Long ago there was a magical time...
Salty - I said I totally understood the
intention and understand this didn't simply come about arbitrarily! However, I would have rather seen alternative methods of implementing your anti-botting (even including some return-authentication mechanism via email; if that wasn't already tried!?). ((In addition, I TOTALLY appreciate the active role you and other moderators take in maintaining this site --- about the only thing worse than what I'm addressing is the situation when there is a total
lack of moderation, with
no one addressing the current happenings on the site!))
I believe many bitcoin advocates have gravitated this way due to the fact that this crypto-currency cannot be as easily manipulated as, say, the Federal Reserve (which has about as much "Federal" as Federal Express or Federal ammunition!) ... And yet, at first glance, it seems BitCoinTalk is attempting at least as much 'manipulation' in things as the Federal Reserve (forcing initial member
activity including posts, "view time", type of activity, etc.). This is why I've been making such a "stink" in this thread and why I've attempted to bring it to the greater attention of this community.
While I've only recently signed up here, I've previously browsed these forums and found helpful information on
more than one occasion! (and not necessarily through your search page - which can only be accessed every, how-many, seconds?...) I've also previously taken my time to input on bitcoin-related matters including (but not limited to) a technical discussion on the fairness/provability of Peerbet's raffles (http://[Suspicious link removed]/index.php?title=Fairness) ... I think their only requirement for contribution was filling out a "captcha" of either "nospam" or "no" (depending on the question
though I choose to register there such that anyone could tell it was me who contributed, for whatever that was worth!) Quite frankly, coming here and experiencing your excessively preventative mechanisms is a turnoff to participating in your site/forum.
I'm not trying to give you a magic bullet which will eliminate your monitoring efforts along with the posting requirements. However, I am hoping you'll continually reevaluate the bitcointalk membership/participation paradigm and consider how you can best serve the community -- both for existing,
as well as new, members!
Meanwhile,
thanks for all the efforts
you've put in to help keep this forum up and running as efficiently/effectively as possible! Being in and around a couple forums over the years, I know how much of a time sink moderation can become!
- Gozzy