Bitcoin Forum

I have been fascinated by Bitcoin since I first heard about it
and now a thread has appeared on a forum in Thailand  where I live for expats.
Could somebody please comment on the accuracy or otherwise
of the statement made by the member named " Jdietz " who are you will see
in post number #12  claims that " people are selling their "mining rigs"
and that Bitcoin is nothing more than a bubble or even a pyramid scheme.
a few other contributors have made similar remarks and I think they need to be educated ;)

here is the link:-

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/472826-bitcoins-as-a-medium-of-exchange/

alot of people jumped in without checking which end of the mining pool they were diving in to.

the difficulty for mining has gone up quite alot, old mining rigs which were great last year are worthless this year, so they haev to keep spending money to keep up with the curve of difficulty.

I figure this will eventually flatten out once the transaction fees associated with a block surpass the innate value of the block, but that isnt entirely important right now.

So there are all these people who thought "hey i'll go mining." and then after making a few bitcoins realized it wasnt as profitable as they had hopped, because at the same time, a few tens of thousands of other people said the same damn thing :P

I hear pyramid scheme? A typical reaction to bitcoin! http://www.bitcoinweekly.com/articles/reactions-to-bitcoin

Perhaps those who do not understand bitcoin think it's a ponzi scheme because they see promises of big growth, great rewards for early adopters, and because ponzi scheme is something they have heard of. He is right that early adopters stand to gain more, but then that's business.
The best counter argument is just to point out that the bitcoin economy is growing and diversifying. It's strengths are ease of use, price, privacy, and decentralization. Those are features that appeal to a global market and are in demand right now. Imagine what an entrepreneur in a poor country could do with a bitcoin phone app and a product to ship.
For those in the richer world, your paper money is going the way of the dinosaur. It's digital replacement will likely be much more expensive. For example; A dollar bill can be stuffed into a mattress, but a digital credit representing that wealth needs to be maintained. There is a cost plus profit associated with storing that credit and facilitating transactions. Consider how much it costs you to store and spend using your credit card vs cash. That is the digital future of your money.
 The good news is Bitcoin! ;D

thailand, huh?

i read that thread, and my first impression was that it was 60% government trolls spouting a scripted party line.  YMMV.

The best reference I know of to correct common misconceptions is here:

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Myths

And, alternatively the original whitepaper on bitcoin here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/34237903/Bit-Coin-Whitepaper