Bitcoin Forum

Hi, Gang.

I just created.....  ( and am still creating... )  a portal site for total NEWBIES...    called  http://bitcoinme.com (http://bitcoinme.com)

Check it out and please give me any feedback you may have.

I just wanted to create a very simple, colorful, easy to read, easy to understand, introduction to Bitcoin.   It's intended to be very unbiased, and accurate.  At the same time, use very simple English so that every ordinary person on the street can understand how THEY could benefit from using Bitcoin, and how to easily get into it immediately.

Please pardon that the "Directory" listings are still very sparse.   (empty, in fact)...    I will be adding all the entries (I know of) to it today, as I have time.   (Please feel free to email me and let me know of any that I have missed and should include.)

Also, if you own any bitcoin-related domain names that are not really "being used" right now...  It would be terrific if you'd like to REDIRECT them to bitcoinme.com   ....for now.

Bruce  ●  646-580-0022  ●  bruce@brucewagner.com  

PS - The email address listed all over the site, email@bitcoinme.com is not yet working.  I'm on the phone with Arvixe.com right now.  In the meantime, please use bruce@brucewagner.com if you want to email me. Thanks.

Instead of saying there are no transaction fee, you should say "Transaction fee are OPTIONAL. Sending bitcoins can be as free as sending an email. If you want your transaction done faster, you can DETERMINE any price you're willing to pay. The higher the faster."

This sounds a little worse and doesn't even have the benefit of being correct right now.

No fee = 100% fee in terms of speed right now.

Maybe:

"Transactions are free now, in the future free transactions may become slower as transactions with fees will be given priority."

"Digital commodity" down below contradicts the first paragraph.

I like it. I think I will send this link to those who ask me what a bitcoin is.

I don't want to nitpick a nice page like that, but is exchanging bitcoins to 'normal cash' is implying that bitcoins are 'abnormal'?  I describe to my friends that the current exchange rate is available at MtGox, not the current value. I try to be specific, as the value of a bitcoin will get you 'X lbs' of coffee for instance.

Very nice page, I'll use it. Thank you.

Somehow that sounds like "Bitcoin is great right now, but in the future it will be slow and expensive."

Why not keep it simple and honest and just say "Most Bitcoin transactions are free."

Overall, it's a very well-written piece.

Thanks.  :)   You guys rock.


Yes, it sure does... right?   Of course, I meant...  "FOR LEGAL PURPOSES.... we call it a digital commodity."      However, I wanted imply that... that it was for LEGAL reasons.... and I tried to be careful not to SAY anything about legal issues, or how governments will consider it.  I am no legal expert.  I just wanted to sort of say:   "Some of us call it a 'digital commodity'.... so that only laws and regulations regarding selling virtual goods should apply...  not regulations regarding 'real' money."

Maybe it's not clear.   But I felt the need to NOT give any legal advice....   Only my opinion.    Thus:   "We call it ____________..."


People believe, "If it's not on TV, it's not real."     I just called it "normal currency"...  in the sense of...  "the paper bills in your pocket now".

In the interest of keeping things VERY simple...   I'm sure I have used language that may not be 1000% technically accurate.   But my intention was to write something that my mother could read...  and instantly understand what I'm explaining.   My mother would not care about the technical details.   She just wants to understand the basics.... in the simplest terms.

I knew the claim that "Bitcoin usage and transactions are always free." .....would be controversial.   But did you notice that I linked the word "free" directly to the Bitcoin.org FAQ... where it states:   "Bitcoin transactions are practically free."

At the same time, I certainly don't want it to be inaccurate or misleading.   I also don't want it to sound like a terrible (WORSE) alternative to PayPal...

So, perhaps I should add a footnote to "free"......   like: 


Is that technically accurate?

Thanks, Guys!    :)

Probably soon every transaction will require at least a 0.01 fee to clear in a reasonable time.

I dislike the idea of hiding it, plus it can be phrased in way that doesn't seem all that bad.

"You can make transaction goes faster by paying a fee so that people will want to process yours ahead of everyone else. Pay higher, the higher priority."

Adding a fee will not make your transaction any faster right now. It will give it higher priority now, and in the future this will translate to faster.

It is misleading to suggest that you can pay some amount to have your transaction included any sooner than the next block.

Wow.    See ...   If that's true...   and the fee will always be optional anyway...    Then I think it's misleading to say anything that implies that transactions are NOT free.  

How bout:  

"Transactions are free, and always will be.   In the future, as the network grows in usage, you will have the OPTION of paying a very small amount (like US$0.01, for example), to give your transaction higher priority in processing.  In the future,  that will result in even faster processing of your transaction.  At this time, with the current size of the network, this optional amount will have no speed benefit at all, because transactions are already processing as fast as possible."

I don't even know HOW to add a fee.   How do you do that??

By the way...   Did anyone notice that every picture on the site is a button?

I designed it with smartphones in mind.  If you bookmark BitcoinMe.com on your Android or iPhone, you can use it as a mobile portal for all things bitcoin.   Each picture links to a different key site, like:   Bitcoin Forum,  MtGox,  MyBitcoin,  Trade Data, BitcoinBuy.com, BitcoinShop.com, BitcoinAddress.com, the Bitcoin FAQ, and even the Bitcoin IRC....

Every picture is large enough to easily tap with your thumb... if you're using your phone's web browser.

"Birthdays come around for all your friends and family...  You know this because Facebook never fails to remind you.  Email Someone a few Bitcoins for their Birthday.   It's a great way to give a gift... while promoting the use of Bitcoin at the same time.   The easiest way:  Create a free account at MtGox.com then just log on to your MtGox account and just click the Send Money button.  You can send Bitcoin to anyone with an email address.  A link will be emailed to the recipient with instructions on how to claim their Bitcoin gift.  (Don't worry, if they never claim it, the Bitcoin will eventually get returned to your MyGox account.)   Then, in a message to your friend, be sure to tell them to read all about Bitcoin at BitcoinMe.com"

Things may have changed, but I'm pretty sure that this is inaccurate.  There is the possibility of expiring transactions, but the scripting process is not yet operational.

You mean the part about the funds being "returned to sender" after a certain period of time that they've gone unclaimed...? 

I got that information directly from Jed at MtGox.  I hope it works this way.  That's what he told me.

Ok.     Here's what I've got as two footnotes...



True?

Excellent.



True.  Transactions within Bitcoin institutions occur internally, and don't require a transaction to be processed by the network or recorded in the blockchain.  It is also likely that most future users will choose to do things this way, in the same manner that banks are used today, for the convience of end users.  But the end user will always have the option of going it alone.

Of course, as with a deposit in a bank, that balance is only a record upon that institution's electronic "books".  If there were ever anything that went wrong, such as a hack of a major site, the user's of that site could lose everything.  If so, their dispute would be with the institution and not the bitcoin network, but some may not view it so.

EDIT:  Mybitcoin.com uses 4 user group pools, each with it's own wallet.dat, so internal transfers between users of different pools would still require a transaction processed by the network. 

I like that.

Good work all around, btw.


If you try to send a transaction that has more than like 500 inputs it will give you a warning and then attach the fee for you. I think you have the option to add a fee using the headless client.

In the future the client will be modified to let you choose the fee easily. Hopefully some data about average confirm times with various fees will be available too (in the client or not).

Russian community can translate this page into russian when you agree about content.

That is SOOOoooo cool!    Awesome.   I will set up a Russian language "sister site" for that purpose.

It is not necessary and it may affect simplicity.

Your web server Apache is able to automatically determine the user's language and give a page on his preferred language.

MtGox sends out an email. If the recipient of the email has/creates a MtGox account and claims the funds, MtGox processes the transfer. Otherwise MtGox returns the funds to the originator's MtGox account.

No bitcoin transaction is created, so the issue of expiring transactions doesn't apply here.

I don't use my own Apache server for this...  I use a simple WYSISYG web site design and hosting service.  That makes it much easier and faster for me to create, and make ongoing updates to, any web site I create.... nearly instantly.

I've now created LANGUAGE links at the top of http://bitcoinme.com (http://bitcoinme.com) which take you to a page asking for help in translating the site.  Soon, I will have an alternate language site set up for each one of the languages...  which YOU  ( the user community )  can help perfect the translation of.   I'll wait a little bit, to make sure that we don't make any MAJOR changes to the text for a while...   Then, I'll create a new COPY of the original English site for every language.  (Did I miss any key languages, by the way?)   Then, the translation project  ( from English --> Your language )  can begin.   

I like the idea of a natively translated site for each language, because automated translation, though convenient, is far from perfect.   We like perfect.  :)

If we want Bitcoin to catch fire in popularity, then the common ordinary people of the world -- walking down the street in your city -- need to be able to read it and understand it... in their own native language, and in simple (non-technical) terminology.


That sounds great to me.   I like the way that works.   I like that it's an instantaneous transaction...  and I like that the transaction never happens, and the funds remain in the sender's account, if the recipient never claims them.  That's how it SHOULD work.  (Though bitcoinmail.com offers a nice service, I don't like how all moneys are automatically converted into DONATIONS to that site after 14 days. Un-cool, IMHO.)

Question One for you guys:    Yes or No.    Do you like the addition of the video to the top of the Home page at http://bitcoinme.com (http://bitcoinme.com) ?

Question Two:   Who else wants to volunteer to work on translations of the site into your own native language?

Question Three:   Who here is willing to be listed as a person "willing to sell Bitcoins for cash, in person" in your own city?   (Of course, you can charge any commission fee you choose)  ....and thus be listed on the  http://bitcoinbuy.com (http://bitcoinbuy.com)  directory?

The site looked really clean and professional in kind of a casual way. Xtranormal video ruins that imo. Hide it somewhere, words are quicker for an introduction and less distracting anyway.

Thats what bitcoinmedia.com is for  -   :)

Maybe on the "about" page would be a better position?

We need a human to explain what bitcoin is on a video... I'll make a bounty.

Done http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1890.0 (http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1890.0)

Awesome....    Great idea.

Also...  I do agree with you guys.   I moved the video to its own page, here:  http://www.bitcoinme.com/bitcoin---the-movie.html (http://www.bitcoinme.com/bitcoin---the-movie.html)

That way it's still available under the  MORE  menu... and as its own URL....   But it doesn't detract from the "professionalism"  (is there any? lol)  of the site.

We don't need yet another poorly done video or machinima, we need a "Bitcoin for Dummies" PDF, or YouTube narrated slideshow (PowerPoint + audio -> youtube).

Something that explains bitcoin using simple terms and simple comparisons to well-known concepts (cash, credit card, gold, banks).  Your average user doesn't need to grok details of P2P or cryptography to receive a basic understanding of bitcoin.

A movie of this caliber would do bitcoin a very good service:

Check out the quality of this explanation of 'groupon'

http://vimeo.com/2112924

http://www.commoncraft.com/augmented-reality-video (http://www.commoncraft.com/augmented-reality-video)

I like the work they do at commoncraft. I think we should pool all these bounties into one pile and get them to create a bitcoin explanation video.

If anyone could explain it easily it would be them.

Please, change language switcher for russian language from "Poccию" to "Pyccкий"

Bruce, I think text on page is need of proof-reading . The fact that it suspiciously large number of three dots and the characters like "+" etc...

English is not my native language but it seems to me that something is wrong here.

In English, it is written in a very casual style.  It's written in a style exactly the way we would speak it in a very informal conversation.  I believe that that makes it easier to read for non-technical average people. 

We do need it translated into many different languages.  If you're interested in helping, please send me an email to email@bitcoinme.com

I've set up a set of Powerpoint slides at http://bitcoinbasics.com (http://bitcoinbasics.com)  that I'll be using at an Ignite conference, it has some other
info about Potomacs, Washington, DC's local currency. I'll clean these slides up and remove the Potomac info at some point but I hope this helps for anyone who is
looking to teach about Bitcoin.

None of the pictures have been showing up at http://bitcoinme.com (http://bitcoinme.com) for a few weeks now. I PM'd Bruce about it a while back but no change.

Yes--he said there's some kind of hosting issue.  I donated to support this site since it is an essential bitcoin-for-real-people resource, crucial to driving adoption.  If we can all chip in a little bit as incentive to get those images working again maybe it would help :) .

sincerely,
eMansipater