Topic: [Official] Message from the Montreal Bitcoin Embassy (Read 9173 times)

Kinda wish I was in or close to Montreal

The Bitcoin Embassy just had its 4th meetup! Over 150 people visited us yesterday, WOW!!!

Pictures :

http://imgur.com/a/cfpxP

Note where I say: "makes it seem like", not "these people are". Bottom line, the name makes them sound egotistical and stupid.

Alright guys, no need to make this personal.

I will say it again: no one is doubting the hard work that is being put into this establishment, nor [should] anyone be knocking the folks who are behind that hard work. That hard work however, does not shield them from constructive criticism nor does it make them perfect.

Supporters of the name continually link the words ambassador and embassy, a connection in that in English has very little (if any) usage outside stately context. It appears to me as though the French expression is more favorable with the founders. The point of this post is that it should not have to rest on the english or french expression winning out, but instead some common ground should be found so that a more reasonable, holistic name can be agreed upon.

I have made my arguments quite clear and was largely ignored. This entire page is littered with other complaints, as I hope the people behind this establishment have seen. Only more will come, and it will be a needless argument that will come up again and again. And for what? Because you wanted to be right and can't accept that a more agreeable name could be found? Blind attachment to anything is never good. 

Ultimately it is up to the founders and if they choose not to change the name then so be it. But they should be aware of the consequences of their actions, namely that the word embassy sends the wrong message about Bitcoin to newcomers. Plain and simple.

I'll tell you what I see.  I see a group of people that have dedicated an entire building, in a prime location, to Bitcoin.  I see a group of passionate and hardworking bitcoiners working around the clock to create a Bitcoin Shop, to create a welcoming permanent meet-up space where events, lectures and classes will also be given.  This bunch of "egotistical morons with delusions of grandeur" are not getting paid to do this.  In fact, they are investing their time, efforts, and resources into the project that also includes a bitcoin-only incubator along with the Non-Profit Organization with a clear mission to help the adoption of bicoin, engage dialogs with regulators and financial institutions.  The "bunch of morons" in question have been invloved in the bitcoin space for years and are all very active in the community.  

May I suggest that before expressing your feelings about a group of people over a simple name that you happen not to like, first take the time to look at what they are doing and trying to accomplish.  You might find that perhaps you should be encouraging them instead of insulting them.

Then again Leckey, it may be that your own contributions to the bitcoin community are so phenomenal that their puny efforts are meaningless to you.  Would you mind sharing all that you are currently doing for the community compared to those "egotistical morons with delusions of grandeur"?

Or even shorter and to the point "Bitcoin Center"

In English it is fine to describe somebody as an ambassador of something, like you say, but it is always an informal description of the person, not an officially stated title. So a newspaper might describe a businessman as "an ambassador from such and such coalition" or whatever, but the man himself would never introduce himself "I am ambassador Jones", that would just sound pretentious. But the main point is that even though people may be described as ambassadors, nobody ever refers to their office as an "embassy". I am sure there is a different English word you could use. "Bitcoin Outreach Center", or something like that.

We don't offer any of these services. Thank you for your kind words.



The name was taught in french first, then translated into english. It's relatively common in french to qualify somebody as an ambassador when that person is a representative of a specific domain, like sports, music, arts, etc. It seems it's not necessarily the case in english. Your feedback is considered though.

Even if you don't like the name, we are working hard to promote Bitcoin. We share the same objectives, and we would appreciate if you could refrain from using personal attacks.

Thanks and have a nice day.

Moje gratulacje stworzenia Ambasady Bitcoin napewno jest to niepodwarzalny aspekt umacniania Bitcoin .
Mam pytanie tzn. jeżeli jest stworzona Ambasada Bitcoin to czy mozna zlozyc podanie o paszport,z przyjemnoscia chcialbum byc posiadaczem paszportu Ambasady Bitcoin no i czy w razie przesladowan uzyskal bym azyl polityczny?.Jakie macie uprawnienia?

Pozdrawiam Serdecznie

Calm down poeple, this is just a name  
Get over it

Oh my... 

Call me a cynic but having the word "Embassy" in the title makes it seem like this is being run by a bunch of egotistical morons with delusions of grandeur.

Re: whether the word ambassador is political or not:
2 Corinthians 5:20
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

The original quote is about two thousand years old but the translation into English  is just a few hundred

Who are you at the Bitcoin Embassy?

Thanks to everyone who came for the meet-up. We hope you enjoyed it and that we will see you again. 

Also, we have a website available, it was a question I heard often during the meet-up. Here it is:
http://bitcoinembassy.ca/

I'd have to agree... I'd like the "Embassy" part dropped. I don't quite like it.

Count me in for the next meetup!
and of course, will get some copies of our catalog available for the embassy 

For those who would like to follow the Embassy on Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bitcoinembassy

there will be a meetup on the 17th

Any news. My work place is only 10 minutes walk to the embassy.

Haha no we have Bitcoin NYC, satoshi square etc.. Bitcoin Monday - Friday We are working on getting an official space.

I'm just offering my perspective. If I thought it, just imagine how many others might too, many of whom will be unfamiliar with Bitcoin and could be confused. That's all I'm saying.

jedunnigan is just jealous their isn't a Bitcoin Embassy in his area... 

I have seen it used a few times in contexts not politically motivated, but even then it is usually nation-state centric. Unfortunately that is not where the issue with the usage lies in my opinion--embassy implies an official representation of some thing, in this case Bitcoin, which it could not be for the reasons I mentioned earlier. This could be argued to be a matter of opinion, so we may not agree on this point. But I had to say my peace.

This is more like a community center, not an embassy--that should give you context for what types of names I feel are more appropriate.

Hi jedunnigan,

Thanks for your comment, I've made some research on that. I have a question for you (and others who are native anglophones). Is the term "embassy" is ever used in english in a context other than political?

It's because in french, "Ambassade" is mainly political, but can also be used in a way like Jake.Hobson said. In many dictionaries, they also confirm this second meaning in french. But I've been looking in english dictionaries, and I have a hard time finding that second meaning for "Embassy" in english. Maybe something has been "lost in translation" here?

Just to be clear, I'm not talking about "Ambassadeur"/"Ambassador" here, they have the same meaning in both languages.

Thank you for your input.

I will be there !

lol nice.

congrats guys! I hope to be there too

lol

That's why I unilaterally declare myself the King of Bitcoinia.  Bitcoinland?  Bitconnerie?  Bah, I'll let the peasants pick a name for the land, and then have them hanged.
  Step two is to have an heir with the Queen of LTC.

If you are going to quote something please link. I looked it up and you grabbed it from here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambassador

The words Ambassador/Embassy are NOT interchangeable in the context of a standalone building that is a hub for Bitcoin enthusiasts by Bitcoin enthusiasts. This project is neither official or unofficial, it just is. There is no distinction in Bitcoin because there is no such thing as centralized authority. This name rejects that.

Even if there are alternative use cases for the word you can't separate them in this context from the word's diplomatic, official derivation. It's confusing to most--not to mention it sends the wrong signals... you probably don't want to invite insinuations of centralization or that this is some extension of the core developers or Satoshi himself. It's oxymoronical, and I say that with all the respect in the world.

Conceptually (and practically) this is super exciting. I applaud you guys... thanks for making this happen. Just please, no embassy.

The words "Embassy" and/or "Ambassador" have nowadays a more flexible meaning:

"The word is also often used more liberally for persons who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions, activities and fields of endeavor"


The Bitcoin Embassy intends to represent, help, educate, and promote certain activities and fields of endeavor. It is not politically "charged".

bitcoin is a country of the internet

I don't think it's technically an embassy since it doesn't represent a country.

There's no reservation required. The more people the better


Great people are working hard on that at the moment. The only date given right now is the one of the next meetup.

The French requirement is local only. So in Montréal, it's going to be named "Ambassade Bitcoin". But on the web, well, you can name it "Bitcoin Embajada" or "Bitcoin Ambasciata" if you want.

Services will be provided in French and English.

When will this be opening? Any ETA? Also is it going to be Embassy, I thought on the other thread, that it had to be French...

Do we have to reserve ? BTW I'm both languages and I will come for sure !

Awesome!  Looking forward to helping you promote this initiative...

http://imgur.com/iVKeyHF.png

[CONFIRMED:]  

Yes, The meetups will be in both languages.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Will it be in english ?

reserved

We are excited about the interest building around the establishment of the Bitcoin Embassy in Montreal and we have been working hard, putting together a team and organizing as we prepare to officially open our doors.

The Bitcoin Embassy will serve as a hub where everything Bitcoin related will be given the opportunity to have it’s place under the same roof. We have in mind ; a bitcoin store / museum, a place for meet-ups, conferences, educational sessions, startup / venture capital center, everything that can help grow and promote Bitcoin throughout the Montreal community. Our goal is to make this city an international location for existing Bitcoin enthusiasts and future adopters alike.

Join us at our next meet-up planned for Saturday, August 17th, 2013 at 2:30pm at the Bitcoin Embassy offices located at: 3485 St-Laurent Boul. Montreal.   We look forward to discuss, plan and get people involved in the next phases of this exciting new project!

Please get in touch with us at [email protected]

To help us further build and grow the Bitcoin Embassy, you can also contribute by donating to 1EMBASSYyhoYZiv1cHFpPRM5fnSXk6C7Gp

https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=3485+boul+St-laurent+Montreal&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=45.558042,-73.730303&sspn=0.681737,1.454315&hnear=3485+Boulevard+Saint-Laurent,+Montr%C3%A9al,+Quebec+H2X+2T6&t=m&z=16