Bitcoiner, ..?

Not sure if any and all of the above mentioned actually attended Defcon or just met privately outside of it. The names are taken from this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=90726.20

also:

DrHaribo (post #64, 125 of this thread)

Attending Defcon:

- gigavps (self disclosed)
- goat (self disclosed)
- TORwallet (self disclosed #38,39)

anyone else??

Vandroiy

legendary

Activity: 1036

Merit: 1002

Guys, can we focus on Vegas for now? I see it's partially my fault this got so derailed, and that we'd be better get back on track. There will be enough angry people who try to sue someone later on.

It would help if other DefCon attendees would say something. Tuxavant mentioned at least two other people who were still waiting for Pirateat40 to show up. Could any of those please speak up? Does anyone know people who might have been there?

Shadow383

sr. member

Activity: 336

Merit: 250

Quote from: notme on July 29, 2012, 04:03:32 PM

Looks mostly the same as it did when I first invested many months ago. Now the interest rates are lower, payouts are less often, and it's still a great return. Nobody expects this to last forever and pirateat40 has demonstrated several times he will adjust his interest rate down as his profit margins are squeezed by competition. I have had several private conversations with pirate and I am fairly confident of at least two legitimate revenue streams he has, and I suspect two others. None are illegal as far as I know, and despite weeks of screaming, nobody has been able to provide one scrap of evidence to the contrary. I will not provide more information about what I believe he is doing other than the obvious (gpumax) because competition will reduce his profits and thus my payouts.

I know it's tempting to believe something that's too good to be true if it's making you money, but let's examine that statement:

Let's say I tell you I have a business that turns over $10 million a year that you can invest in and I'll pay you very high returns.

"How about some accounts?" you say. No chance, my finances are private.
"Okay, what is your business doing?" you say. Not telling, you'd steal my idea.
"Okay, why don't you let me speak to some of your customers?" you say. I'm sorry, my customers are very private people.
"Right, well can I see some ID for you?" you say. No, sorry, my name is Captain Gobblescoque, please refer to me as that.
"Okay, how about a picture so I can at least see what you look like". No, Captain Gobblescoque is a very private person.

Do you:

A- Call me a lying sack of shit and tell me to stick my investment plan somewhere painful.
B- Give me all of your money and tell other people how amazing I am and that they should also give me all of their money, to the tune of millions of dollars.

Frankie

full member

Activity: 206

Merit: 100

Quote from: iCEBREAKER on July 29, 2012, 05:39:37 PM

Quote from: notme on July 29, 2012, 03:42:32 PM

And Vladimir used to be so level headed. This sure has got his panties in a bunch.

He's not the only one that's started living full time in BTC Fantasy Land.

You can tell which ones have gone off the deep end easily. They're the ones who actually believe that the Police Cops are going to ring up Interpol's cybercrime unit for the sake of tracking down their stolen/scammed BTC.

As if any law enforcement agency in the world has a Cryptocoin Recovery Division, or cares in the least about their Magic Internet Money.

They've completely lost it ('it' being contact with consensus reality). Roll Eyes

I agree that it's unlikely Pirate (let alone his enablers and promoters) go to jail over this, but it's not because of the currency. Many actionable Ponzi schemes are denominated in irreversible online currencies like Liberty Reserve, and if there was enough loss in this scheme, I'm sure it would land on radars.

Although ~$1 million is a significant proportion of the bitcoin economy, it's not really much for a Ponzi scheme. http://www.ponzitracker.com/ Most of the victims are likely small fry kids playing on their parents computer and indirectly through PPTs (these aren't seniors losing their life savings here). Add to it the difficulty of proving that some person corresponds to the screen name and proving the transactions, and it's not a very appetizing case.

rjk

sr. member

Activity: 448

Merit: 250

1ngldh

Quote from: iCEBREAKER on July 29, 2012, 06:28:30 PM

Quote from: rjk on July 29, 2012, 05:49:05 PM

Oh really? http://www.talentzoo.com/digital-pivot/blog_news.php?articleID=6221

Quote

In general, courts globally seem to be treating virtual crime just as they would any real-world crime: If a person is found guilty of stealing, killing, ruining, or otherwise destroying an online-gaming experience for a person or group of persons, the penalties enacted will be similar to punishment of real-world crime, with noted exceptions. For example, killing an avatar will not be met with a life sentence in prison. However, the monetary loss sustained by the player will be comparable to real-world money loss, and criminals will end up with fines, probation, or even jail.

Hedge #1 "In general"
Hedge #2 "seem to be"

Two hedges for one sentence = weak sauce.

Then there's the part you didn't quote:

Quote

"Complaints about people’s identities and possessions being stolen within a game have been made before," said Rob Fahey, games analyst and former editor of gamesindustry.biz. "But because it exists only in a virtual world it is hard to say whether they are of any real value in the real world.

The resale of characters and their possessions is often against the rules set down by the makers of the games, but there are no criminal laws banning it.

tl;dr
U FAIL

Right, so you are ignoring the actual case law rulings (granted, Dutch law, but so what), and instead pointing out other parts of the article that don't have any bearing on Bitcoin outside of games. I would say you are the one that is failing here.

iCEBREAKER

legendary

Activity: 2156

Merit: 1072

Crypto is the separation of Power and State.

Quote from: rjk on July 29, 2012, 05:49:05 PM

Oh really? http://www.talentzoo.com/digital-pivot/blog_news.php?articleID=6221

Quote

In general, courts globally seem to be treating virtual crime just as they would any real-world crime: If a person is found guilty of stealing, killing, ruining, or otherwise destroying an online-gaming experience for a person or group of persons, the penalties enacted will be similar to punishment of real-world crime, with noted exceptions. For example, killing an avatar will not be met with a life sentence in prison. However, the monetary loss sustained by the player will be comparable to real-world money loss, and criminals will end up with fines, probation, or even jail.

Hedge #1 "In general"
Hedge #2 "seem to be"

Two hedges for one sentence = weak sauce.

Then there's the part you didn't quote:

Quote

"Complaints about people’s identities and possessions being stolen within a game have been made before," said Rob Fahey, games analyst and former editor of gamesindustry.biz. "But because it exists only in a virtual world it is hard to say whether they are of any real value in the real world.

The resale of characters and their possessions is often against the rules set down by the makers of the games, but there are no criminal laws banning it.

tl;dr
U FAIL

wachtwoord

legendary

Activity: 2324

Merit: 1125

Okay, then I just have to say I severely doubt that is where the market will find an equilibrium. I will confide that markets are known to do crazy things so me being wrong has a non-zero chance.

notme

legendary

Activity: 1904

Merit: 1002

Quote from: wachtwoord on July 29, 2012, 04:41:43 PM

Quote from: notme on July 29, 2012, 04:03:32 PM

Quote from: Maged on July 29, 2012, 03:50:40 PM

Quote from: Vandroiy on July 29, 2012, 03:41:23 PM

LOL did imsaguy just admit he was being paid extra, and had no knowledge of BS&T legitimacy? Do any of you remember just who was extremely intent on defending BS&T in the flamewar?

Seriously, stop trying to see things that aren't there. You're just making everyone who's concerned about Pirate look foolish.

Yup.

Quote from: notme on July 29, 2012, 03:42:32 PM

And Vladimir used to be so level headed. This sure has got his panties in a bunch.

He is level headed. You should stop and think about how all of this appears to people on the outside that aren't blinded by Pirate Greed.

Looks mostly the same as it did when I first invested many months ago. Now the interest rates are lower, payouts are less often, and it's still a great return. Nobody expects this to last forever and pirateat40 has demonstrated several times he will adjust his interest rate down as his profit margins are squeezed by competition. I have had several private conversations with pirate and I am fairly confident of at least two legitimate revenue streams he has, and I suspect two others. None are illegal as far as I know, and despite weeks of screaming, nobody has been able to provide one scrap of evidence to the contrary. I will not provide more information about what I believe he is doing other than the obvious (gpumax) because competition will reduce his profits and thus my payouts.

Hey everyone knows I trust the business enough to have invested. However, please stop saying Pirate is reducing interest rates when he clearly isn't (he still offers the same percentages to trust accounts, which means in the end the majority of the market will invest through these, causing Pirate to pay the same rates as he did before) it makes you look like you're covering something up ....

I'm not in the top tier, but I prefer to deal with pirate directly. Using "the market" adds additional risk. Pirate's stated average interest is far below top tier.

Topic: Look at a pirate, eye to eye if you dare. - page 12. (Read 60726 times)