Topic: What happened to BitcoinTalk in the last years? (Read 515 times)

Companies choosed to advertise in this forum and the people see it as an opportunity, and the site wants to keep going so I don't think that nothing changed, everyone just wants to survive and none of the people I have mentioned is an exception.

There are millions of registered bitcointalk users but we can never get them all to post reasonable, constructive and quality things every time. The decline in the quality of posts is not only caused by the large number of newbie who do not have sufficient knowledge, we can still find more veteran members who also post the same thing regardless of the quality. Directing them to post quality things is a must in my opinion, it's an effort to improve the quality of the forum. But we're also not short on options to keep it clean as the report to moderator button is still pretty useful today. If warnings and input from forum contributors via replies or a thread are not heeded, then this button will provide extra benefits for all of us who care about forum cleanliness.

See there are some good and positive points along with some negative factors also if we make comparisons of Bitcoin talk related to current and past changes.This is my assumptions related to the same :

Those who use forum as profits and earnings perspective then for sure they have gained a lot like the bitcoin rates have improved as they are still trading above $45k and campaigns paying in btc still pay $50-$80 to hero/legendaries rank and for sure they are into good profits including all of us by the way.

The forum has also seen rise of the members from low rank to high rank after the implementation of merit system but due to making quality posts and good, healthy and effective contributions to the forum which is why they have gained merits from members who liked their ideas and posts.Many members have gained and are still earning merits by making such post.

The other case is that most of the newbies are misguided or introduced to the forum as some sort of income source on the primary basis and we see such threads daily on B&H section and other boards.Secondly there are members who are not able to gain any merits and have left the forum because they cannot join campaign due to merit restrictions or are simply spamming up the threads with no knowledge and writing off topics which is of no use.Newbies who are not into learning phase and implement the bitcoin knowledge are also joining the same race.

If we make certain analysis of Bitcoin discussion section also we could easily see the post quality have been degraded like most of the members don't know what are they posting like if there is any rumour or fake news in the market then without any investigation or finding out the details they will create the thread and later on similar threads carry on with same information.But in past there were some good discussions carried out by members.But now it is changing.

So my main concern was that there are some positive and negative aspects that have changed on botcointalk forum over all these years.

The standards in Philippines and Indonesia are also something I should have mentioned. If you have ever been on a cruise or you know someone who has or who works on popular cruise liners, they would tell you that the majority of the workforce comes from Philippines and Indonesia. Why? Because the money they will earn there after a few years of working, is enough for them to lead good lives for decades or until they die in some cases back home. That includes building and equipping a house and having enough for their families to be happy.   

If we're going to talk about the golden period of spam&shitposting, then I'll agree with that - because that's the time when signature campaigns were managed with bots that just counted posts without quality checks - I'm surprised you don't remember that since you're a member of the beginning of 2016. People who say that it was better then than today obviously have completely different criteria for good and bad, if we talk about the conditions that prevail in the forum today.

I'm not saying that it's perfect today, far from it - but for all those who used the forum to use it for profit, today it's much harder or even impossible to do what they did 4-5 years ago.

The merit systems was introduced with purpose of stopping the spam poster to rank up and this has been successfull to some extent as many members who were airpdropped the initial merits are still having the same amount of merit with them because they're not able to make any quality posts on the forum.There were still such posts and still they are continuing with the same pace and spamming up the whole threads as you could see the post quality being degraded every time.The campaign participants are just in rush to complete their signature campaign requirements and overlooking what the discussion is about and write off topics content which is full of crap materials.

The user base is also decreasing because the signature campaign required merits ams and members are unable to have any and eventually their sole purpose is not being fulfilled and they just leave th forum but it's good not to have any such members.

The golden section and the most main section of the forum is now turning to be full of such spam threads and newbies and other members writing up the same thing which is usually wrong information and misguided content.Whenever their is news in market whether it's rumour they just create similar threads about them without any investigation and posting the links to the thread and end up violating the rules also.

It was somehow golden period of the forum and you could see literally technical and well made discussion rather than seeking bitcoin investment advice and other spam threads we came across daily now and the well written threads are buried under the piles of such garbage threads.Speaking up of English then wr can see that most of the local board users are one's creating quality and effective posts on the forum in English as well and for those who don't understand it can always try to come across of their comfort zone and try to learn it.

I don't know if you had a chance to be here during 2016/17 or before, but for those who remember that time the forum has definitely changed for the better, at least in the sense that a large part of spammers, shitposters and scammers have been permanently deleted ( banned). However, I would not agree that there are no users who contribute to the forum and are not fluent in English (although it is not their mother tongue).


First of all, bounty campaigns are not nearly as profitable as a few years ago, and everyone knows that the number of active forum users has significantly decreased, probably for that reason as well. The statistics say the following for last 24 hours :


About 1400 brand new and newbie accounts are more than 50% active users, but I doubt they are unique users - account farming is still something people do - we see evidence of this every day.

I don't know if there are statistics for the period between 2015 and say 2018 for active users, but it seems to me personally that the total number was much higher than today.

I know people in the Philippines who make $80 a month for a full-time job... this includes working on Saturday and sometimes even Sunday. So even $40 a week would be a significant improvement. Not just because it would represent a 100% raise, but also because they would have a lot more free time to pursue other income...

Income is especially scarce in many parts of the world right now.

Regardless, if they are cheaters or not contributing anything of value, they've got to go. This shouldn't be a place where people float by writing barely coherent swaths of nothing that technically don't break the rules.

If you look at this source for example (I am not sure if it's reliable and accurate), and scroll all the way down where it shows several African nations, you would notice that the average monthly income for some of them is between $26 and $100. If a user from those countries managed to get into a signature campaign that paid only $40-$50 weekly, they would be able to lead a more than comfortable life. If they managed to remain part of the campaign for a longer period of course. 

I'm referring to newbies because most of them mindset is that the community of bitcointalk is meant to generate or earn a bitcoin,so they taught live is comfortable immediately they join a conversation group of bitcoin, and the question was not for entire forum user, i think from the beginning of my post i made it clear, and I'm getting almost two years here so i think i know some certain things that is obtainable,

You can have earnings on the forum from various job types

• Signature campaign ^{it can be shut down by the admin any time.}
• Community management
• Graphic designing (signature, announcement thread, avatar, etc.)
• Developer-related jobs

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What happened on the forum in the last year? Let me sum up from what I knew and remembered

• Bitcointalk Community Awards [Results of the Year + Quiz]
• [Vote 2020] Best Bitcointalk Interview
• Monthly sourced merit allocation was increased dramatically ^{after many request from sources}
• Lauda and Vod left the forum
  
  • Goodbye, world! (Lauda)
  • My last post on this forum (Vod)
• TECSHARE passed away. TecShare - Farewell my friend.
• Investigation about paraipan - 2020 edition. After many years, since 2014, the death of paraipan was conclusively confirmed (theymos agreed with this investigation too)

No, the question is why bitcointalk has become overrun by garbage shitposters in the last X number of years, and I'd say X>6, because it was just as bad when I registered as it is today--though there's been maybe some improvement because of the merit system.

Say what?  I don't expect that if I asked you to clarify what you meant that you'd even see my post, but how the hell does a discussion forum provide a comfortable life for anyone?  For older members, sometimes it can make them want to pull their hair out, especially if they're trying to read threads in sections like Bitcoin Discussion.  That should be the most sacred of sections, and yet it's nothing but a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shitbox of crap.  Haven't you noticed that? 

Oh wait, are you talking about the desperate booger-eating bounty hunters who work for a month or more for a handful of scam tokens that they may or may not receive?  Yeah, that'll provide a comfortable life.

The question is that while thousands of people is joining bitcointalk today?
A) is because earning money?
B) is due to they are lover of cryptocurrency, especially bitcoin?
C) is that bitcointalk community is a source of living a comfortable live?
This question is actually meant for beginners like you to answer.

I see some similarities. First, to me that a newbie who registered on January 3 but only started posting two days ago is talking about how Bitcointalk has changed in the last few years smells funny.

Then, the first responder, he registered on August 4 but only wrote 3 posts since then and comes just today to respond to this one. The second responder, registered on July 5 and that same day wrote a few posts, but has a gap in his posts like the other two and the first thread he has responded to today is this one.

It is clear to me that they are somehow connected.

You are somewhat right, but not completely.
Indeed, too many are here only for the money. But on the other hand bitcointalk grew as a bigger and more diversified (international) community.
Clearly in the bigger the community is, the more the scammers, the spammers or the illiterate. Or those posting translated text.. 

Somehow I think that all this both good and bad. But I don't think that you can realistically have one without the other.
So, as said, get used to ignore the noise and you'll be able to easily make proper conversation.
I also recommend you start using the ignore feature. It can do wonders 

I had the same feeling at first, but I don't think OP is part of it.  The writing is too good, especially compared to the two posts that followed it (which I have no doubt are part of a farm).  Then again, what the hell do I know?  They could all be RainbowKun's alts or kwalxdrzdz's or whatever that dude's name was.

I merited your post because you obviously put in a good deal of effort, but Jesus....I probably should have read it in full before rushing to hand you merits, as the above quote (and much of what you wrote) just makes no sense.

OP, are you seeing why the forum ain't what it used to be?

Nothing superfluous is done by other members here, it's all for the good of Bitcointalk and Bitcoin, you can see the first Bitcoin launched by @Satoshi and now.

I think the current owner of the Bitcointalk Forum:@theymos, has left a message from @Satoshi for many people in this world to do something about Bitcointalk and Bitcoin.
You want to see the message, what is said by:@theymos, you can read carefully and understand the content.


With the message above, I think Bitcointalk and Bitcoin are currently growing rapidly.
Unlike what you see today, what you see is all just prejudice.

---

And order another one, if you don't want to learn for yourself what @Satoshi has to say below.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.6306
Ha, ha, which part is that....!

Sometimes when I'm emotional when I read something that doesn't make sense in my mind, I write very hastily, sometimes my left brain says bad and right one says good, so it's a mix between bad and good.

Why do I have the feeling that the first 3 posts in this topic are coming from a Chinese farm?

Bitcointalk is fiiine. As long as there are sig camps, people will always spam shit. That was the case 10 years ago and it is still the case. Remove sig camps and the forum activity will down to 1%.

Da fuk are you talking about?  And as far as this forum having "diversified content", if you want that go elsewhere.  This is bitcointalk, and altcoiners are lucky there's a section for that because Theymos threw them a bone when he created Altcoin Discussion and the rest of those spam-infested cracks of the forum.

OP, were you a member in the early days or something?  I've been reading posts on the forum since before I became a member, which was in 2015, and even then the situation was exactly as you described it.  The only time bitcointalk wasn't afflicted with the plague of signature campaign shitposters and bounty hunters was probably one day prior to the first sig campaign coming into existence, and that would be around 2011-12 (but someone correct me if I'm wrong). 

And yes, you hit the nail on the head--but if you browse through Meta, and I mean go deep into posts made in the last 5 years--you'll see that the shitposting dilemma has been discussed a lot.  Look at posts in Meta from December 2017-February 2018, and you'll probably be entertained.  That covers the period just before and right after the merit system was implemented, and Meta was on fire.

Welcome back if you're really an older member.

From past few times you can see such degraded posts that only ask how can they earn money but you simply tend to ignore them and move your own way and post in the best possible manner rather than focusing on them.Because they will set no firm future for them and not gain merits also with such posts and eventually leave the forum as their purpose of earning was not satisfied.

The issue isn't that you can be paid on the forum, nor is it that some people don't speak English that well. The real issue is that there are too many out there who only write posts to get their post count up. If most of us spoke bad English but were interested in Bitcoin and crypto in general, it wouldn't be an issue since there wouldn't be spam. I've been there myself - when it gets easy to earn, your efforts diminish and so you don't care much about what you're writing anymore. Unless you truly care about the forum, you wouldn't care.

On Reddit it is paid shills. On Twitter, Facebook it is paid bounty participants. You can see the similarity now?

Language barriers might be present for such incidents to be present. I specially found certain country users English to be barely understandable or sometimes even give a wrong meaning. Not that you can help that, but guide them to post in their "Local" sections. Otherwise, just report the post as "Offtopic" and most of the times it gets acted upon by mods.

News sites are niche and they run mostly on the news already being posted on mainstream news or paid articles from crypto related businesses. I dont think comparing the forum to news sites is same. There is a marketplace area in this forum too where some people running businesses and a technical and mining related section.

Social media is the worst place to be associated with crypto. In case you are a long time user, you would already know this.

Spam posts will not earn merits. Because merit sources are handpicked by the admin, you can be sure of this.

More people joining the forum is a good thing - it shows bitcoin is being adopted globally - do you not want that?

Lastly, if you dont like the content in this forum, why are you still here? You are free to leave if you wish to.

You have a point, but I disagree with your opinion.

1. You wouldn't earn merit if you only create spam posts.
2. Rank up system before merit system was implemented is sucks because you can rank up based on your activity only, you can create one liner spam posts and 2 years old account, you'll rank up to legendary easily. So, merit is far better than previous.

Since on bounties you'll be accepted even if you're a spammer and no strict rules about it, there no solution except the manager more strict to accept participants and report spam post to moderators.

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Move this thread to Meta section.

I think more than just the bounty earners or Sig campaigners (myself included), this forum has a lot of people deeply involved in the functioning of sub-boards and economies there. There are the campaign managers, spam hunters, scam catchers, plagiarism catchers, Alt-coin evangelists, hardware sellers, collectible enthusiasts, gamblers. A huge group of users deeply invested in the platform. As @mk4 said, it is still better than having to go on facebook and go through an AI suggested newsfeed.

The forum still hosts the likes of G. Maxwell and Achow who appear once in a while with the core updates as well as to provide information in the Technical discussion section. Even a decentralized cryptocurrency which cannot be taken down by anyone needs a roundtable once in a while. In a scenario when all else will break down, i think the forum will still remain a congregation spot.

We're all of the same opinion but just because some group of people are more invested in abusing the privilege given to them, that doesn't mean other have to be punished for it, I guess that's the reason behind theymos not banning all the avenues to profit monetary from the forum like signature and bounties.

Users that does adhere to the rule and regulations of the forum and spend most of their time on the forum do deserve same like social media feelings (earning opportunity). This days 90% of the social platform can be used as a host platform for personal side hustles or earn directly from the sites. I believe the forum does have the interest of giving her users such feeling as they stays engage with the forum.

The forum would had been a more friendly environment if everyone understand what the privilege are and not considered them to be some milking avenue for their financial difficulties but that's too much to ask from the spammers.

It has been this way since like 2016-2017. While it sucks that a HUGE majority are only here solely for the money, you can still have some great conversations if you just filter out all the noise. It's the simple fact that every communications platforms will have their downsides— Bitcointalk has bounty spammers, while Reddit and Twitter has some coin shillers.

What Board in the forum you usually reading post? I regularly visiting many threads daily and I only read few newbie post that describes your concern. I usually post on Altcoin, Gambling and Meta. Maybe you are always visiting spam Megathread on Discussion board or Beginners and Help board. There's a lot of newbie post out there that don't have much quality for learning. I'm in the forum for many years and this is not the first time this issue occur so don't be sad. It's part of a newbie phase which will develop in the future once they are actively engaging on discussion here. Forum is still standing despite of bunch spam post during 2017 ICO season tho. This is not the worst if you've been during that time. Maybe check those blacklist spammer user of different trusted user here like Actmyname, Lauda and many more...

Spammer List Thread:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/spammer-blacklist-the-shitlist-4440941
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/new-sig-spammerblacklist-clean-start-for-all-5183601
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/new-sig-spammerblacklist-clean-start-for-all-5183601
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/smas-signature-managers-against-spam-light-version-1545652
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/public-list-of-yobit-spammersthis-ones-gonna-be-long-boys-1241968

Have You Explored This Forum? Lots of Sub-Boards You Can See Based on Your Interests.

If you want to discuss Bitcoin, you can go here: Bitcoin Discussion (We Already Here Now) | Altcoins?, You Can See Here: Altcoins Discussion, and much more. I know you just joined this forum last month, but you should have explored before making a statement.


I also feel sad if someone joins a forum without the intention of learning, but what else? Everyone Has Their Own Purpose In This Forum. and we have no right to force people.

As more and more people know Bitcoin, this phenomenon is almost inevitable. For more ordinary people, whether they can make money through cryptocurrency is the most important reason they care about this field. When novices find bounty, they will be more inclined to participate in the bounty program than to study the spirit of Bitcoin.

I think the forum should have diversified content. If it is limited to the topic of bitcoin, the number of active people will be less and less. Bitcoin is the king of the cryptocurrency kingdom. I want to compare altcoins to his people (which is inappropriate). We also need to care for his people. There are swindlers, unscrupulous bastards, and good people who really want to promote the progress of the cryptocurrency industry.

I feel like BitcoinTalk became some sort of "earning opportunity" over the years and now it's now just a bunch of people who are new to bitcoin and can barely form sentences in english. What happened?
I think that the more Bitcoin gets covered by news posts, social-media, etc.. The more people join the forum and spam bounty campaigns and seem to be spamming posts to earn merit which is something that you wouldn't see in the last years. 

Let me know what you guys think.