Bitcoin Forum

Edit: This elaboration seems important as I have repeated myself quite often to people that have concluded (somehow as I did not say this in the OP) that the primary and only purpose of this board is to be anti-gambling, a support group for self-admitted problem gamblers. This is far from accurate and is not at all the primary/sole purpose of the Gambling Awareness board.

Some purposes of this board can include:
1. Discussing the factual negative sides of gambling generally, a side that is currently not possible to be discussed anywhere in the gambling board without your thread being locked due to "signature spam" that is apparently prevalent in these kinds of topics (solution: signatures disabled in this new sub-forum so that all discussion is non-incentivized and genuine).
2. To house the abundance of unique topics relating to gambling awareness, some examples include the long list I've provided in this thread (There are well over 30 topics listed below). You can not possibly merge all of these unique topics into one sticky topic (as some people have suggested is enough)
3. To provide food for thought for people who do regularly gamble when reading other peoples experiences and posts in the wide variety of topics that stem from the points above.
4. Ultimately, to balance the scale of the bitcointalk gambling forum. Right now, casinos have 100% dominance in the scale that is "pro gambling" and "anti gambling". This balance can be set to about 75% pro gambling and 25% anti gambling (via awareness NOT by pure anti-gambling discussion).
- There are probably many more positives that will arise over time than the above. These are just some examples.

To those who have repeated "it will just be full of signature spammers" - I have stated multiple times (including in the original OP) that signatures would be disabled to solve this problem.

Key takeaways:
- Signature spam problem will be resolved as signatures will be disabled in the board.
- There are many topics other than "stop gambling" or "be aware of the dangers of gambling" which is why one sticky topic labeling the dangers of gambling is not enough to fulfill the same purposes that a dedicated board would.
- This board is not designed to be a support group for self-admitted problem gamblers and it is not designed to "put an end" to people gambling. The purposes stated above are only some of what could be included/some of the purposes of the board and do not relate to this falsely perceived objective.

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Original post:

Hello everyone.

Recently, I made this topic:
How much time do you think you have spent gambling? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5437788)

The next day it was locked. I asked a moderator and didn't receive a response as to why it was locked however I asked another member who said that it's possible that it's due to signature spam that occurs with these types of threads. This has lead to my idea of creating a Gambling Awareness sub-board under the Gambling forum, optionally with signatures disabled to prevent signature spam (also as it would be kind of ironic having posters there who mostly have gambling signatures due to the current signature campaign market).

I've already found a lot of other topics with the theme of responsible gambling/gambling awareness. Please note that all of these threads are locked for further discussion. Why? A guess is signature spam. I don't know the official reason. This list is only scratching the surface based on my searches.
signs of gambling addiction (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5348436.0)
Is gambling attracted to emotion or luck (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5350124.0)
Your betting budget (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5349312.0)
Do you limit your gambling time? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5330280.0)
Be a Responsible Gambler (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5329777.0)
Weekly/monthly financial statements, which do you prefer?  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5351101.0)
Cashless Gambling, your thought? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5432235.0)
You won today, but then you will lose often  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5329533.0)
"The Lower-Risk Gambling Guidelines" Is this a joke? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5411756.0)
Lost more in the process to recover ?  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5283442.0)
Greatest Gambling Losers   (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5271198.0)
Why most of us are losing money in sports betting? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5286621.0)
Gamblers lose more money than win.  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5289588.0)
Gambling is an entertainment? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5133036.0)
Careful With Your Slot Activity! (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5405503.0)
What's the motive behind the anti gambling campaign (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5338161.0)
Is the main purpose in gambling, always to make more money? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5208300.0)
Do you have control or not? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5203618.0)
Life, gambling and trials.  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5291851.0)
Why most gamblers can never hold onto big bag? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5243455.0)
Do you keep track of your gambling? how? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5237911.0)
Gambling for fun alone? how true? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5386675.0)
Gambling is Addictive...Pay Attention to your Gambling Habit!!!  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5276372.0)
Age restriction in gambling (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5230360.0)
Cryptocurrencies price and their effect on gambling industry (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5351727.0)
Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping as a gambler (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5234687.0)
Leave gambling, if it destroys you. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5224594.0)
New Solution to Address the Problem of Gambling in Australia. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5422127.0)
How much of your money only needed for gambling and others is for family (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5205721.0)
Have You Counted Or Estimate All Your Losses And.... (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5200034.0)
Decisions for a better life (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5209502.0)
The secret of gambling? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5175927.0)

I believe this is necessary to keep up with the times. Gambling addiction is prevalent everywhere and I can see it very clearly in some peoples post. It's quite sad and I do wonder how many coins are lost to these establishments every year from members of this forum alone.

I've added a poll. Though I do not believe this is really a debate but rather what is right or wrong and I think that the votes might have some sway (for reasons undisclosed). Either way, I think it is wrong to push gambling so hard without any counter measures such as awareness to prevent people from losing control. If admins agree then this board should be a no brainer.

I am not looking to piss anyone/any party off with this thread. I have seen gambling addiction in my life, I am seeing the signs of it more and more here by more and more members. That is my only motive. I am not anti-gambling but I am pro responsible gambling.

How it's make sense someone has a gambling problem need to visit gambling awareness board in order to quit gambling? they must avoid anything about gambling and seek for professional.

The funny thing is almost of all thread about addictions are created by user wear gambling signature, if they have a problem about gambling they must avoid gambling including joining a gambling campaign. Gambling isn't new in this forum, if someone want to get rid off about gambling, he need to turn off avatar and signature in this forum, also hide gambling boards.

Gambling awareness board without signature enable, I predict the section would be dead similar like Ivory Tower section lol.

Someone have created similar suggestion before Gambling discussion board needs a child board? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5436153.0), everyone disagree about it.

I think the gambling discussion board is perfectly fine for it. that board is very broad and a lot of things can be talked about under it as long as it has something to do with gambling or whatever is allowed to be posted on it. I don't really think adding another sub-board in the gambling board is necessary. also, I have a feeling that if "Gambling Awareness board" is created and the signature campaign is disabled it'll just become a dead board.

Awareness is not default nor is this suggestion designed to "make people quit gambling and seek help". I didn't mention that anywhere. Browsing this section and reading posts by other gamblers who admit their problem and show regret can stop someone else from following the same path. Just in my thread alone, people were showing signs of reflection in their posts. In other threads, you can see this common theme. Someone is more likely to identify unhealthy behavior if they see other people having experienced it or are experiencing it and becoming aware of it. Right now, all you have is constant endorsement with absolutely zero awareness. You have to keep in mind too that a lot of users here might even be under the age of 18, and all it would take is one story about someone else's unhealthy gambling habit to make them think twice about gambling if they are doing the same thing. Right now, there is no avenue for any of the aforementioned. Actually, any avenue/topic that was created has been locked. So any form of awareness is non-existent in the board.


Who cares if it is dead or not? That is not the point. The point is to have the area there to be able to create an avenue of awareness. Whether it is active or not is beside the point. I personally believe that it will be active even with signatures disabled. As someone who has seen gambling negatively effect a lot of people, I for one will actively participate in discussion there and create food for thought that will (hopefully) help people identify their problems (if they have one) and correct any unhealthy behavior if they believe it exists in their lives.


This was already suggested in the OP.


This thread that you linked does not even relate to this suggestion. That suggestion was about adding sub-boards for the gambling discussion board to cater for other commonly discussed topics. None of which related to gambling awareness.


All gambling awareness related topics are closed by default for the assumed reason of signature spam. I provided a big list of these topics. So right now, the discussion is technically not allowed in the gambling board, it can not be talked about because the thread is likely to be locked. Because of this, it's fine if the board is dead, as long as there is an easy place for people to see the other side of gambling easily. Right now, it's not possible to see it at all.

Locked threads on gambling discussions can be discussed below 10 pages especially for general discussions, more than that should be considered as spam, repeated posts, etc.

If all or most thread related to "responsible gambling" are locked then what threads will remain to discuss on that new board?

The reason they are locked is due to signature spam, repeated posts as you said though if signatures are disallowed then that should eliminate the problem and thus there should be no reason to lock them. If repeated posts continue, use the report button like everywhere else in the forum.

The point for the board is to raise awareness of the effects of gambling. Especially those who are losing/have lost control. Responsible gambling campaigns are not the focus of the board. Awareness will come from peoples' experience. Experience is endless and why I believe that even with signatures disabled, there will be discussion.

I don't think anyone can officially say whether or not there will be discussion, by the way. According to those threads that I posted there is plenty of discussion, mostly relating to personal experience.

Even if there is no constant discussion, the board serves as an easy-to-access resource to see the other side of the coin of gambling. Even if the board only includes the locked threads that I listed and they remained locked with no additional posts being made, this will still serve as a positive resource/initiative to gambling awareness, based on the posts I have read in those threads.

If there's a board what OP is asking for, there would be a lot of people confessing their gambling addiction and it harmed their personal life along with the solution how they can/could recover from the addiction. If I'm not wrong, there is such a forum I have visited. People used to share strategy to minimizing the addiction and quiting. I don't think it's a bad idea. Bitcointalk is allowing casinos to be there, a major part of paid sigs are wearing casino signature. So, awareness should also be there.
I would recommend a board where no signature will be displayed so that it doesn't get filled with garbages.

Thank you for your feedback. I think your opinion is spot on. Not just because it aligns with mine either, but because it just makes a lot more sense to me reading this than the reasoning in previous posts. No signatures - Cool! That will reduce/eliminate any chance of spam. At the end of the day it's about awareness, it's a serious topic, there is no need for incentivized posting.

I voted yes, on principle.. but re-reading the question, I'm not sure a sub is necessary. I'd prefer maybe 1 thread with resources on gambling addiction to be stickied under the gambling board itself, and any such discussions of gambling addicts recovering might also be fine being posted under the same board.

Although, one might debate whether anyone with a gambling problem who is trying to stop should be anywhere near the Gambling section, or any sub of it. But putting these things under a sub might bury them more. Addicts aren't always out looking for a way to stop, but seeing a sticky in the board they're addicted to might help remind some that gambling addiction is real, with maybe some signs that they're going too far.

But on some level, they have to want to help themselves, before they get anything out of any helpful resources.. overall, I'm all for bringing light to this subject in some fashion.

edit: spacing.. and bolded lmao

I agree with that, but I question whether any of those people who write about gambling addiction as if they were in the throes of it are telling the truth.  If they are, they should definitely avoid not only the gambling section here but any other discussion board that's related to gambling (except if it's about problem gambling, of course).

I would support OP's suggestion if I thought such a section wouldn't be a haven for sig/bounty spammers, but I have a feeling that's precisely what it'd turn into.  Maybe if posters weren't allowed to display their signature or avatar, it would work but even then I think problem gamblers should seek out other places to talk about recovering from their affliction.  Bitcointalk just isn't the right place to have a devoted section for that.

I rarely visit that board, so I don't know how the situation is, but with the increase in signature campaigns related to gambling (more than 60% of paid ads in the gambling forum), I expect that the percentage of spam will be high in that board, so creating a sub-board will only increase the problem.

Sticky a topic will give a better effect than creating a sub-board.

With all the awareness and topics regarding the Lightning Network, and no sub-board was created, creation a gambling sub-board is considered unfair.

You raised good question, but I don't think that new board is needed. It's likely that spammers simply will move to this board. Maybe one pinned topic about gambling awareness in gambling board  is needed with important information and warnings.
Also, in general, here on Bitcointalk gambling is only shown in positive way without showing dark side of it. Maybe it's not perfect example,but I think that in Gambling/Gambling discussion board similar warnings like we have in Investor based games section is needed.

I don't think that there is a need for creating sub-board for gambling as gambling awareness. What should be the content apart from the ones that are already in the gambling and gambling discussion boards?  How will it possible to disable signature from the board? I will prefer the requesting sub board to be a thread in the gambling section serious discussion. And some of those threads the OP mentioned in the OP are still very good for contributions and comments but they were just locked up.

Signatures are disables in the Ivory Tower and Serious Discussion sections, so Theymos could make it happen were he so inclined (which I have 0% doubt he won't be).  Those sections were made to be free of anyone who's incentivized to post for money, though last I checked they weren't exactly thriving like the rest of the forum.

That's not a bad idea at all, actually.  I wonder if Theymos would go for some kind of PSA thread stickied to one or both of the gambling sections.  I've participated in some discussions about problem gambling before--not because I'm a gambler but because of my interest and work in the field of addiction--and I'm confident there are a lot of people here who've got serious problems with it.

An addict will not admit if he's an addict, even he's aware about it, he doesn't want to stop gambling.

Aside from "stay away from gambling", "do what you like", "keep busy and productive", and "seek for professional" is there any other way to minimizing the addiction and quitting gambling? playing mobile games, painting, watch movie etc is fall to "do what you like" category.

The new section wouldn't get filled with garbages, but no one will post due to not visible signature.

Of course not, most of them doesn't have any idea anymore to spam, so they will create thread about gambling addiction since it's easy to create fake experience. I'm not an addict, but I've seen a lot people who smoking can't quit. Their wife, parents and kids always encourage their father to quit from smoking, but in the end it's not. My point is, to quit from addiction are start from themselves, not from the other people/stranger advice.

Joke aside: should we create Bitcoin awareness board? some people use it for money laundering, sell drugs, avoid paying tax and other illegal stuff.

Your first comment in bold is contradicted by the hundreds of posts of people reflecting on their gambling experience in all of the threads I have posted...and I just like a lot of other comments you have made, you are in no position (nor is anyone) to make this conclusion about a topic that is extremely complex and varies from individual to individual.
The second comment in bold is a comment that you can not make. Who are you to say that no one will post just because there is no signature visible? Do you hold a crystal ball?
Your third comment in bold is again a comment you can not make. Who are you to conclude that everyone works the same psychologically?
Your fourth comment is not even "jokes aside". It is an idiotic and sarcastic comment made to try and validate your points. People can openly discuss the negative effects of bitcoin in the bitcoin discussion forum, as people already do. In the gambling discussion board, all related topics are locked and discussion can not continue after a thread is locked. These types of discussions that you mention can be made in the bitcoin discussion board and the topics will not be locked because the discussion is valid.

You really need to stop talking as if you know everything. It's extremely irritating.


A sticky thread might be the bare minimum, but it would be good enough I suppose. The point of an entire board is because there are many topics surrounding gambling awareness. It's not just about addicts talking about stopping gambling as everyone seems to be thinking here. It's about everything surrounding the negatives that come with gambling, how it impacts lives on an individual scale, and as said earlier, individual experience, which is unlimited and why a whole board would be appropriate.


People know about the lightning network and you can talk about it freely in the Bitcoin discussion board. There's no need for a separate board. However in saying that, it is a feature of Bitcoin and it probably does/will deserve its own sub-board one day. That is another topic though and I don't think that "fairness" has anything to do with either topics having their own sub-board because both of the topics are in two different realms and have nothing to do with each other. If I was suggesting that we have a board to discuss taproot then yes it would be fair to say that it is "unfair" that a board of lightning network isn't added as well. That's not the case though.



This is already addressed in the OP. Signatures in this board will be disabled to prevent signature spam as this is the reason why these kinds of topics are (seemingly) locked in the gambling discussion board to-date.


Problem gamblers are not going to seek out a place to talk to other gamblers with a problem. No gambler wants to even admit they have a problem or are in denial. The point of the board is to raise that initial awareness and start the reflection process. Even if this board was created just with the topics that were locked, a gambler can go there and see other people reflecting and maybe relate to someones experience or a person who has admitted they have a problem and think "oh, hey wait a minute, this sounds like me and this person admits they have a problem, maybe I do to?" (for example). It's food for thought and it would be a responsible move for bitcointalk to not just promote gambling but also house a board that raises awareness via other peoples' experiences. BitcoinTalk doesn't seem like the right place to have a section devoted to that only because it is so heavily sponsored by gambling. That's definitely not the way to look at it though. This suggestion is about making a change for the better in a place where the balance is clearly tipped so heavily in the wrong direction - being promoting and endorsing gambling 100% and suppressing discussion about its proven negative effects, and the impact it can have on people both inside and outside of this community.

I think this is the best solution, hiding all the boards related to the betting games. Because, it is not a topic or a space dedicated to it, that will solve the problem, if every day the person goes to the casino door.

For those who don't know where to disable these boards, you can visit this link:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;sa=ignoreBoards

A person who is undergoing an unhealthy relationship with gambling will not opt to hide the boards...and even if they do, withdrawal is likely to pull them toward it again. At best, this information is worth being one point included in a "prevention" sticky thread in the gambling awareness board. I will make that thread and include this information if the board is added. It is definitely not a viable alternative to a dedicated board to gambling awareness though in my opinion nor a good reason to scrap this idea.

It seems that people are confused between awareness and prevention/quitting. They're totally different topics. I guess distinguishing this is another good topic for the gambling awareness board if it were to come true.

Again - This idea is not to stop people from gambling, only the individual themselves can do that. The board does not seek to influence behavior, it seeks raise awareness of the negative effects of gambling, which currently those boards not only don't do, but lock all threads relating to the subject (which in my opinion is irresponsible, even if it is due to signature posting).

If the idea is just to convey the dangers of gambling addiction, then a board is not necessary.
A well constructed and pinned topic at the top will be more than enough for this.

Why don't you develop a good thread on the topic, and ask the moderator to pin it?

So what you're trying to say is that you want a specific board for, like, a support group for gambling addicts, and those willing to help will post there along with the posters that are experiencing problems with gambling, right? It will be like the Serious discussion and Ivory tower type of things.

Why not include it in the serious discussion? It could benefit those trying to change and be aware of their addictions.

I have read where people complain how their topics are being locked or at worse scenario trashed by moderators in the gambling discussion sub board. I will only say the moderation in that sub board should be done with leniency and not to create further board(s).

If you check around bitcoin discussion board you will see similar topics as "How much do you invest", "Not your keys not your coins", "Invest what you can afford to lose". All these are bitcoin investment awareness. But is there a special board for theatre.

A gambling awareness board is not a good solution - it will quickly be flooded by spam.

A stickied gambling awareness thread on the other hand, is a much better idea. Ideally it should be on the Gambling board itself and locked so that nobody can comment on it, with a headline reading something like: "Gamble responsibly. Don't gamble what you can't afford to lose" and has links to other gambling awareness sites.

You are wrong. There are thousands of people who have been a gambling addicted, confess them and trying to recover from this. Many has recovered them too. You should know the existence of such forum like gamcare.org, visit the platform. You will find a lot of gambling addicts who want to recover them from this addiction. Some gets success, some failed. Most of the addicts want to quit gambling but they can't. It's not necessary to quit gambling but it's necessary to quit the addiction.
I still think having such a board would be very much helpful.

My problems with this are:
1. No one will read the thread or check it for new discussion.
2. This does not allow anyone to give their input or share their experience. Every story and experience is unique, there are also a lot of topics surrounding the broad term that is awareness. Sharing is important for awareness, as is general discussion. Just like testimonials are important for new consumers looking at products. It's the same theory in terms of experience.
3. Discussion on a pinned topic on the other hand will be skewed to one topic that is "gambling is bad" and will not enthuse any form of discussion surrounding gambling. All of those threads listed are examples of different topics surrounding the topic. You can't possibly hold a discussion including all of these topics (and more) in one single pinned post without it being a cluttered and unreadable mess.

Experience is the most valuable thing about the board. Skipping over that and just doing a "gamble responsibly" thread would be a step, but it's not a solution and would hardly make any difference.

The spam problem can be resolved by disabling signatures.


I have never said that this is a support group for gambling addicts. I have never said it is meant for people to help people experiencing problems either. Have you even read any of my posts?

It does not belong in Serious discussion. It belongs in the gambling section. The point of awareness is discussing the other side of gambling and being aware of it. That is a VERY broad topic, hence the suggestion for a board. Discussion and sharing experiences are two things that increase awareness, and only a board is capable of enabling both discussion and sharing experiences in an organized way that people will actually read.


I've said countless times that this is not a sole focus or effort for "prevention" or to post strictly about "addiction". Awareness is a very broad topic, hence the board. All of those threads that I listed discuss an aspect that raises awareness. A lot of those topics are different. They are not all the same, if any of them are at all.

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I'd appreciate if people actually read posts before posting the same thing that has been answered more than once. I'll edit the OP with answers to these continually repeated questions later.

Sigh

The purpose of the board is not for compulsive gamblers to go and seek help. I have already stated (in multiple posts) the purpose of the board. If you are not reading all of the posts, then don't post at all.

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Added the following to the OP so people who don't actually read posts can understand the idea without misconstruing it, as so many have throughout this thread.

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Hmm. Okay, I assumed wrong. That's basically the initial impression. So basically just letting other people know hence awareness. I don't see really the point of another board other than a Gambling discussion. Discussions can cover a lot of topics, and awareness is one of them. I'm not sure why the mods lock it up all the time, but probably it's been discussed multiple times.

The anti-gambling purpose that you have said in the original post might mean to people that they shouldn't gamble and the ones who could say that are the ones who have gambled already. They need people to discuss things like that, and hence the "type of support group" thought comes along.

The discussions I listed have no duplicates as far as I am aware. At least most of them don't.
I said in the OP that anti-gambling was not a primary purpose. Nor was support group. I don't think people are going to be discussing their feelings and supporting others to stop. I think they will be sharing their individual experiences and participating in whatever the subject of the topic is, which will probably be similar to one of the 30 topics I listed in the OP.

Let me tell you why creating a board for this is, well, going overboard!   ;D
I'm willing to bet that over 95% of the posters in the gambling sections are not gamblers at all, and I seriously doubt that the majority would even be able to make a bet if it's more than one click and the odds are British odds like 6/4 , 13/2.

If you create a signature disabled board it will be a ghost town, you can speak with the mods to allow a self-moderated topic and keep it clean and you're going to see the results of it, because not only it will mean they need to not shitpost, they might not get paid for it but also take the risks of angering their campaign manager by having a negative attitude towards gambling and get excluded.
The other tricky part is, do you think there are members here with enough power of persuasion that would be able to really do something effective for people who have fallen to gambling addiction or are on the path of doing so? I'm a small gambler myself and I avoid completely the gambling section cause it's pure crap, but I know enough real-life gamblers who have destroyed their life, and hours of advice and begging from their families haven't changed a thing one few posts on a board is nothing.

Oh, and one more thing, just because you see tens of topics opened about gambling problems, it doesn't mean each one of them is real and not another way of fishing for some merit or increasing the weekly quota. Read them again and look at the OP history before taking all those stories seriously!

It's not going overboard, it's doing something responsible.

Let me ask you something then. Why would they not have a dime for more than one click/bet if they are being paid weekly for their signature campaign? Gambling?

A lot of what you said seems very well said, though just like I said to another user
1. Who exactly are you to say or know all of these things for a fact? Do you have data to support these claims? That's rhetorical. The board has never been made so whether or not the board will be a ghost town with signatures disabled or not is an unknown and always will be until it is seen in practice. Any assumptions like yours and others are mere baseless speculation. I on the other hand have compiled 30+ threads that fit there with hundreds of posts in them that contradicts this baseless point, and as said in the OP this is only scratching the surface. Whether or not these threads/posters are all "fishing for merit" or "reaching their quota" is irrelevant because people clearly do that in other boards too, and these are posts nonetheless. You can't conclude that every single person who posted these threads and within them are just making up their posts to fish for merit or reach their quota. That's absurd.
2. Even if it is a "ghost town", who cares? The point is to highlight the negative effects of gambling period and have an avenue for discussion for anyone that wants to participate. As said, there are already 30 threads that fit there and about 60 more from glossing over my searches. Almost all of them are unique, have plenty of posters within them and all of them are locked. It's simply not a reason to scratch a valid idea especially if the problem, being signature spamming, will be resolved if signatures are disabled in the new board.


This has nothing to do with persuasion or getting people to stop. Persuasion, quitting, support etc are all one step further ahead of awareness. A deluded gambler is not aware until he/she reads or hears something that gets him/her to think about what the are doing. If you have the avenue there for a potential thing to be read that raises awareness, then there is a chance a positive outcome could be made. If it's not there, that possibility is eliminated. It doesn't matter how small or large you think that possibility is, the point is that this board will open up that possibility.

Because they're shit threads created solely to be shat in much like your how long do you spend gambling thread which has probably been made half a dozen times. A better solution would be just to lock/trash that entire board instead of creating a Gambling Awareness board sub.  Go to a Gambling help forum if you want to talk about gambling awareness of addiction or whatnot.

And who are you and where is your data?
Where are your facts, where are your numbers, where is your expertise, where is your notarized and published study?
You're just like any other around here, a user with an opinion, nothing else, and that opinion of yours can be wrong, have you thought of it?


That's why I said to test it, but we could make this speculation more interesting with a bet on the outcome!
Since this is about gambling, care to put some money where your opinion is?


I could still bet on 95% of it, and I could still win! Why do you think those topics were locked in the first place?

If you're that interested in researching topics, you could do something interesting for example.
Look at the profile of those users, and then search if in all their gambling posts, be it 10 or 1000, have they at least once mentioned some odds or god forbid a multi bet! You're going to be surprised!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Random pic from those topics (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2863343), tell me what's the ratio of gambling talk to fan gossip?  ;)

Look, I'm not going to comment on what you've said or the way you've said it. Feel free to drop the thread links of these duplicate threads because I searched both before and after the thread was locked and didn't find a duplicate. Unless the search functionality is not working as it should, I didn't find a duplicate.


Gambling is endorsed to its maximum here. The imbalance is here. I'm not looking for a place to talk about gambling awareness or addiction. I've pointed out a flaw in the gambling board here and I'm suggesting a solution.

Right now would you agree or disagree that topics relating to the negatives about gambling are disallowed by the technicality of assumed signature spamming?

My data is the pre-existing threads. So, where is yours?

Yes I understand my opinion could be wrong just as much as yours or anyone elses could be, that is why this is a discussion and the topic title says "suggestion". Doesn't mean I'm wrong though. I've provided basis, you haven't. Awareness/statement of negatives is becoming a norm, even a requirement on casinos. I think that's enough to validate my opinion enough to talk about the idea, alongside the existing threads that are (in my opinion) fine topics and are locked for a reason that this board suggestion will resolve if implemented.


What about people who keep their gambling private? I doubt many people post many of their bets in the forum to begin with. It's a wager where the outcome does not have reliable data. It'd be silly to take it.

The topics were locked probably because of signature spam. I'm not commenting further on that topic. It's also easy to get a screen grab and skew it to suit yourself. It's also pretty unrelated for the reason I said in the previous part of this post.

This all aside, the signature spam debate was over the moment that it was recommended for the board to have signatures disabled. Talking about what peoples motives were in the past is something that can't be determined accurately. Only the board will be able to give the answer.

I'm not going to waste time trying to find them as most of the truly terrible ones get sent straight to the trash but I can tell you from personal experience I've seen multiple threads asking some variation of how much time do you spend gambling. It's completely unnecessary and it just invites lazy shitposters. People will find a way to squeeze every possible permutation of something into a thread somehow vaguely related to gambling and I can't even begin to tell you how many nonsense threads I've trashed from there.  Some of them are beyond ridiculous: does your mother/children/wife/grandparents know you gamble. All we need now is 'pets' to complete the combo.

That topic in the gambling awareness board would inevitably make at least some people who aren't there to shitpost think about how much time they are spending gambling. Just like "how many times have you chosen gambling over family" or "do you have any other hobbies aside from gambling". You might call these shit posts, I would call these good food for thought that might make at least one person think twice about about their habit and make a positive change.

The only reason to shitpost or find every possible permutation in these threads would be signature spam, so the answer is to trash and lock these threads completely and block out all discussion that provides this food for thought instead of giving them a section where there is no incentive to shitpost and the problem of signature spam is alleviated?

I'm not against the idea, I just don't think it has any practical effect. And the content that would be posted there could be done in other sections of the forum.

Having a "gambling awareness" area in the middle of the betting area, it's the same as if you arrive at a casino and the doorman asks if it's your first time, and if you're going to tell the person first to go through the beautiful awareness office that It's in the middle of the casino. It just says to go there, and it's up to the person to decide to go there or not. The measure ends up having a minimal effect, because for those who should serve, did not read what they should read.

This is like drugs, everyone knows that consuming drugs is harmful to health. Even so, millions of people, despite knowing it and its ill effects, continue to get involved in the drug.

That's probably true, but even then if you look at stickied threads, they generally get a lot more views than the average thread in a section. Then, you're relying on users to visit the new gambling awareness section, and actually click on various threads instead of one. Plus, I know it's probably a good idea to give people an idea about the risks associated with gambling, I don't think it's a broad enough topic to actually have ongoing discussion to justify it.


Most of the common pitfalls aren't unique, and it would just be a rehashed version of someone's story, but fundamentally the way they got hurt or whatever would be the same.

You aren't going to convince gamblers who would only be visiting the section to gamble or have an interest in gambling that gambling is bad. They've probably already been sucked in. Should they know the risks? Probably so, but they aren't going to activiely search out that every day or week. So, again I think a stickied thread would be the best option.

You are right about disabling the signature, it's ok to have a Gambling Awareness board it will serve people who are hooked to gambling, and by not disabling the signature responsible members will post rich and helpful content, if there are spam members can report it, there are members who are good in giving advice on how to control gambling and including their post in their signature post count, will encourage them to post more and dedicate their forum activity here.

I'd agree. Most of gambling board users appear to be in support of gambling just because they are promoting a casino. I'm bit surprised with poll results though.