Bitcoin Forum

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As it currently stands (April 9, 2018), there will be up to five winners (First Place, Second Place, Third Place, Consolation Prize [Newbie or Jr. Member only], and Bonus Prize [Newbie only]) selected every Sunday by approximately 11:00PM (GMT -6). Participants are eligible to win multiple times throughout the duration of this challenge, but cannot win the First Place prize two consecutive weeks in a row.

How do I enter the challenge, and what are the rules?
• This challenge is available to any and all English-speaking members (Newbies thru Legendary) of BitcoinTalk.
• Negative trust members are permitted.
• You must not be wearing any signature that belongs to any paid signature campaign.
• You can [optionally] choose to wear my signature (code in the following post) for a chance at a bonus $5
• You are permitted to have your own signature if you choose not to wear the optional signatures below
• You cannot apply for any paid signature campaigns while you are an active participant in any round of this challenge.
• You can take a break from this challenge to join paid sig campaigns, and you'll be welcome back any time you please (given that this challenge is still ongoing), but the same rules will apply to you once you return.
• Alt (alternate) accounts: The only rules that pertain to alt accounts are as follows: You may not enroll in any single round with more than one account simultaneously. If enrolling with an alt account, please provide full disclosure that the account you are enrolling is an alt of another account that has previously entered the challenge. Your alt account(s) will not be eligible to win the first place prize if any other of your accounts have won that prize in the previous round. If an alt account that hasn't been fully disclosed is discovered in the challenge, all accounts related to that alt will be banned from entering in the future.

When are the rounds, and how long do they last?
Each round lasts for 6d 23h 59m, from every Sunday at 8:00PM to the following Sunday at 7:59PM (GMT -6).


When are the cutoff dates to submit my application?
The cutoff for entering is every Monday at 9:00PM (GMT -6). Upon submitting your application (https://goo.gl/forms/lx0zeIO7z3502Ctk2) prior to the cutoff, you will be eligible to participate for the current round, while applying after the cutoff will place you into the next week's round.

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How do I win the challenge?
You simply have to have the most substantial posts (according to me) for the duration of the week. There will be a minimum of 7 posts required (this is just to gage and maintain daily activity; posts do not have to be made daily) for the week and no maximum. There is no post character minimum. Posts will be allowed in any topic on any board, as long as the topic and board are English-speaking. Off-topic? Sure. Gambling or Micro Earnings. Go ahead. Ivory Tower? Yup. Altcoin Discussion? Sure, why not? As long as your posts are knowledgeable or contributive to the given dialogue of the topic, you'll earn points in my book. I won't disclose my criteria, but I will commit to going through every participant's post history for the week to ensure that a winner is chosen fairly.

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To apply for the challenge, please fill out this Google Form (https://goo.gl/forms/lx0zeIO7z3502Ctk2) and submit your application.

YOU MUST SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION EVERY WEEK THAT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE.

NOTE: You do not need to submit a BTC address at this time. You can always submit it if/when you win the challenge. However, please note that if you do not provide your BTC address within a week after being declared a winner of a challenge, you will forfeit your winnings, which will then be re-allocated into the prize purse for future rounds.

IMPORTANT NOTE: As I am a huge proponent of SegWit, you must provide a nested P2SH SegWit address in order to be eligible to win any Bitcoin/cash prizes. Please update to a SegWit-enabled address and provide it in your future applications. To learn more about SegWit, click here: SegWit on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SegWit) • SegWit newbie? Use GreenAddress (https://greenaddress.it)

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Click here to view the challenge spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI/edit?usp=sharing) (updated weekly)

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Escrow Address: 37ZhBrGgw6BSghMQnPi4ixdmRBLxBTAXCf (current balance: http://btc-priceimg.herokuapp.com/balance/37ZhBrGgw6BSghMQnPi4ixdmRBLxBTAXCf) (view on Blockchain (https://blockchain.info/address/37ZhBrGgw6BSghMQnPi4ixdmRBLxBTAXCf))
This address will only be used to fund this challenge. All transactions from this address will be recorded in this thread. If you would like to make a donation to this challenge, please feel free to do so.

Transactions (by winning position):
Round 1: 1st (A) (http://aa5a6f6fd078f76dea8d16d5841b53699cca4a593f9304f206471e495e726627) 1st (B) (https://blockchain.info/tx/8fa192a8a3f2225f2a225466971fb03c74c9e595fe3b4c94b17bf2d83874f998) 2nd (https://blockchain.info/tx/a3695fa0992fb029108c5399ab9ea99ffea5784967abf9ac010adfcdb23a2003) | Round 2: 2nd (https://blockchain.info/tx/7d52b0b04edb86a7704814a1248e9c5dfac9b997df72f7f43835bd34851d8e6f) 3rd (https://blockchain.info/tx/70885e7b53d4c42b9e9b26fdf9e09458a0de2cc658f1906226a9976c20b3e04c) | Round 3: 1st (https://blockchain.info/tx/70a7792d8abfd72329a1eeb4232185ef1290b4384f3b07ea525236f1c9fdb05a) 2nd (https://blockchain.info/tx/3525455890c1f78c0f22e876660844b73669aeb841909770444b0e5a08518295) | Round 4: 2nd (https://blockchain.info/tx/d74992a49cf28f2310a3fca401e8b515f64f7a86d0af852f5d2bfc541cbf278b) | Round 5: 1st (https://blockchain.info/tx/34d861f85f141f030bb995970edfa51971ca62fb5a2e673ee484bf31fa37eb4e) 2nd (https://blockchain.info/tx/55a1e9a084bae25e0aa0a679d8e78603fa7855ccb44ad21edb6d6d1174f75e33)

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This challenge was inspired by a dialogue with forum member bill gator (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=370611) upon reading a post where he challenged a sig spammer to make quality posts, whereas he would pay that user $10 if he was able to stop shitposting (as can be seen here (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2689934.msg27496179#msg27496179)). Good luck, everyone, and thanks for doing your part to help make the forums a better place! :D

I'm part of a movement to make the forums better.

[center]
▬▬▬ I'm part of a movement to help make the forums a better place and free it of spam:▬▬▬ 
█ █  http://bit.ly/SigFree  █ █[/center]

[center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=557989]  ❍   BTCforJoe  ❍      [/url] ▬▬▬▬[ win up to [b]$25USD and 8 Merits [/b]  every week ]▬▬▬▬   
▬▬[[url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286]   [u]Do you think your posts are better quality than mine?[/u] [/url]]▬▬
▬▬  join Joe's Signatureless Challenge ▬▬[/center]

[center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=557989][font=rockwell][b][color=#FF9A00]  ❍  [font=agency fb] [color=#2B3043]BTCforJoe[/color][/font]  ❍      [/url][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=rockwell][color=#333] ▬▬▬▬[ win up to [b]$25USD and 8 Merits [/b]  every week ]▬▬▬▬   
[font=arial black][b][color=#333]▬▬[  [color=#FF9A00] [u]Do you [color=#E58B00]think your [color=#CB7C00]posts are [color=#B16D00]better quality [color=#975E00]than mine?[/u][/color] [color=#333]]▬▬[/color][/url]
[font=rockwell][b][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][color=#333]▬▬  join Joe's Signatureless Challenge ▬▬[/center]

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              ▀▀ ▀[/td]
[td][font=arial black][size=22pt][color=#333]▐[/td]
[td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=rockwell][size=12pt][color=#FF9A00]Do you [color=#E58B00]think your [color=#CB7C00]posts are [color=#B16D00]better quality [color=#975E00]than mine?
[size=12pt][color=transparent]..............[color=#36474F]join Joe's Signatureless Challenge [/color]...............[/color][/size][/td]
[td][font=arial black][size=24pt][color=#333]▌[/td][td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=arial black][size=11px][color=#333]win up to
[color=transparent].,[color=#FF9A00][b]$25USD and 8 Merits 
[color=#333]every week[/td][td][size=4pt][color=transparent].[/size]
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           ▀           ▐▀[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[center][table][tr][td][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=557989][tt][size=2px][font=monospace][color=#2B3043]                               ▄▓                   ▄▓▄
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[td][font=arial black][size=22pt][color=#333]▐[/td]
[td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=rockwell][size=12pt][color=#FF9A00]Do you [color=#E58B00]think your [color=#CB7C00]posts are [color=#B16D00]better quality [color=#975E00]than mine?
[size=12pt][glow=#36474F,0][color=transparent]..............[color=#fff]join Joe's Signatureless Challenge [/color]...............[/color][/glow][/size][/td]
[td][font=arial black][size=24pt][color=#333]▌[/td][td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=arial black][size=12px][color=#333]win up to
[glow=#36474F,1][color=transparent].,[color=#fff][b]$25USD and 8 Merits [color=transparent]..[color=#fff][/glow]
every week[/td][td][size=4pt][color=transparent].[/size]
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           ▀           ▐▀[/td][/tr][/table][/center]

Don't to worry, most of the participant is whose aware of post quality instead your rewards.

Does my my unpaid signature works ? I have earned some Rookoins but haven't been paid yet  ::)

 ::)

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BitcoinTalk Username: Blue Tyrant
Starting Post Count (including this one): 4 (This one would be the fourth one)
BTC Address: bc1qmwzg3q8ghqs5ya45pzxpe2v8u865tjkm98g9fg

Good Luck to all participants (if there are any who don't want to wear a signature that is :P)

Nice idea! Hopefully more members will participate when they see our signatures.

BitcoinTalk Username: Oulay
Starting Post Count (including this one): 90
BTC Address: 13G98UbxC68oWrKXxh56WpKrL59Jrf2Ev8

BTW, if you ever run out of merits, just pm me and I'd gladly send a merit to the winner if I have some laying around :3

I want to show my support of this program; Joe if you are interested I would be perfectly willing to send $10 and +1 Merit to a runner-up each week (BTC only), someone that came close, but didn't quite take the cake. If this would add to the work too much then I could always give the $10 and +1 Merit to the winner each week. I was trying to do this for a few individuals awhile back, but nobody was interested so maybe creating a thread about it will get this started.

I'd love to sponsor a slot, and merit when I have some available (I have some now).

BitcoinTalk Username:millenniumcoin
Starting Post Count (including this one):56
BTC Address:1N1pBmVS4W6waeLzsUPiszwsDp6xypGbk9
Sir,i think i have the  best post to win your challenge. Thanks for the opportunity .

Unfortunately not, as it is for a campaign with the promissory purpose of being paid lol


Thanks! I'll add you to a list of merit donors on the second post. I just hope people don't hit you up begging for merit. If so, just let me know and I'll remove your name. Good luck on this challenge!


bill gator, you're a standup guy. I'm very interested in this, and iirc, I did encounter this sort of "challenge" that you've proposed in the past. I believe I also endorsed you and said I would double your offer to any participants that were willing to take your challenge. You, in fact, inspired this idea a few weeks ago, but I really haven't taken any action on it until now. Thanks for doing that.

I appreciate you becoming a sponsor! I'll include you in the second post.


Welcome to the challenge. Good luck!

That's funny, because I couldn't remember if it was you or someone else that jumped on board and doubled my offer to someone. Yeah, I was wondering if this was something that sprouted because of that offer. That's why I was so quick to jump in here, I probably should've already done the same thing. I'm still considering starting a "Signatureless" Campaign, rather than a "challenge"; for the time being though this is really cool. You do recall correctly, I was wondering iirc, now it's all coming back to me. If this begins to expand I am with you on the development and would be willing to help with the workload if you feel you're being overwhelmed by the participants.

Current Sponsors
bill gator (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=370611): Full sponsor for first runner up. bill gator will reward the 2nd place position with $10USD and a Merit for your week's efforts (reference (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31509401#msg31509401))
Oulay (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1290719): Merit sponsor (if I ever run out of merit, Oulay has committed to reward the winner(s) with merit (reference (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31488937#msg31488937))

This has been added to the second post of the forums. Thanks for your commitment to make the forums a better place!

The top post will now be edited to reflect the new revisions and addition of a runner-up prize!

Awesome! I can't imagine this becoming anywhere near as successful as other paid campaigns, but it does encourage great posts out of any member of the forums. If it does become bigger, I'd be willing to partner with you and make it a 'campaign' of sorts, if you will. Let's see how the first few weeks go and take it from there!

Edit: I found the thread in which you offered this deal: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2689934.msg27496179#msg27496179 :D

I've added it to the top post, as well.

All of the sudden the chance at winning has doubled. There are now twice as many winners as there were previously. My merit will only go to a post that I find meritorious, but I imagine this will be easy to come by with them being truly deserving of the prize. Happy to be a part of the project, if you need anything let me know. I'll be watching the thread for updates, winners and who is the runner-up for me to reward.


Yes! Thank you for finding the old post, two months has flown by since then. Strange that the user we offered that to was not interested, when it probably was the best offer they received. They are still posting in crappy airdrops and bounties exclusively. They've made no effort towards improving their posts, so maybe they just knew they couldn't handle change. I'm sure you will get many more participants and potentially donors than you realize for this kind of thing. I hope this gets some decent attention, because it could become quite the movement.

Can I join?  ;D (jkjk, though technically my ChipMixer sig is unpaid)

I'll sponsor an additional 8 merits for the first place winner.

Your signature is part of a paid campaign, even though you don't get paid for your actual sig :D

Are you sponsoring 10 merits to be given out individually each week until they're all given out, or are you sponsoring 10 merits every week? Or will this be a one-time deal for the first week?

I need specifics. SPECIFICS!!!!

Thanks for doing this, @DarkStar_. I don't care what anyone says about you; I fink you freeky and I like you a lot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uee_mcxvrw&).

You saw my post too quickly  >:(

But, it'll be 8 merits every week. ^{subject to change, I reserve the right to revoke this offer in rare cases (ex not being a merit source anymore)}

BitcoinTalk Username: Sasuke102001
Starting Post Count (including this one):437
Current Rank: Full Member.

Hopefully, this initiative would boost the morale of the people here in the forum and the members would contribute more towards giving quality posts ( Including me). :)

Declined. Maybe you should go back and read the first post again so you can figure out why you were not accepted for this challenge. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but 15 minutes is more than enough time for you to remove/change your signature. Please re-apply when you figure out how to follow instructions.

Oooh! I'll also help :D Another runner up award? Or a third prize? Or merits as an additional incentive alongside that one merit? I'll gladly do it. If you need me to send some cash as prizes, I'll send tomorrow itself, and you yourself can reward the winners.

Provided I still have the merit at the time I can donate one sMerit if to "fund" the project. I would have done so yesterday on the time of my application but I didn't have any spendable merits at the time (didn't expect to get merited thrice on what was essentially mu first day posting :P)

Wooow...did you see all? The effect of this challenge. So glad to be a part of this challenge. Good job Joe!

Oh yeah, it is the signature, right, I thought it was a signatureless campaign anyways it looks like I dot eve have to take back my application as it already been denied because the respective signature is absent. Anyways keep up the good work BTCforJoe. If I had some sMerits I could have supported the project by giving merits if by chance you run low on the merits but I currently have zero. Will ping you if I have smerits to fund for the project.

BitcoinTalk Username: shahzadafzal
Starting Post Count (including this one): 154
Current Rank:    Jr. Membe
BTC Address: 1LxLitf3CehvywuxEPnQXnDCdZJzhy6Sgq

Great! I'm so glad to see so many members of the forums stepping up to band together for the greater good of the forums :D It's completely up to you, but please keep in mind that this is not an easy commitment. Unless you're speaking about making a one-time sponsorship; otherwise, I'd be willing to accept any form of donations towards this cause. Whatever is comfortable for you. Thanks!

---

I would rather you save your sMerit for other posts and utilize this challenge as a way to earn :) Welcome to the forums, and I really hope that you learn something great here regularly. I'm anticipating reviewing all your posts to see what type of great content that you can produce; can't wait!

---

Thank you very much! Please update your signature; I made the mistake of not including the hyperlink to the signature that you're currently using.

---

That is correct; this signatureless challenge is reliant upon you removing your paid campaign signature in order to register for this contest. You're not permanently declined; just until you decide to remove your current paid campaign signature :)

Thanks for the compliments and encouragement; as you can see, I'm not the only one that is tired of shitposters and horrible content throughout the forums. I'm just trying to do my part in helping give back to the place that has made me so proficient in my knowledge of Bitcoin.

Who will be updating the Excel sheet? Can you pleas include me.

Also end post count do we need to submit the post end posts count also?

I will be updating the spreadsheet. You can view the live updates as I add all the entries, especially on the evenings that I go through the list to verify each of the participant's posts. You will not need to submit your end of period post counts; I will do tally them up at the end of each week.

I have added you to the spreadsheet. Welcome to the challenge, and good luck!

BitcoinTalk Username: rhamzter
Starting Post Count (including this one): 1022
Current Rank: Sr. Member

I'm willing to accepted the challenge, since I have negative trust I was hoping that you will accept my application as your participant.

Done!

Accepted. Welcome, and good luck!

---

https://i.imgur.com/IJEblgZm.png

Either way, you've been accepted. It's a good thing that I'm not lazy. But I do hope that your posts are much better than your ability to follow instructions :P

---

We have an additional 5 merits for the first week winner, sponsored by @Geraldo!

https://i.imgur.com/XxxIob3.png

That makes the upcoming amount of merit for the upcoming week's winner 13 in total! Good luck, everyone, and thank you very much, Geraldo. But let me ask you this: What will happen if you end up winning this challenge? :D

Geraldo (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=965635): One-Time Merit Sponsor
Geraldo has committed to rewarding the first week winner with 5 additional merit (reference (https://i.imgur.com/XxxIob3m.png))

Joe, I'm not promising when and how much I'll send but I'll surely do so at least once. Am sort of busy right now and in a month's time, after I get free and if this campaign is still running, I'd further provide help. I might send you some funds over tomorrow if possible, I still haven't decided how much. 

No worries, and no pressure. Maybe a quick stroll through some of the participants post history for the week would prove to be fruitful in revealing some quality posts. Having a merit here and there means a lot for anyone who is trying to make a conscious effort to improve their posts. I'm anticipating that this challenge will be around for a long while, so take your time. Thanks so much for your interest and commitment!

That would be dope! Since you're a sig designer, I'll leave the creativity up to you. Thanks for stepping up to do this; I wanted to keep it simple (I'm a fan of simple and effective methods), but yeah, my signatures are TOO simple :D

Your signature design donation will definitely not go unnoticed.

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[td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=rockwell][size=12pt][color=#FF9A00]Do you [color=#E58B00]think your [color=#CB7C00]posts are [color=#B16D00]better quality [color=#975E00]than mine?
[size=12pt][glow=#36474F,0][color=transparent]..............[color=#fff]join Joe's Signatureless Challenge [/color]...............[/color][/glow][/size][/td]
[td][font=arial black][size=24pt][color=#333]▌[/td][td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=arial black][size=12px][color=#333]win up to
[glow=#36474F,1][color=transparent].,[color=#fff][b]$25USD and 8 Merits [color=transparent]..[color=#fff][/glow]
every week[/td][td][size=4pt][color=transparent].[/size]
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[td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=rockwell][size=12pt][color=#FF9A00]Do you [color=#E58B00]think your [color=#CB7C00]posts are [color=#B16D00]better quality [color=#975E00]than mine?
[size=12pt][color=transparent]..............[color=#36474F]join Joe's Signatureless Challenge [/color]...............[/color][/size][/td]
[td][font=arial black][size=24pt][color=#333]▌[/td][td][center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=arial black][size=11px][color=#333]win up to
[color=transparent].,[color=#FF9A00][b]$25USD and 8 Merits 
[color=#333]every week[/td][td][size=4pt][color=transparent].[/size]
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[center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=557989][font=rockwell][b][color=#FF9A00]  ❍  [font=agency fb] [color=#2B3043]BTCforJoe[/color][/font]  ❍      [/url][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][font=rockwell][color=#333] ▬▬▬▬[ win up to [b]$25USD and 8 Merits [/b]  every week ]▬▬▬▬   
[font=arial black][b][color=#333]▬▬[  [color=#FF9A00] [u]Do you [color=#E58B00]think your [color=#CB7C00]posts are [color=#B16D00]better quality [color=#975E00]than mine?[/u][/color] [color=#333]]▬▬[/color][/url]
[font=rockwell][b][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286][color=#333]▬▬  join Joe's Signatureless Challenge ▬▬[/center]

[center][url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=557989]  ❍   BTCforJoe  ❍      [/url] ▬▬▬▬[ win up to [b]$25USD and 8 Merits [/b]  every week ]▬▬▬▬   
▬▬[[url=https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31460286#msg31460286]   [u]Do you think your posts are better quality than mine?[/u] [/url]]▬▬
▬▬  join Joe's Signatureless Challenge ▬▬[/center]

[center]
▬▬▬ I'm part of a movement to help make the forums a better place and free it of spam:▬▬▬ 
█ █  http://bit.ly/SigFree  █ █[/center]

I'm part of a movement to make the forums better.

Thanks for doing this! Seems like a great idea and opportunity!

BitcoinTalk Username: Flip4Flop
Starting Post Count (including this one): 510
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 3HegViRbNEftwQRqMuVfqahFWKA8gyML6U

Nice initiative I must say. Unfortunately, I can't join this as I have recently joined a paid signature campaign run by yahoo, but I also want to contribute something to the cause. So maybe I can give 1 Merit (as per my capacity) per week to a runner up or winner on your direction. I will keep doing this until I run out of sMerits (I have 6 remaining right now).
Let me know if you are willing to accept my small contribution to your service.
Good luck, and keep up the good work, all of you!
Cheers.

BitcoinTalk Username: shamzblueworld
Starting Post Count (including this one): 1248
Current Rank: Hero
BTC Address: 1Hfw6s5upkkZXzEXZJvzyrSjpaKFLJNmBn

Nice initiative, although I think it's a bit ironic OP has a paid signature.
Kidding, we both know the ChipMixer signature is a badge of honor (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1935179.msg30041087#msg30041087) for post quality.

From now on, I'll be on the lookout for signatures that say "I'm part of a movement to make the forums better.". If I agree with the quality of the post, I'll Merit it.

Can I sponsor a consolation prize of 2 Merit for the best Newbie or Jr. Member who doesn't get any other prize? I still have enough sMerit (and applied to become a Merit source (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2851620) a month ago). If I ever run out of sMerit, LoyceBot (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=949024) has 4 sMerit left so I can still cover 2 weeks before I have to withdraw my "sponsorship".

PS
 I may have invited nullius (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=976210) to join :D

BitcoinTalk Username: nullius (#976210)
Starting Post Count (including this one): 775
Current Rank: Member
BTC Address: 38i2Ccc9miWr2ZyyactRJ8HcDLdYtnNkxd

Note:  The potential of a $5 bonus does not outbid my PGP keys, etc.  Those who do not have paid signature ads may be more likely to actually use their signatures; thus, I suggest some option for an ad which could fit into one line, e.g.:

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Indeed; thanks for the tip.  But it took me awhile to figure out the required form.  I’ve never done one of those before; it’s so confusing!

Allowing for that one liner to be displayed as signature will negate the essence of Joe's effort. It will invariably make it a signatureless (challenge) campaign (though unpaid for) Don't you think so?

UPDATE: THE CHALLENGE HAS BEGUN! We officially have 13 participants, but this number could grow. The cutoff to join this week's challenge is tomorrow (Monday) at 9PM (GMT -6). Join now!

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Dope! Thanks for doing this! Adding these sigs (and your link) to the second post. Thanks for your contribution!

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Welcome. Good luck!

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Thank you for wanting to contribute, but I would rather you save your sMerit and merit posts that you find worthy, rather than donating them at this time. Maybe once you rank up and earn some more merits, you'd like to opt in to donate merits again? Let me know what you think

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Welcome. You've been added to the challenge. Good luck!

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I was considering using my own signature from this thread, but I came to the same conclusion: the ChipMixer signature is a badge of honor and holds some of the best participants throughout the forums; thus I've decided to keep it.


You can absolutely sponsor a consolation prize! I'll be sure to add the rank and reward to the top post, along with the stipulation that only Newbies & Jr. Members are eligible to win the consolation prize. Please just let me know whenever you run out of sMerit so that I can update the second post. Thanks for taking part in this and become a merit sponsor, LoyceV!



Oh boy, I might as well just rename this thread to "nullius' donation thread" :D

For anyone reading this, check out nullius' post history (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=976210;sa=showPosts). THIS is what you're up against. If you guys don't step it up, you're going to lose every week to this fella.

But in all seriousness, I may honestly just create a separate "nullius" category and merit him that way in order to give others a chance to clean up their posts and/or contribute to a healthier forum. nullius hardly needs the merits, and will have no issues meeting the merit requirements for ranking up all the way to Legendary. The notion behind this challenge was to help reward members of the forums for creating more meritorious posts rather than shitposts and spamposts. I honestly don't know how I will approach this, as users may get discouraged from participating if they know that nullius will win week after week. I hope you don't take offense, nullius; consider it a compliment that the level of quality of your posts is so high that it worries me that others won't have a chance to win :D

Maybe a rule where the same member cannot win first place twice in a row, and a placement 3 times in a row? Then it would only be nullius donation thread every 2 out of 3 weeks  :P

For the first week anyway, I'll give 8 merits as well to the second place winner, as I have no doubt that nullius will win first week.

Great, thanks for helping to alleviate some of the merit responsibilities!

I think having stipulations such as not being able to rank consecutively would cause the loss of appeal to some participants. Although to keep it fair, I am thinking that the restriction may just be applied to the winning position. That way, everyone has a shot of winning the $20/25 prize at least every other week, and a shot at the $10 runner up prize with the same probability.

And who knows? Maybe one of the participants will surprise us all and end up topping my criteria for the week beating out nullius! It may be difficult but it is definitely not impossible!

So I’d like to hear everyone’s thoughts on the matter. I’m trying to keep this as fair as possible for every participant, not just nullius. Let’s hear your suggestions! But please try to keep it fair for me and bill gator, as well, as we are putting up our own personal money for this challenge.

As it stands, the challenge will continue, and I implore every participant to review nullius’s post history to see what I find to be stellar post quality. Let that inspire you! While I know that your technical knowledge may not be up to par, I’m more interested and impressed by his sentence structure and ability to contribute to the conversations without straying off topic or simply repeating what other posters have already stated.

Again, good luck to all, and I look forward to hearing your suggestions!

BitcoinTalk Username: detector
Starting Post Count (including this one): 158
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 1AYb1qqkHt3bCMqxfNr3GYTcmPANKm1WKC

Although I'm not as good as nullius but at least, I still want to try

Added. Welcome aboard, and good luck with the challenge!

I will!

LOL :D To offer a solution for the "problem" I created: you could in the future exclude people who earned more than 1 Merit per day already (the "natural rate" to level up with Activity). Or limit winning to once per person, based on the assumption that someone who wins one week, will keep posting quality the next week anyway.

Rigged :D

Y'all are gonna shit your pants if one of our other participant's posts blow me away more than nullius's posts do this week, and ends up earning them the winning spot for Round 1 ;D

I mean, nullius has been pretty preoccupied spending the last week in a high school-like gossip and drama circle, whereas if this challenge would have started last week, his posts most certainly may have been outshined by any other participants' posts haha


Illuminati confirmed; not rigged :P

The tension mounts.  The mighty nullius is off his game!  Can he make a comeback?

Join Joe’s Signatureless Challenge, and see if you can beat me at competitive sport-posting.  I double dare you.

Notices Nullius' entry, covers in fear. Hides to save face in defeat

Seriously though the competition just became several times more difficult and it's going to be pretty fun to see who gets the first and second place this week  ;D

Updated, thank you

Well, I'm okay with that too. I just liked the service you guys have started, and to be even the smallest part of it, I would have felt myself honored, but it's fine. I'm just curious to see the effect of this service, and will be looking forward to read the replies from people wearing the signature from this challenge, and see if there is improvement or not. I'm pretty sure this service will help a lot of people to build a much better post quality for themselves.

Edit:

I was just thinking, because there are signatures to be worn upon joining this challenge, shouldn't there be a small change in the title? As technically, it is no more a "signatureless challenge". So maybe some other title would fit in better. I don't have any name suggestions though, but I'm sure you guys can pull something out.
It is just a suggestion. It can be ignored without being thought about.

Let's make things more interesting  ::)

I'm ready to sponsor a special award for guys that beat nullius for the first ..what the hell.... first, second, and third place.  ;D ;D ;D
So in case nullius finishes on 4th, I'll award 5$ (in BTC) to each competitor that makes the podium.

If nobody makes it this time it will go to the next round for the normal prizes

BitcoinTalk Username:Psalms23
Starting Post Count (including this one): 374
Current Rank:Full Member
BTC Address: 3JMsH7n8KxWL224RAU39Ybd6ANCdvoXEaW

Technically, it’s a non-issue as those signatures are not a requirement, and are purely optional. They are just there to help bring more awareness about this challenge, not every participant will receive a reward for wearing it. Just the ones that place while wearing it.

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I am assuming that this will only be valid for the weeks that nullius is eligible for winning the first place prize, right? As it currently stands, the rules will reflect that a sole user can only win first place once every two week period.

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Welcome! Good luck. I will add you to the spreadsheet as soon as I am at a computer.

Yeah, it's a one time offer:P.
If nullius makes it to first place and so there will be no winners you can use the funds for the next round normal prizes.

I'll pm you right away.

BitcoinTalk Username:                            Jatin729
Starting Post Count (including this one):  571
Current Rank:                                        Full Member
BTC Address:                                         33uXDEYsnSv7thdxQHJWW5YP58KB6QvwqT

For week two or the second round of the challenge I would be happy to sponsor another slot for $5 in BTC and +1 Merit if there are more than 25-Participants. It looks like this thread is getting a lot of attention, participants, reads and sponsors. I can see this picking up in a really nice way, wouldn't mind sponsoring an extra slot every time I can afford to do so and feel there are enough participants to wrestle for it fairly.

So to be clear, I will do my best to continually donate more seats as I can afford, if this becomes too complicated I will make a little table to keep track of how many seats I'll be sponsoring on any given week. I'll give notice before the round/week begins if I cannot sponsor or am going to change the sponsors I am willing to do, whether it be more or less.


Nullius isn't infallible, they're just a person with access to the same resources of information as the rest of us. They put a good amount of effort, thought and creativity into their posts; granted, this is more than almost every other user on the forum, but it doesn't make their posts unbeatable. I'm rooting for the underdogs, and I hope nullius gets one of my prizes; since, that would mean the underdogs had their go at it.


The "Natural rate" is much lower until the higher ranks, too, 10 merit for member is way less than 1 per day. The natural rate you've laid out only applies to Full-Members and above. Anyone below that is something closer to 1 merit per week; just giving my two-cents on this, since I was looking into it the other day.

That's a fair assumption, but it also doesn't address the likelihood that members continuing to participate that didn't win a prize will certainly do something to improve/adjust their posts, while the winner is likely to stagnate themselves in a position they believe to be "safe". This means there are tons of opportunities for the losers to over-take the winner in terms of quality, since they would (in theory) be the only users to make adjustments. Also, it would feel much more rewarding to win out over someone deemed to be the epitome of post quality. I'm fine with things either way, just giving a view from the other side; we shouldn't necessarily rule anyone out just because they are good at the game we are playing. Competition breeds success.

You will not be accepted while wearing a paid signature. Re-read the original post to learn more about this challenge.

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Awesome! I'll be sure to update the post to reflect the changes and the stipulations! What a great way to encourage more participants. To recap, this prize will only be available for the weeks that have at least 25 participants. This will be considered the 3rd place prize on the weeks that qualify. Otherwise, the 2 Merit prize will take its place.

Thanks so much for doing this, bill gator! It's good to see that I'm not the only one that's so passionate about wanting to reduce the spam around here :D

stompix has sent $15 worth of BTC in order to supplement the winner(s) who beat @nullius with $5 each (for up to third place). The transaction can be seen here: https://blockchain.info/tx/3fc23db6d1e3f4665ce38b4c15a1a596a89d353522427a3e3e8cf80fd6147347

Because he has indicated that he trusts that I will use the funds appropriately, I have decided that to make it fair for ALL participants, including nullius, if nullius wins this week, he will receive an additional $5, and the remaining $10 will be rolled over into the next round (Round 2).

Thanks for sponsoring this and making it more interesting, stompix!

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Update

I am adding an escrow address that will hold the funds for this challenge: 37ZhBrGgw6BSghMQnPi4ixdmRBLxBTAXCf (blockchain (https://blockchain.info/address/37ZhBrGgw6BSghMQnPi4ixdmRBLxBTAXCf))

You can view the balance at any given time. If you'd like to make a donation to this challenge, you can do so at that address. It will only ever be used to reward winners of this challenge, and every transaction initiated from that address will be recorded in this thread.

You can use this: (Balance: http://btc-priceimg.herokuapp.com/balance/37ZhBrGgw6BSghMQnPi4ixdmRBLxBTAXCf/00f)

BitcoinTalk Username: Botude23
Starting Post Count: 188
Current Rank: Member
BTC Address: I dont need BTC take it as donation

Welcome to the challenge! Are you sure about using your winnings as a donation in the event that you place? If so, then I will rollover your winnings towards the same rank for the following round if you place in any winning positions! Thank you so much for doing this, and good luck!

Of course he isn't infallible, only Satoshi is  ;D

Besides it would be so funny if nullius =lauda=atriz=alia=thermos (yes I did say thermos)=satoshi=me loses this one, contrary to what most expect that it needs some extra prize. :D
And his merit history for March isn't that impressive.... so.... race on!


Yeah, it wouldn't be fair for him, so go ahead with it.

One thing I need to add, just the existence of this challenge is proof that the community is working fine.
Those that thought the merit system is the end of this forum can go..... 8)

BitcoinTalk Username: thepr0digy21
Starting Post Count (including this one): 59
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 1FoS7d6cgzN3ki1aXZNQV6tAKXJb1HqYC4

This is a fantastic idea! I look forward to participating in the betterment of Bitcointalk!

Yes I am really sure about my decision.
You can roll over my winnings or Keep it because I only want to help people  :)

BitcoinTalk Username: toughit
Starting Post Count (including this one): 219
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: roll it over this week

I just donated .003 btc.  e942dac9023cbcd5fb20dc026ea70a842f66cfd8b793ef085f8100b3761a4ca4    

If possible can you award it to the first full member or less that can beat nullius in a week where he is entered and has at least 7 posts

If it looks like the contest is going to end, then award as you want..


Edit, if the terms are no good, use as needed,


Thanks!!!

Edit2 (so I dont increase post count) : LoyceV , when I use your code in the sig line I get this: (Balance:  *Image Removed* ) Thanks DarkStar_

BitcoinTalk Username: noodlearm
Starting Post Count : 6
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:3PCrvHDQswkMrmXH4mk1FrJ4gENohXgonT

That isn't intended as a signature, as signatures can't have images. It's a way to have a fast updating balance displayed.

BitcoinTalk username: bitperson
Starting Post Count (including this one): 287
Current Rank: member
BTC Address: 1JUVvunUMJUzDHxQU8z8oPWNkRwmzeeKM2

A great challenge. I'm all for it.

BitcoinTalk name: GC2263
Post count: 47 (including this one)
Current rank: Junior Member
BTC add: 1MwxL1kdGgCNttfbNM5S3uwHhLyY7oNQ3x

Hi BTCforJoe,

I'd like to be Backup Merit sponsor since i have lots of unused sMerit(s) and usually i only give merit for posts about technical knowledge. Just PM me and i'll send merits to the winner.
Also, i think it would be better if you use the Signature to encourage SegWit adoption as well.

REGISTRATIONS FOR ROUND 1 ARE NOW CLOSED!
All applications from this point forward (until Monday, March 12) will be added to Round 2.

In total for Round 1, we have 19 participants. Good luck to all of them, and thank you for taking the initiative to help make the forums a better place for all.

A huge thank you to all of our sponsors (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31463314#msg31463314) for helping to make this on ongoing challenge. I'm extremely grateful and pleasantly shocked at the overwhelming positive response that this has received. :)

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Awesome! Thanks so much for donating towards this challenge! I will make sure to add you as a sponsor for this challenge, including your requirements. It's great to see so many people stepping up for the community in order to try and it make it a better place; I'm really pleasantly surprised that this challenge is gaining so much attraction. Thanks for doing this! And welcome to the challenge; best of luck to you! I also see that if you place in this challenge, you'd like to roll over the reward towards the next round. Kudos to you!

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Welcome, and best of luck to you.


Thanks for your interest in participating, but you have missed the cutoff by about an hour, but I have added you towards next week's round. I will update your post count information in the spreadsheet at the start of that round.


Another member that is committing to become a backup merit sponsor? I'll take it! Thanks so much for doing this. I'm a huge fan of SegWit adoption, and if the challenge gains more attraction, I will definitely include a clause that requires all participants to use a SegWit address. For now, I think I can lead with a few weeks of fair warning to let participants research and create SegWit wallets and addresses. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll also see about including a line about SegWit in the signatures for future iterations of the design.

Thanks for wearing one of the most awesome signatures yet seen on this forum.

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Unfortunately, there is no way to tell whether or not a P2SH “3” address is Segwit-nested.  Perhaps you may push specifically for what I call “Bravo Charlie addresses (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2646007.0)”.  Although that could be a bit inconvenient for some of us who are using nested addresses for the transition period, I think it is important to raise user awareness about the Bitcoin address format of the future.  Many people do not yet understand Bech32; see also the advertisement at the top of my recent post on the topic (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3022616.msg31682377#msg31682377).  (Far from my first post on the topic.)


Good idea.  I’ve squeezed in a plug for Segwit next to my current link for this campaign, since that displaced my usual sort-of self-serving Segwit advertisement:


Keeping those addresses in my signature has brought me infinitely more inquiries than tips.  Vanitygen users PM to ask, “How did you do that? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2934774.0)”  And I do enjoy showing off a “3” address which is specifically labelled as “segwit”!

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😈 = ;-) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2869862.msg31081316#msg31081316) (← emoji source (https://www.freebsd.org/art.html))

I wish I could participate but it's around a month I've been participating in a signature campaign which gives tokens after the end of ICO. So I'll have to wear my signature.

This is great idea and I think we need such more voluntary posts and contest to have a great forum.

BitcoinTalk Username: fakegurutu
Starting Post Count (including this one): 300
Current Rank: Junior Member
BTC Address: 3ERcX6VK2DdvNppxWNFYTyoUWum75sqMQc

Thank you, because you're the one who made the idea into quite the little movement. I had offered this to two separate people, but I hadn't put in the effort to make it into a challenge and spread it further into the forum. I'm sure week 2 and beyond will consistently have 25 participants and the prizes/slots seem to be coming together nicely as well; be it merit or BTC it's really a good way to get people involved around here in the right way.


Would you like me to send my sponsorship money to the escrow address? It seems it is well funded already, but I'm wondering if I should save on transaction fees and send it directly or fund the escrow address; your call Joe.


I never knew how to do that and I never bothered to check how; thank you LoyceV for answering all of the questions I do not think to ask. The balance is growing at an impressive pace, so it seems like the challenge will be well funded; I haven't even sent mine there yet, but I don't know if Joe would prefer it donated or me to send it directly in order to minimize transaction fees.


6 More participants for round 2 should not be a problem to find, haven't checked the recent applications myself, but the rate at which people apply should support it. Good luck to the participants, I'll be checking in on your posts and meriting any that I feel are deserving. I'm hoping to come across some discussions that are thought-provoking, and if I do then I'll even put in a good word for ya. Proud to be a sponsor of this challenge.

A Wild Gleb Gamow Appears

very good idea

please let me know if I can donate some merits to a winner

Good day sir. I have already posted here my application, but I dont see my name in the spreadsheet, what does it mean? Should I start or wait for the next round? please clarify this to us. Thanks and more power to each and everyone here.

Hii.. Round 1 is closed, we can waiting for round two and I hope can participate. I same with you, too late know this good topic.
read this : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31682046#msg31682046
thank you

Amazing initiative for people like me who is just starting! Thank you!

BitcoinTalk Username: xWolfx
Starting Post Count (including this one): 71
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 17wjwExvEGfHr7EYeBFMMbeJDuWoqhxxnE

BitcoinTalk Username: purple.thoughts
Starting Post Count (including this one): 67
Current Rank: jr. member
BTC Address: 38mQRiQkzbvYwVet6cdn1DUbHjc1zeZxZS


This is a good thing because it encourages not only spammers but all those who really want to post quality posts.

One, you're wearing a signature so you're disqualified

Two, the campaign is currently closed for this week

@BTCforJoe, I suggest adding an explicit written rule disqualifying people who make a patent demonstration of having failed to read the rules.  The length of disqualification should be proportional to how outrageously the rules were ignored.  In any case where it’s obvious that a bounty-grubber is blindly groping for a place to drop a username and Bitcoin address, disqualification may as well be permanent.

The delightful irony is that those who fail to read the rules will miss this rule, too.

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That gets from me a rare emoticon:  :-(


;-)

The entire point of the campaign is to promote quality posting, not providing spammers with additional funds (and merits) for low quality posts and the ability to read is pretty much a necessity. I second the idea for a disqualification for the future.

I agree with you two. That will make merits and funds to be given only to people wanting to improve. I consider myself one of those, since i'm still new and i want to constantly learn more about Bitcoin and at the same time improve my writing and creativity, vital skills to do what i want in the future.

I really like this forum and i want to be reach the level of a respectable member one day. I will work hard for it  :D

From the “style guide” department, a tip for Newbies who wish to improve their post quality:  Please learn to trim quotes down to the part pertinent to your reply (without unfairly removing context or cherry-picking, of course).  There is an art and a science to properly arranging quotes to show the flow of conversation in a way which is informative, yet concise.

It is a common newbie mistake to quote a long post in its entirety, then tack on a short reply which addresses one paragraph thereof.  This applies not only to forums, but also to mailing lists and Usenet.

This is not the thread to make this claim. Whether it is true or false, that is irrelevant to where you are posting this. I see you posted a thread about hacked accounts in the altcoin discussion, this is also not the proper place for these types of threads. If you would like to have your claim investigated then you need to make a post in the Meta (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=24.0) section with acceptable proof that you are the original owner of the account. It seems you claim your account was hacked at December 17th, 2017 and December 16th, 2017 Pugman applied for the ChipMixer campaign.

Also, read this sticky about recovering hacked/lost account to proceed properly and effectively. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=497545.0

I have been in regular conversation with Pugman for a few weeks now, and I would hate for this to be the case. I can't say to any change in behavior, since I would've only have come in contact with Pugman after the date you allege to have lost control of the account. Do not follow them around the forum and harass them, simply prove your case and you will find this is much more effective.

Please do not break forum rules and do not repeatedly post, if you feel the need then edit your original post. If you are the original Pugman then you will either be able to prove it or you will need to accept that we cannot believe you without proof.

Thanks for your enthusiasm! Be sure to bookmark this thread (or add it to your watchlist) and join us for a chance to win when your signature campaign ends.

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Welcome to the challenge. As this week's round is already closed, you will be included in the next week's round (Round 2), starting on Sunday. Good luck!

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As others have mentioned, you two are not eligible to participate in this challenge, as you are currently wearing paid signatures. I may take @nullius's suggestion to disqualify applicants who clearly haven't read the rules (which defeats the very purpose of why this challenge was created in the first place). Because these applicants clearly haven't understood (or accepted) the challenge in all of its glory and willfully neglected the rules, the disqualification period should be somewhat long. I'm thinking until 3 full rounds have passed. Thoughts, everyone?

Unfortunately, I think the technical specs of bech32 addresses are way beyond what we'll receive as the average participant to this challenge. As much as I want to promote SegWit adoption, I don't want to deter users from partaking in this challenge due to their neglect for wanting to learn more about proper SegWit implementation. Perhaps in the future when Bravo Charlie One addresses become more of a widespread and known format, we can add more relevant instructions on how to follow the format, but until then, I'm trusting that applicants will take the time to properly create and use SW-enabled wallets for this challenge.

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It's entirely up to you. Transaction fees are the lowest they've been in months, so that shouldn't be an issue, but it's completely up to you how you want to handle payments for second place. I have no trust issues with you, and I'm sure that nobody else does, either, so I personally don't see any problems with you sending the prize directly to the second place winner.

---

Thank you, JPR! I'll add you to the Backup Merit Sponsor list and send you a message if there is ever a need for sMerits to be distributed. Perhaps you can view some of the participants' latest posts and randomly award them a merit here and there as you see posts that you deem meritorious? This could potentially become another reason for forum members to join this campaign; to randomly receive merits from supporters of this challenge. It's up to you, but thank you so much for becoming a merit sponsor!

---

See my previous post for my feedback on the matter regarding applicants who clearly have not read the rules.

Regarding bounty-grubbers, I don't want to become a sig-nazi; I can actually foresee some participants switching between this challenge and paid signature campaigns, which is fine. I'm just glad that they'll be mindful for at least the duration that they're a part of this challenge, and I'm hoping that their persistence in creating quality posts will carry over to their posts if they so choose to join a paid sig camp. However, I think that if they drop this challenge throughout a round that they are registered, by way of applying a paid signature midway through the round, then they should be permanently disqualified from joining, as that shows a blatant disregard/disrespect towards the efforts that so many are putting forth to support this challenge. Fair?

---

Please follow the advice and instructions (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31888724#msg31888724) as @bill gator has recommended.

However, I will say that your accusations are concerning a bit, as @pugman has made a monetary donation towards the funds for this challenge. If your allegations are true, then it's creating a personal moral dilemma for me, as I do not condone the hacking/buying of BCT accounts; I would be obliged to refund pugman's contribution.

That's all I have to say about this matter at this time, but if you would like to provide proof of your allegations, please PM me with the details. Until this is done, I will carry on with business as usual, as blind allegations without documentation carry no substance. Please PM me if you'd like to discuss this matter in further detail.

We have additional sponsors!

Please help me welcome our newest supporters and sponsors of this challenge:

JackpotRacer (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=524209): Backup Merit Sponsor
JackpotRacer has committed to providing merits for winners if current merit sources ever run out. (reference (http://archive.is/Hr4mA#selection-537.0-537.58))

pugman (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=325061): Cash Sponsor
pugman has sponsored and sent a transaction for 0.004BTC to be utilized for any way that is best for this challenge's participants, whether it is for future winners or bonuses. (reference: 1 (https://i.imgur.com/Fx3XktQ.png) • 2 (https://blockchain.info/tx/e8287e855b1d7cf0aadf255d9e7cdaf1df5e1e4a2bc8a53535be14e50a2e3c7e))

Kemarit (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=667916): Backup Merit Sponsor
Kemarit has committed to providing merits for winners if current merit sources ever run out. (reference (https://i.imgur.com/DtYP4Kv.png))

---

A HUGE thank you to the sponsors of this campaign! I initially thought that it would just be me and @bill gator hosting and carrying this challenge, but the positive response and support has been amazing. Thank you, BitcoinTalk community. You guys are pretty amazing!

thx for accepting my offer. very good idea to reward postings during the contest.  I will try to follow the contest and the postings. in case you see some postings which you think should get merits please let me know and I will reward those.

best of luck

Don't forget to apply for Round 2 (begins Sunday at approximately 9:00PM GMT -6)

Round 2 application cutoff is on Monday at 9:00PM (GMT -6).

We have almost two days remaining for this round, and giving the participants' posts a brief scan, I'm pleasantly surprised with how much they're trying (most of them, at least :P)!

I will make sure to provide my personal feedback about each of the participant's best posts for the week, and tips on improvement (based on my [mysterious] criteria) when the round ends.

Great job, everyone!

NOTE: I will be revising and adding a few new definitive rules, so make sure to read the updated top post upon the start of Round 2.

BitcoinTalk username: bitperson
Starting Post Count (including this one): 302
Current Rank: member
BTC Address: 1JUVvunUMJUzDHxQU8z8oPWNkRwmzeeKM2

Just to clarify does the round begin (aka the time for the posting to be counted) begin from that time or the applications?

Hi Joe, i just want to inform you that i would like to sponsor 5merits for the second round of this challenge. Just let me know the winner and which post should need to toss merit thanks.

BitcoinTalk Username: BTC_Anon
Starting Post Count (including this one): 15
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 141FTMuXacK3KwPJ69Q5iuLLSiR1epyCrT

Thanks in advance!

BitcoinTalk Username: Sudhik
Starting Post Count (including this one): 178
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 15ALvj3QYRPjDkN86MsxJ1oss3uXjQg8L8

Not sure if we need to reapply for round 2 if we are already in round 1, but just in case.

BitcoinTalk Username: Flip4Flop
Starting Post Count (including this one): 523
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 3HegViRbNEftwQRqMuVfqahFWKA8gyML6U

BitcoinTalk Username: Blue Tyrant
Starting Post Count (including this one):38
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:  bc1qmwzg3q8ghqs5ya45pzxpe2v8u865tjkm98g9fg

Added the signature this time (I'm a newbie but due to the whole copper member thing I could use a modified version of the Member one)

BitcoinTalk Username: monchi
Starting Post Count (including this one): 11
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 3B5HqYMEDmudURMmFEMu3qr1otPAq6w8t6

BitcoinTalk Username: Acha 1 3
Starting Post Count (including this one): 24
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address:

Username: Thelma987
Starting Post Count (including this one): 39
BitcoinTalkurrent Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 1Nd3GChLoRfz1hNjtN3LmSym8J4cbxMad

Username : sakib.bro
starting post count: 106
BTT rank : Jr. member
Bitcoin Adress: 16uFgvA5G9sVfr6AhQp2yJTvK7XLoVQ8WR

@BTCforJoe, is my new signature campaign compatible with yours?  I think it is.  Payment for my campaign consists of a 2²⁵⁶% airdrop of pure privacy, plus pride in being cypherpunk chic.

If you will permit people to participate in both campaigns (as I already am), then I will add a plug to Joe’s Signatureless Challenge to my ANN thread’s OP.

Behold, the best spam campaign this forum has ever seen:

😈😈😈 PGP 256% AIRDROP BOUNTY SIGNATURE SPAM CAMPAIGN! Old-school CRYPTO 😈😈😈 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3107429.0)

Round 1 has ended and Round 2 has begun. The winners will be announced shortly.

Please make sure to reapply to Round 2 if you haven’t already. Give me a few hours and I will announce the winners.

Yes, as it is not a paid sig campaign :) unless you can put a value on privacy, which I believe to be priceless.

I’d been waiting for 2018-03-12 03:00 UTC:

BitcoinTalk Username: nullius (#976210)
Starting Post Count (including this one): 865
Current Rank: Member
BTC Address (edited): 3CxsuDpbariuRG8t35cPMmkwBYLuNQ73Ld

N.b., Activity Period 1257 will begin Tuesday, 13 March 2018 at 19:40:00 UTC.  I expect to change rank soon after that; and others may, too.  Does it matter to the campaign if the provided information does not remain valid all week?

---

Indeed, priceless!  Campaign payment rules agree:


I will soon work in a link touting the virtues of Joe’s Signatureless Challenge.

I figured I better do this before the results come out.

BitcoinTalk Username: toughit
Starting Post Count (including this one): 228
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: roll it over this week

Dang nullius, 90 posts , it would take me the next week just to read them, and probably never be able to understand their content.

New rule request:  The winner each week has to suggest his top post as a learning experience, (and maybe expound on it if there is interest)

Re-Apply sir

BitcoinTalk Username: detector
Starting Post Count (including this one): 165
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 1AYb1qqkHt3bCMqxfNr3GYTcmPANKm1WKC

---

COngratulation @nullius you deserve it, sir

Sorry for the long delay, but given that this is my first week of processing applicants' posts, I wanted to take my time to ensure that all was fair.

I have applied the same criteria for all applicants, and if you view the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI/edit#gid=0), you will see notes about each of the participant's post history for Round 1. With that said,

---

---

Congratulations to the winners of Round 1! Terms and rewards for Round 2 have changed, so make sure to read the original post to review them.

Overall, I am impressed at the level of quality I have witnessed in the commencement round of this challenge; the participants have far surpassed my expectations. And as predicted, @nullius has swept this week's first place prize. However, the margin of the win was only separated by half a point!

I will message the sponsors who have committed to awarding these users to ensure that all prizes are distributed properly. At this moment, @nullius has been sent his payment reward (https://blockchain.info/tx/aa5a6f6fd078f76dea8d16d5841b53699cca4a593f9304f206471e495e726627), and this information will be added under the "Escrow" information in the top post.

Stay tuned, I will update the thread and return with some more feedback, but for now, please help me with congratulating the winners of Round 1!

Damn that was a close finish but a winner's a winner. Congrats @nullius you deserve it. As for my address I did mention it in my entry  ;)

Address: bc1qmwzg3q8ghqs5ya45pzxpe2v8u865tjkm98g9fg

Thanks for letting me participate and thanks for all the sponsors both for the merits and the BTC

Hi Joe, as I promise you before.
Merit has been sent to the one and only nullius (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=976210). Congrats  ;)
Reference: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg32106792#msg32106792

My congratulations to Blue Tyrant and Toughit.  You gave me a run for my bits!

Following is what I wrote up after Bitcoin gave me advance notice.  When I saw the “while you were typing” warning for the official announcement, I had to go back and review the spreadsheet...

---

Well, hello, aa5a6f6fd078f76dea8d16d5841b53699cca4a593f9304f206471e495e726627.

Frankly, I didn’t have a great week—though it was certainly better than the week before!  I think I made a strong start, then got sucked back into drama which went to a new nadir:



Not only did that consume much time (both on and off the forum), but it also had me largely preoccupied for a few days.

Some of the other contestants put on a very strong showing.  Good game, folks—you had me worried!


Out of my 90 posts, although many were good in their own right, I count 8 which I think are exemplary outside the strictly limited situation of aforestated drama:

• Monday: On the task of decentralizing the global hashrate (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2617240.msg31646058#msg31646058)
• Tuesday: There is no “format war”: Bech32 = native Segwit; nested = backward-compat hack. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3022616.msg31682377#msg31682377)
• Tuesday: “Regular InfoSec policies” are regularly wrong, especially when taken as dogmata (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3069524.msg31668995#msg31668995)
• Thursday: On the virtue of Ciphersex (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3062006.msg31817506#msg31817506)
• Friday: Re: Plagiarism: the difference between "wallet" and "wallet" (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3094459.msg31947587#msg31947587)
• Sunday: Review: mailbox.org e-mail; pseudonymous friendly, antispam, €1/mo. (pay in BTC) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3107013.msg32100088#msg32100088)
• Sunday: Feature request: Forum remailer (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3107102.msg32101026#msg32101026)
• Sunday: 😈😈😈 PGP 256% AIRDROP BOUNTY SIGNATURE SPAM CAMPAIGN! Old-school CRYPTO 😈😈😈 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3107429.msg32103439#msg32103439)

Of course, the judges’ opinion was what mattered here!

Cheers, all.

I forgot to include the bonus $5 prize, sponsored by @stompix. Here is the txid for the bonus prize to @nullius (https://blockchain.info/tx/8fa192a8a3f2225f2a225466971fb03c74c9e595fe3b4c94b17bf2d83874f998).


Thank you, Geraldo. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

---

Whoops, my bad! Payment will be made by @bill gator, who will post the txid here upon doing so. Congratulations!

The round will be carried out at the current rank of which the user applied for that round. I can only see this becoming an issue for the third place prize if a user ranks up from Jr. Member mid-week.

---

Great suggestion! I was planning on posting my top picks for the participants, but I think it would be best for the winners to submit their favorite posts that they feel are the most meritorious. The merit sponsors can then merit those posts for their rewards. I'll make sure to edit that into the terms of this challenge!

---

This post had me in stitches. In a way, it's almost too clever for the average member on this forum. I can just imagine a bunch of the newbies reading this thread and asking "so when is the airdrop happening?" hahaha

---

Update: It's currently 1AM. I will add all of the applicants for Round 2 to the spreadsheet in the morning. Good night, all, and thanks for making this challenge so successful! Here's to hoping it stays alive for many weeks to come!

Congrats to the winners nullius, Blue Tyrant and toughit! You guys are so awesome. Grats also Joe for this successful movement. Hope this won't stop. Cheers!!

Thanks for all the sponsors!

@BTCforJoe: isn't there anyone who qualifies for this?
Am I right that Sellingaccs would qualify for my consolation prize?

BitcoinTalk Username: s2break
Starting Post Count (including this one): 276
Current Rank: Jr Member

Many thank, sir!

 I was really amazed and felt lucky to have joined this challenge because of the criticism at the end of it.I should have first joined in something like this when I was a newbie up to jr. member. I was also able to trace and see which posts are good and substantial. I'll try to improve my posts and maybe join again if this is still available. Thank you so much for the chance.

Congratz for the winners and thanks for the feedback! much appreciated.
Regarding the signature, I actually liked the old one better. IMO a simple signature would draw more attention. I feel like if a signature is too complicated some people (like me ;D) would assume that it's a paid ad and would just ignore it.

Nicely done btw, I see this challenge took much of your time.

BitcoinTalk Username: KP Oli
Starting Post Count (including this one): 8
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:

A reason for me to start posting.

I'd like to rain some merit on the winners but I'm a bit confused - are there specific posts that I should merit? The application posts? Would like to make it clear that this is for the challenge.

I think their constructive post will be reasonable rather than The application posts.

It's a purpose of Merit that admin created ,right ?

I guess for that purpose it would be pretty neat to implement what @toughit requested


That way it would be better for the merits to be handed out to the "best" posts of the week rather than an application post which kinda seems against the spirit of the merit system (after all it was meant for quality posting and not exactly meriting applications for campaigns)

And it should be linked in the OP or the spreadsheet for quick reference. Yes, I'm lazy.

Edit: for now I just sent some merits to posts in this thread.

I appreciate your initiative! Merited! :)

I would like to apply but I'm not interested in the cash prize.
Let me know if I can join and keep my current signature (advertises my service on this forum - unsuccessfully though ...  ::) ).

BitcoinTalk Username: vlad230
Starting Post Count (including this one): 157
Current Rank: Member
BTC Address: N/A

BitcoinTalk Username: buyandsale
Starting Post Count (including this one): 108
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 3Ap8HXGp5oRxk3fTsMoktTAkLBrfPoTBRo

BitcoinTalk Username: vlom
Starting Post Count (including this one): 2574
Current Rank: Legendary
BTC Address: 1Atc4zkniTL5kPeUhc3Vg6heKi4LQ41KTh

sent you 25 merit.

I hope to join this challenge. It is a great challenge to get everyone to post in high quality.
I will do my best to post only quality post.

I gave 8 merits to nullius. (reference) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2469397.msg25696091#msg25696091) He specifically requested that post, which was why I gave it merit.

Waiting on Blue Tyrant to see if there's a specific post he'd like me to merit. Edit: given, (reference) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3069524.msg31675134#msg31675134)

BitcoinTalk Username: Jack Dragon
Starting Post Count (including this one): 5
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 39ZyszafxVpF3RHfnAoWE6otpMu3TSWwuD

cool idea bro.

2 more hours to get your applications in for Round 2!

Round 2 is already underway and will go until Sunday evening. Remember, a minimum of 7 posts is required. No maximum. You can post anywhere you like, as long as it's an English-speaking board (posts in Local sections will not affect your overall score, as long as minimums in English-speaking boards are met). You can wear whatever signature you want, as long as it is not a paid campaign signature.

Good luck, all! Spreadsheet will be updated tonight, and I'll reply to all of your questions in a bit. I'll also update the top post with new regulations.

Thanks for round 1!  

Its quite a different thing writing a post KNOWING that people will be looking at and judging the contents then just typing at will. (yes I actually had to think about my posts).

I can't image where nullius gets the time to generate that output with that quality level, averaging more posts in 1 day than I did in a week.

Thanks for being generous with my score, and the merits!

Oh i did not know i have to submit my entry again for Round 2?
Can still participate?

BitcoinTalk Username: Jack Dragon
Starting Post Count (including this one): 183
Current Rank: Jr. Member

I finished last week at post count 182.

Hi Joe,
Two Merits for the 3rd place seems fair enough, and I'll provide it in the 2nd round if you don't mind.

I tried sending the $10 directly to Blue Tyrant's address, but for some reason my client doesn't like the bc1 addresses. Since I was unable to send the funds directly I have sent a little more than $20 to the escrow address for this challenge. That way Joe can dish out the funds for me, and next weeks sponsor money is already in the escrow address. I apologize for being about a day late here, but I've been very busy lately.

TXID : 6f3a8961aeb2a81e46f60325fccd1fbed130ca3a8464c1aef55fd38a697c2a55

Let me know if that's okay, Joe.

Most clients and exchanges have some intense dislike for native segwit addresses. You'll probably need to use either I think either Electrum, Core or a hardware wallet to send it. That being said BTC.com supports reading transactions with native SegWit addresses so I presume their online wallet should support sending money to bc1 addresses aswell

Thanks, DarkStar_.  That post was my Newbie-ranked debut in the Development & Technical Discussion forum, made three days after I started actively posting.  It defends Segwit, and tears into one of the major ulterior motives of the swindlers who lead the Btrash idiots.  That post has a special place in my heart.

---

I myself find that I do best when I don’t think like that.  It can result in what is commonly called “trying too hard”, a sure mark of a junior hack in the world of professional writing.

That being said, I was always conscious that my posts had (I hoped!) a readership who would be “looking and judging”.  That is why, if you check my post history, you will find that my post quality and style are unchanged since introduction of the merit system.  I still talk tech the same way as before, post long “diatribes” the same way as before, insult idiots the same way as before, etc.  The only difference is that my forum presence and subject matter have expanded and evolved, which I think is natural for a new user.


I sometimes do 24–36 hour posting marathons, for the principal purpose of concealing my time zone.  Otherwise, I jet-lag around my sleep schedule.  When user stats were enabled in December, I managed to keep a fairly smooth top across the bar chart of posts by hours per day.  Such is the nature of life in the.nym.zone!

---

Indeed.  Bech32 is awesome; and native Segwit is beneficial to both your fee savings, and the network as a whole.  But you are brave to now use the address format of the future, when so many obsolete products and services are still stuck in the past.  I tried that.  Gave up for now.  Though I have seen some advanced users seemingly use Bech32 addresses as a mark of eliteness amongst themselves.  Anyway, I am hoping that 2018 will be the year of Bech32 adoption.  Here’s hoping that by the beginning of 2019, we will all be using Bech32!

Can I participate with my alt like nullius and others? you should pay people and ask them not to post at all. facking lol, there is a participant named Sellingaccs. OP's activity and merits are the same. account and merit farmer. second facking lol. you are literally selling merits. nullius with his godlike avatar could join with his alt and farm these merits. after having enough merits for a senior member rank, he could sell the accounts and share the profit.

If you replace nullius with OP, you'll have a merit farmer who is also getting paid. if anybody on this campaign is receiving merit and money for the same post quality of other people who'd receive no merits for their posts. if they have substantial post quality, let them earn merits like everybody else with substantial post quality.

If a merit source is enrolled in a signature campaign, he shouldn't merit any member from the same campaign. if you are not a merit source, apply to become one. if you haven't been selected as a merit source, don't act like one and don't create a service to have merit sources as sponsors. it is like being denied to become a source but then going and making a thread to tell merit sources what to do. doing it your way. (I know you are not forcing them to be your sponsors).

Welcome to Round 2!

In total, we have 25 participants for this round, which means that there will be a CASH PRIZE for 3rd place, as well (sponsored by @bill gator)!

Good luck to all for Round 2!

The round begins on Sunday, but when I do my count at the end of the round, I tally up the posts from the participants' applications post. So even if they apply for the challenge after the round begins, all posts from the start of the round will count towards the current round.

---

Do you have a preference as to how you would like to split up the merits, and for which rankings? Please let me know, and I'll include you as a merit sponsor for Round 2! Thank you.

---

That is correct; merit away!

---

I'm going to require that the winners of each round post their most meritorious post as a way to claim their winnings. Otherwise, you're free to view the participants' post history and award merit for whichever posts you feel are meritorious. Thanks for doing this!

---

Yes, as it does not belong to a paid signature campaign. Thank you for the merit; it's much appreciated. What would you like to do with the cash reward if you place for this round? Keep it in escrow? Roll it over to the next round? Donate it to charity? Please let me know!

---

I definitely do not mind :)

Thank you, Geraldo! I will update the sponsors and top post now!

This is fine, but I'm also currently having trouble sending to Bravo Charlie addresses, as well. The wallet that I'm using for escrow only allows for Nested P2SH transactions. @Blue Tyrant, can I send your winnings to the legacy SW address you have in your signature, or can you provide me with another Legacy SW address to send your winnings to? I'll try and figure out the escrow situation in the future :X

Ah np, send the winnings to 3CDSWMJVWqwA14JjH4mjX93TJuvhQG4MZr (another nested P2SH address)

Great, thanks. Your winnings have been sent!

https://blockchain.info/tx/a3695fa0992fb029108c5399ab9ea99ffea5784967abf9ac010adfcdb23a2003

Congratulations, again! Best of luck for Round 2!

K Joe, remind me when round 2 ended.

Done! I've Merited this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1370307.msg31997211#msg31997211) and this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1370307.msg32139135#msg32139135).

I don't think I will win, but if I do, let's roll it over to the next round.
Maybe we can encourage more people to start posting quality content and most importantly help the community. Thanks!

BitcoinTalk Username: fahad.khan
Starting Post Count (including this one): 90
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: If I am lucky enough to be required to provide it.

I have started recently and did not participate in any paid campaign. I always try to post something nice, brief and productive !

Hi Joe!
I must report all my posts (minimum 7 post) in here?

No, since they can be checked by Joe anyway and posting here will increase spam. Not to mention anyone who posts even 4-5 times a day will end up reporting like 30+ posts which is a ton of effort close to no benefit. Not to mention you could hide your spammy posts and just link the cherry picked best ones to increase your chances of a win

This would be a great help for low ranked member and I would like to participate in this challenge but until i see nullius is listed in the participants i think i cant win this challenge, no doubt that this user is oustanding hard to beat. It is good if the winner every week will not be able to join in the following week challenge to give chance the other member to win and every winner will have a battle for the best poster with a huge rewards and i think that is very cool.

BitcoinTalk Username: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile
Starting Post Count (including this one): 106
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 3Ng4hUA6xpzFJcZkZFcNrXuNXs54Z7hiJ8

I think it's funny that Joe had the same problem I was having. I probably could've just asked Blue Tyrant for an address myself and we could've saved almost $1 in fees. Ah well, I'm sure we'll all get over it and be able to learn something moving forward. Good to see Joe got the funds sent over to you, I have sent next week's 2nd place prize to the escrow address, but I probably should've sent my 3rd place prize with it as well. Nonetheless, I'm having a good time reading through the posts of the winners and I've given Blue Tyrant +1 Merit as well.

I will say that I was surprised at the level of quality of several of the participants in the first round of this challenge. I will say that a rule has already been established that disallows the same participant from winning two consecutive weeks in a row, but I may revisit this rule if the post quality continues to increase by participants other than @nullius.

---

Too late for this current week, but you can submit an application and you will be processed for the next round. Just make sure that you don't have a paid signature concurrent with your application, or you will not be accepted.

Hey BTCforJoe! I have merited you some more! I would like to give these merits to the places on the competition as you wish. I just hope you will let me know where you spend these merits on :)

Best Regards.

Anytime I find posts that are meritorious, I will post them here in this thread. Thanks for the Merits, but maybe they would be more applicable to participants directly? You can access any of the participants by viewing the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI/edit?usp=sharing) and clicking on their name, which will take you to their profiles. Then you can click on their latest posts, and see if any deserve your merits!

Looks like I'm really on the hook for it now. I've sent you $10 towards this round in the last transaction to the escrow address; this should cover the 2nd place prize unless some rough price fluctuations take place. Let me know if I need to top off or send a bit more, because this was not something I had considered. Regardless, I will be sending the 3rd place prize directly, so I will be watching this thread and my PMs to know who that is. You made a good choice with Blue Tyrant, very impressed with the post quality of this week's participants. I can enjoy following you guys around and that was something I was expecting to frustrate me.


A bit of a logistical hiccup. The good ole' Bravo Charlie addresses may be the future, but man they are not making an easy time of it. I'm in the same boat as nullius in that I attempted to use it, had too many problems such as this and bailed for a 3 Segwit Address, for now.

BitcoinTalk Username: sull.kureen
Starting Post Count (including this one): 64
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 14jS2jhNt4ToBoHSavHqL8qcoRRpc59RP5

I can donate 5 merits/week to the top poster as well. Let me know!

You can donate for first week winner nullius
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=976210

He deserve a lot !

I have decided to add a section to the spreadsheet that will reference up to 5 meritorious posts that I see throughout the week. This will be added at some point before the current round is concluded.

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Awesome, thank you! I will add you as a merit sponsor. At some point, I believe by round 5, I’d like to slightly reduce the amount of merits that the top ranks can earn for each round and encourage more members to utilize the spreadsheet to merit a few posts that are deemed meritorious (subjective to my personal criteria: you’re more than welcome to peruse the participants’ post history to find and merit other posts, as well).

This is so exciting to see more and more people taking interest to this type of challenge, and I really hope it is making a difference, regardless of how small that difference is :)

@fakegurutu has been disqualified from this week's round, as they have applied to a paid signature campaign after applying for this challenge.

https://i.imgur.com/JphUCzC.png

This means that there are only 24 valid participants in this round. Unfortunately, this also means that there will not be a cash prize for 3rd place. :(

In other news, I will be tracking merits earned from participants through this challenge, and you can find a "Merit Stats" tab in the spreadsheet (click here to be taken directly to the merit tab in the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI/edit#gid=701774734))

Hopefully, we can have at least 25 qualified participants for this challenge in Round 3. Sorry, everyone :(

Been interesting watching how this whole thing has played out, not bad to have 24 participants just in week two. Hey, the way BTC prices are going, this might even be one of the highest paying campaigns soon  ;D

That's a great addition to the spreadsheet!  Thanks for adding that to see what is considered a meritorious post.

[/quote]
BitcoinTalk Username: fahad.khan
Starting Post Count (including this one): 94
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 1HKWcsgfG3uZT6eMDPrjrkw3K2GXWWwBuh

Dear Joe ! I want to know if I am among the participants. I support your campaign and have applied before ! Thanks.

Not a problem! Got to put those merits somewhere.

I am not a merit source which is why I'm only contributing 5 merits/week. :O

Awh, fakegurutu why did you have to go and ruin it for everyone? Rules are rules though, and I would hate to make an exception just because someone broke the rules. I like the merit stats google spreadsheet, gives us a better ability to see what sort of post quality our participants are operating with. I'm sure round 3 will have enough participants for a 3rd place.


Monbux is the man, they even popped into my sMerit review thread and offered their merit services there as well. It seems they know where merit is being used properly and are a positive proponent. Putting up meritorious posts is a really good idea, for multiple reasons. We can use this to distribute merit to the participants, review the post quality of the better participants and to give struggling users a reference for what constitutes a proper post. It might be nice to have 5-Slots that are Cash + Merit and 5-slots that are just merit or something like that if you're looking to spread the love around to those participants making an effort.

With due permission.

I would like to award 1 Merit to ONE Newbie &/or Jr Member per week. I have 12 sMerits available with me as of now, so I will be doing this for the next 12 weekly rounds at least (or till my sMerits last).

Who would I award?
Anyone that makes a constructive post where the intent is not to smooch off merit points.
I will never award and Merit points to you if you message me to review your post.
I will award only 1 Jr Member or 1 Newbie per week.
I may choose to not award any Merit point in any weekly round if I do not see a worthy post for that particular week's round.

Once OP approves this and if more of you want me to continue supporting this indefinitely, considering sending merit points to this post of mine, so I'll always have enough Merit points to give away each week.

Permission granted :)

If you view the spreadsheet, you will see a newly added section for posts that I consider meritorious. You can easily choose one member a week amongst the participants to award the merit to. I will also try to include the top posts of the week at the end of each round, but this is dependent of how much time I have available lol

Same here, even I am slacking on my Job board thread the last 2 weeks due to some offline work. If only the forum allowed thread based mods other than the OP that the OP himself could pick and grant certain permissions.

I like the implementation of the "meritorious posts" section for the challenge participants. This gives participants an increased chance at being noticed by a higher ranking member with a lot of merit and therefore more likely to earn merit. This offers people the chance to get involved and sponsor the challenge without committing to a cash sponsor or a continuous merit sponsor; users are now able to simply take a peak at the meritorious posts and decide whether or not they would like to contribute to what we are accomplishing.

I imagine we will see a lot of recidivism within this challenge, so I would assume that Round 3 and onward will have a 3rd place cash prize. Unless we have some more rule-breakers, that is.

I'll be throwing around extra merits here and there for thought-provoking discussions, posts, tutorials or whatever else fits my criteria. I'll do "Merit reviews" like I do in my thread for random participants now and then.

Hi! I would like to change my addy, here is signed message for you:

Edit: Will providr compatible address if needed.

Quoted and   verified by Brainwallet (https://brainwalletx.github.io/#verify?vrAddr=1ACCs9LEvxV2o4zSWKMUYUHp1DKTrAHFcU&vrMsg=This%20is%20sellingaccs%20and%20today%20is%2016.03.2018.%20Im%20signing%20this%20message%20from%20my%20staked%20address%20to%20prove%20that%20i%20am%20the%20owner%20of%20this%20account.%20I%20would%20like%20to%20change%20my%20address%20to%20bech32%20format%20for%20BTCforJoe%20signatureless%20campaign.%20Address%3A%20bc1qpaccs4mpnzehs27usjc7yuc2fcjxh4z669jtq0&vrSig=HBBMQcA%2B3r27QvAO9jcjAaKHNcyoNMsmLRPMz70hpwpDKg6LSCZhJgcR8gxJd9CHVf2sGTFUwgYo6W%2B6Gc%2Fdj5g%3D) but currently Native Segwit Addresses aren't supported by the wallets Joe and Bill Gator use. I suggest you try to make a P2SH Nested Segwit address for now till the issue is solved (or native becomes the "norm" enough for more wallets to support it)

I love this movement,I am a newbie and this is my first day of posting but I would not be entering the challenge for this week,I want to spend this time getting acclimated to the forum but I would wear the signature anyways to show my 100% support for this wonderful initiative.

This is something I am looking to remedy for future rounds. I'm open to suggestions, but I'm thinking I will probably just use my Electrum wallet for Native SegWit addresses. I believe I can transfer from Core to Electrum, so that's probably what I'll do so that we don't discourage SegWit usage. I suppose I don't even need to transfer it over to Electrum, could just send it directly from Core to the Native SegWit addresses of participants. It's something I'm perfectly willing and happy to do for participants. I just had a bit of a brain hiccup when it came time to send the winnings at the end of last round, because I was in quite a rush and didn't have time to consider the solutions.

There are no Nested SegWit wallets/clients that offer compatibility with Native SegWit addresses that I know of; is there such a thing currently? There might be technical complications that I'm failing to consider that make this impossible for now.

BitcoinTalk Username: epidose
Starting Post Count (including this one): 43
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: I'd ask you just donate to some charity if i happen to win; im in for the movement not the $$$ (but I'll also take the merit, ha!)

After giving it a little bit of consideration I've decided to increase the amount of merit I'll hand out to 2nd place (at least for this round). It looks weird that 3rd place gets more merit than 2nd, even if there is a cash prize. I will give 3-Merit for 2nd place, instead of 1. I'll do my best to earn some more merit so that I can make it consistently a solid amount of merit; no promises, but maybe someday down the line I'll be able to become a source. One can only hope, but for now 3 is the best I can do and there is no promises for future rounds besides the original pledge of 1-merit.

BitcoinTalk Username: charlie137
Starting Post Count (including this one): 771
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 36gtJNcPfsFCAVRw7pdev2nTLnnof2Lsq1

Apologies for the confusion. My problem is that almost all of my funds are on Nested SegWits that will not send to Native SegWit and I was not thinking in the moment to transfer some of the funds over to my Core address(es) to handle movement of the funds. There is no problem, anymore, the only problem at the time was me being in a rush and not considering what my options were so I just assumed I was unable to do so and sent it to Joe without further thought.

I did not know it could Generate both addresses, though so you've taught me something. We're all set for future movement of funds, at least from my end. Segwit of all types, nested, native or some creepy hybrid in between.

Unless I'm missing something the brain wallet you're referring are places where people try to remember the seed of the wallet and not Brainwalletx which is just a site with a bunch of tools including verify signed messages (and ofc generating brain wallet seeds)

Yes, indeed the merit amount for 2nd place looked a bit off to me too.

It would be nice if you guys with the review services could be merit sources, it would be definitely easier to distribute them to quality & helpful posts.

BitcoinTalk Username: Stedsm
Current Rank: Legendary
Purpose of this post: Sponsorship of second place merits
Amount of Merits sponsored by me for the best poster (2nd place) : 5

Joe, please accept my application and let me reward the best person based on your decision for this week. I'll also look forward to sponsor in BTC too next week (probably).  ;D

Thanks in advance.

Joe,I don't people to ruin their hopes,so I don't mind paying 5$ for the 3rd prize,either from the existing BTC I sent or I'll send 5$ worth of BTC over to the person who secures this week's 3rd prize,for one time only. Your call.

I am a source (which is partially why I can give 8 merits a week). Too bad Merit Source applications aren't being processed by theymos right now.

First place gets 8 merit, second place gets 1 merit, third place gets 2 merit. That doesn't sit right with me, so as long as I can possibly manage it I will make sure second place doesn't get the least amount of merit. Merit sources are few an far between, but we have a couple in this very thread.


You're the man, but try not to one-up me too badly. So that means that there is going to be a 3rd place, not really sure why, but that excites me in an amusing way. One time only should be enough, because next round I will probably be beginning my Sisyphean (Did I use that word right?) sponsorship of 2nd and 3rd place.


There was just recently 20 new sources created recently. I'm not sure how they're deciding when or which applications to go through, but it seems like they're not completely forgotten. They are just not doing it consistently, maybe in rounds, chunks or groups when they feel more merit is needed. Kind of like a recipe, you can always add more, but you can't take any out. I plan to apply as a merit source down the road, but I figure I should let the pipeline clear up a bit before doing so.

I will be updating this thread in a few hours. Just coming back from a long week of work.

But for now, I’d like to adhere to the rules and disallow a cash prize for 3rd place, as the conditions were not met. I think this will also provide some sort of incentive for more people to join this challenge for future rounds.

I’ll update the spreadsheet and sponsors in a few hours.

I bet there are at least a few of our participants that are thinking this is quite the emotional roller coaster. First there's a third place cash prize, the 25th participants gets disqualified so that prize is inactive, then pugman offers to run a 3rd place cash prize and it gets shot down. I would hate to keep our participants in suspense, but maybe pugman could just send the $5 to the escrow address for future rounds.

Application for round 3:

BitcoinTalk Username: De4ted
Starting Post Count (including this one): 13
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 34wR55tT9ARvMshyXh8Yc5K8mqfvFbM6DY

dont forget them.

I'm re-applying for Round 3 :)
I'm not interested in the cash prize, if I will win please allocate it for the next round :)

BitcoinTalk Username: vlad230
Starting Post Count (including this one): 198
Current Rank: Member
BTC Address: N/A

My application for round 3:
BitcoinTalk Username: butka
Starting Post Count (including this one): 15
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:

Applying for week 3.  Love this idea more every week.

BitcoinTalk Username: Flip4Flop
Starting Post Count (including this one): 537
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 3HegViRbNEftwQRqMuVfqahFWKA8gyML6U

whats this challenge is about dont understand exactly cause this time no merit or no price me got till now as me active on forum too and posting stuff ... well if 2nd round finished im in to 3rd round too

It's basically about increasing the quality of the posts overall, well normally there's little motivation to put effort into your posts in your run of the mill signature campaign where quantity > quality so this is like a little challenge since people generally like to win and thus will post better shit than answer why bitcoin changed there life for the 3 trillionth time.

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And my application for this week

BitcoinTalk Username: Blue Tyrant
Starting Post Count (including this one): 91
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: Same as last time

Hi Joe, I will like to apply for the third week round

BitcoinTalk Username:  r1s2g3
Starting Post Count (including this one): 167
Current Rank:  Jr. Member
BTC Address:  145Kr35GsbVvDXbbd4EfpWDuZi5hC3SDTN

BitcoinTalk Username: Verde_Mantis
Starting Post Count (including this one): 60
Current Rank: Jr. Member

my application for this week
bitcointalk username: dmonrey002
starting post count including this one: 55
Current rank: Jr. member
Btc address: 33dgRms91iiNBQtRJySaHJvtYHm8rDKRo1


is it okay we post at local board?. as long as we comply 7 contributive post  at english speaking section ?.

Round 2 has ended! I am going through the applications. Sorry for my absence this week; I've been busy building a pretty badass network of crypto platforms.

Sit tight, and the results will be in shortly!

Round 3 has officially begun!

Applications for Round 3 will be accepted until Monday at 9:00PM (GMT -6). Please make sure to reapply if you've participated before. This is a weekly challenge, so applications will be accepted weekly.

See you guys shortly!

Sorry that I have overlooked your application. You do qualify, so I will be including you in Round 2 results... This also means that we have 25 qualified participants for Round 2, so there WILL be a 3rd place cash prize!

Come on Joe, announce the winners already. I was going to merit don DarkStar_ with 3 merits, since he is a campaign manager and I'm taking my job very seriously as a merit source, I have asked him to provide a username to me for 3 merits. he said: "beggar, if you insist, merit one of the little birdies of mine".

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Congratulations to the winners of Round 2! Overall, great job again this week, folks! For the most part, this week took me longer to score because the overall post quality was superior to the previous round.

Round 3 Winners, will you please post links to the posts that you would like for the merit sponsors to award your merit to?

Merit Sponsors, will you please PM me after you have awarded the merit to the winners?

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Round 3 Merit Stats: This round, a total of 47 Merits were earned by 10 participants. Great job on earning those merits this week!

Here are my notes for all of the participants. Please remember that this is my personal opinion, and in no way reflect the views of the moderators, staff, or any other members of this forum. If you don't like it, start your own challenge. lol

These comments can also be seen on the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI/edit#gid=1807267153).

GC2263: While it is apparent that this user took a bit of time to write posts, all of them are in generic topics that don't contribute much to crypto as a whole; they are blanket-statement topics that are based heavily on speculation. All of your posts have been in "mega" threads.

xWolfx: Disqualified. This user has not posted a single post throughout Round 2.

bitperson: Overall good posts. Some are short, but they are direct and contributive to the topic at hand. A lot of posts in Merit threads, but probably because Merit is still a widely-discussed issue.

Badingding: Disqualified. Only 1 post during Round 2.

BTC_Anon: Every English post is in Off-Topic and short meaningless answers. Please try to be more contributive to relevant topics. Your posts are generic, and I consider this to be direcly in line with shitposting. Please put some more thought into your posts moving forward, and don't be afraid to browse other boards.

Sudhik: Only 6 posts (out of 22 valid posts) are outside of the Altcoin Bounties board. English is apparently not this user's native language. 5 of the 6 posts are poorly written and do not contribute to the overall thread. They are generic statements posted in generic threads that (in my opinion) are just designed to fluff their post count. The 6th post is for a speculatively potentially dangerous service for a pre-ICO product that hasn't proven itself in the industry as of yet. 18 posts in Bounties section. It's obvious that this user's primary purpose of using these forums is to make money, which is fine with me, but please try harder to contribute to more than just megathreads in the future.

Blue Tyrant: Good posts continue to come out of Blue Tyrant! However, this week, it seems as if there were a lot more [informative] posts without references or citations where there easily could have been, given a little time to do research. Making statements like these are great, but having a source would solidify your statement even more. This is just nitpicky, I know, but try not to make definitive statements without backing them up.

monchi: 8 out 9 qualified posts are in general Bitcoin Discussion topics that were designed to raise posts counts. These threads lack true contribution to the crypto industry, and are based speculatively on opinion-based answers. Your answers are generic and speculative. While it's good to engage in conversations about Bitcoin and crypto, try not to do so in posts that don't require much thought to answer.

thelma987: Nearly the entirety of your posts in Round 2 are in megathreads. In ALL of your posts, nearly the same variation of your posts have already been provided before you. This is what is considered to be "shitposting"; when you post in a thread that has DOZENS of pages without reading any of the context outside of the original post. Please do not do this; this is the very type of behavior that this challenge was designed to combat. A couple of your posts are decent, but again, they've been posted in megathreads

nullius: Another solid week for nullius. While there was some repetition in given topics (mainly the Danos thread), and nullius heavily favors the Meta board, his ability to construct contributive post is [still] amazing. They were extremely well thought out, even in posts that were filled with banter and humor. There has been a lack of technical posts that we're used to, but if anyone would like to keep themselves entertained for a few hours, read through nullius's post history on a weekly basis.

Toughit: I'm particularly loving this user's interaction with nullius (does not affect score). Great technical knowledge about mining, and contributions to the forums regarding Bitcoin/Altcoin mining are great! This user is a good example to show that the Merit system needs more outliers on the Altcoin boards. While board distribution is weak comared to other participants, the post quality is great! Keep it up!

detector: First of all, please refrain from posting in Serious Discussion. Your posts there are not contributive, and if they were removed, would have no effect whatsoever on the topics that you've posted in. Otherwise, your posts are decent, but not great. They're either heavily based on opinionated speculation, or based on redundant obvious facts that provide no contribution to the thread. In the future, try to think about your post before posting your replies. Ask yourself "How can I stand out and be different with my post?".

OninLoki: DISQUALIFIED: Applied and joined ContractNet campaign merely 4 HOURS before Round 2 ended.

s2break: EVERY SINGLE POST (with the exception of 1 sMerit review post and a reply in my thread) is about bounties. Please note that the purpose of my challenge was to help eliminate users joining the forums for the SOLE purpose of earning money.

KP Oli: Does not qualify. Only 1 post during Round 2.

vlad230: When positioning yourself as an expert on any subject (given your narrative posting style in several of your posts), please cite sources or references when making such definitive statements. If a post sounds like it's positioned on facts, users will want to see the source of those facts. Other than those few posts, your posting ability is good, and your knowledge on mining seems to be high. Good job on referencing some of your past post history! Your ability to research things is obviously on a sleuth level, as is depicted in your posts about connecting known alt accounts.

buyandsale: Your posts are redundant. They are one-liners. They are what is generally known as shitposts. Absolutely no thought went into any of your posts. This is obvious by seeing that the post that required the most thought was your application to this challenge. Are you serious about this challenge? Try to understand why some members are putting up our own money to keep this challenge ongoing. And then ask yourself if you really belong here. Please try to commit yourself in trying to make this forum a better place!

vlom: Does not qualify. Only 5 posts during Round 2.

Jack Dragon: Does not qualify. Only 2 posts during Round 2.

shahzadafzal: Be careful with your speculative posting. Just because you believe strongly about a subject does not mean that it is factual, so you should stop presenting your posts as facts. Otherwise, great job on taking the time to write out your posts. While I can tell English is not your first language, it shows that you put a lot of thought into your posts. In the future, I would love to see you stray away from posting in as many speculative threads (such as in Bitcoin Discussion).

Sellingaccs: Classic example of "short and sweet" types of posts. Goes to show that you can be contributive without having to post extensively long posts. You are obviously knowledgeable in technical aspects of cryptocurrency. I like how you focus your experience here on the services aspects of the forums. Your banter is noteworthy, and I [surprisingly] enjoyed reading through your post history

fahad.khan: Does not qualify. Only 3 posts during Round 2. (although this is partially my fault for overlooking this user's previous application)

NGL I entirely agree about the point on the lack of proper citations for some of the points I mentioned, was pretty busy the last week so was pretty much logging in for a bit, seeing somewhere I felt a comment was needed quickly put it to text and then got back to what I was doing so I didn't manage to cram in the needed references.

Also congratulations for the winners of this week and Good Luck for this week.

i sent the application few days ago but not sure if it was counted for this week

BitcoinTalk Username: charlie137
Starting Post Count (including this one): 779
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 36gtJNcPfsFCAVRw7pdev2nTLnnof2Lsq1

Joe, have you thought of using Google forms for application processing? This way, spam can be reduced and it'll also reduce your work, and you won't miss any participants too. Things become much clearer then.

Awesome! We can never have too many sponsors! I will be revisiting the reward system during this next round. I want to ensure that this challenge is sustainable, which includes adjusting the merit awards to ensure the longevity of this challenge. I'll provide more details this week, but for now, your merit reward will be applied to 2nd place for this week, as you have requested. nullius[/b[ is this week's second place winner (even though he scored the highest; participants are not eligible to win first place in consecutive weeks). You can view his post history and award the posts that you feel deserve the most merit, or you can message him directly to establish which of his posts he feels are the most meritorious.

---

My god, why didn't I think of this beforehand. You, sir, are awesome.

I'll be setting up a google form for future rounds (starting with Round 4 applications). Thanks for this!

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I am currently processing applications for Round 3 and updating the top post for this week's challenge. Thanks for another successful week, all!

The spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI) has been updated with all participants who have applied for Round 3. We are just 6 applicants away from unlocking the cash prize for 3rd place. Let's hope we get the remaining required applicants by the cutoff tomorrow!

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Yes, this is acceptable.

---

Yes, only the first place prize is prohibited from being won consecutively. And thanks for using SegWit!

Re-Apply sir

BitcoinTalk Username: detector
Starting Post Count (including this one): 170
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 1AYb1qqkHt3bCMqxfNr3GYTcmPANKm1WKC

Congratulations for the winner

Sorry Joe I'm late, a bit busy this week.
Merits sent to the 3rd winner.

Reference: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3146608.msg32540138#msg32540138 (I choose it)

Again, I'll provide two merits for 3rd place on week 3.

Thanks for making my life easy, I was already looking for this in the spreadsheet, turns out you posted it already.
I've merited this (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1695356.msg32573871#msg32573871) and this (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3138159.msg32441733#msg32441733) post.

Cheers  :D

Thanks for running this and thanks for the nomination for 3rd place!  Looking forward to the next week! I think you forgot me in the roll up post for all the comments for everyone. It’s no biggie I checked the spreadsheet but just noticed when scrolling through this morning.

Hi Joe, I'd like to apply for the third week round!  ;)

BitcoinTalk Username: draculaaa
Starting Post Count (including this one): 44
Current Rank: Jr. Member
BTC Address: 1LWDzN8YQa9fdVnH5Emms6VpHpfHzNYUW3

Hello sir, I would like to participate in this challenge

BitcoinTalk Username: vishnu_g
Starting Post Count (including this one): 26
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:

What did I tell you about this emotional roller coaster? I'm finding this extremely amusing that 3rd place was implemented and revoked multiple times during this round.

I have sent nullius their merit, and sent you a PM informing you that I have done so as requested. I'm assuming my funds from last week were enough to cover 2nd place this week, but if not please let me know and I will cover the difference for you, Joe.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this now means that 1st place next week is competing for $50? Round 3 is going to be interesting.

Either I'm being ignored or nobody could see my posts. I have merited the third winner. you could thank the head of the family a.k.a don DarkStar_ those 3 merits were meant for him. it means that I shouldn't be treated specially and differently just because I'm a merit source.

In the future I might need to join the family, however I will not merit any of the family members a.k.a Chipmixer's participants from my source merits, I would have wanted to be accepted and treated like a really trusted man. you might ask yourself, why would this beggar do this if doing it would probably get him nowhere? he might be playing a long game to earn the trust of the forum for hundreds of Bitcoins.

Not really. this is who I am, there has been no other cases in which somebody would invest a considerable amount of trust on me. this is the first time to be a merit source. bottom line, do not treat me differently, I'm not here to use the system for my own benefits. there is no benefits in 20 sMerits anyways right? in my arrogant and insignificant opinion, what you are doing Joe, is producing more spam. I mean what happens to 3 winners and 22 losers? would they delete their unqualified posts or they have just increased the amount of garbage posts?


Don DS, note that everything I've just said above, is an act, lies. we all know that I'm a lier, beggar who would do anything to earn money. I will merit 1 at a time and wont merit the family members in rows. like 1 merit to a random nigger, 1 merit to one of the gang members of the don DarkStar_leone.
Disclaimer: I need merits, where is my supervisor a.k.a mexxer-2 to give me merits in bulk? don't make me beg, I'm trying to build a character here. just a single lol.

I know it can be frustrating, but maybe Joe is just busy. Also as a merit source you can just merit the posts which you find useful rather than just giving them to BTCforJoe. This campaign does not guarantee that the participant gets paid which is alot different than most campaigns.

I can see that you are upset, but you should atleast wait for Joe's answer because he is a really reasonable person imo.

So do you mean 22 losers can't join anymore ?

I got nothing because being losers but I try to improve myself (*as english is not my mother tounge)
At least Joe give me opportunity for me and I'm really appreciate it

For week 3 if not too late:

BitcoinTalk Username: toughit
Starting Post Count (including this one): 240
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: roll it over this week

Hi Joe,  thanks for the win, I did not expect it, but I will take a second to Nullius any day.
I can’t believe how much work you are putting into this!!
These were my favorites for the week, If there are any merits, I don’t think putting them on any single would be right as it might look funny to someone in the future.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3153881.msg32604765#msg32604765
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3134342.msg32415785#msg32415785
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3114287.msg32250593#msg32250593

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3153881.msg32604765#msg32604765 Gave 3
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3134342.msg32415785#msg32415785 Gave 3
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3114287.msg32250593#msg32250593 Gave 2

You are a very hilarious guy, i give you that.
I don't think that theymos would react, but nullius does deserve his own rank kind of, because i have not seen so techinical as well as contributing poster ever before.

For Week 3, at the eleventh hour last minute:

BitcoinTalk Username: nullius (#976210)
Starting Post Count (including this one): 907
Current Rank: Full Member
BTC Address: 32ZRRCFWoCn2hxqSfAHC36YcTvtea3xjJc

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My apologies for the delayed response; some things IRL have been pulling me away from the forum of late.

Congratulations to Toughit!  Also to flip4flop.  I had not seen you before; I will must needs take a peek at your post history.  I think that drawing attention to worthwhile authors is one of the substantial benefits of this contest.  Blue Tyrant, cheers on your honourable mention.

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Quote from: BTCforJoe on March 19, 2018, 07:15:09 AM

Quote from: pugman on March 19, 2018, 06:54:05 AM

Joe, have you thought of using Google forms for application processing? This way, spam can be reduced and it'll also reduce your work, and you won't miss any participants too. Things become much clearer then.

My god, why didn't I think of this beforehand. You, sir, are awesome.

I'll be setting up a google form for future rounds (starting with Round 4 applications). Thanks for this!

I agree that an alternate means of collecting entries would make the thread much more readable; but I must ask, do Google Forms require Javascript (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3001981.msg30868325#msg30868325)?  (Or worse, a Google account?)  If so, I may not enter an application.  I don’t know how Google Forms work, since I avoid Google (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2527738.msg25852987#msg25852987) services as much as practicable.

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Quote from: BTCforJoe on March 19, 2018, 05:36:19 AM

Round 3 Winners, will you please post links to the posts that you would like for the merit sponsors to award your merit to?

Since I seem to be a bit tardy here, I must thank bill gator for having applied my prize to my same Dev & Tech debut post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2469397.msg25696091#msg25696091) as Darkstar_ and BossMacko applied my award last week.

To address the substance of your question:

Many of my posts this week were made in controversy-related threads, and/or dealt with forum abusers.  Those are important in their own right, but of limited interest.  Setting those aside, I think that my best posts of general interest this week were:

• 2018-03-12 23:31:12: Copper memories: Copper Membership endorsed by nullius (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2385104.msg32177979#msg32177979)
• 2018-03-12 23:53:04: Suggestion: Raise merit requirements at the lower and highest ranks (@theymos) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3114287.msg32178708#msg32178708)
• 2018-03-13 00:12:28: Intra-thread meta: Reviewing the use and efficacy of the main merit abuse thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2896910.msg32179214#msg32179214)
• 2018-03-13 05:26:39: Against the concept of a “Serious Discussion” forum (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2716647.msg32189281#msg32189281)
• 2018-03-13 09:48:07: Erotic Bitcoin fetish: On my precedent idea for sexy QR code (temporary) tattoos (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3037868.msg32203158#msg32203158) (note: this was primarily a reference to a post made through my new role account (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3116545.msg32202843#msg32202843), which cannot yet post in Serious Discussion)
• 2018-03-13 10:07:48: Just say NO to KYC privacy-rape doxing! (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3097811.msg32204382#msg32204382)
• 2018-03-14 10:16:41: 😈😈😈 PGP *fingerprints* airdropped to YuTü.Co.in!! SPONSORED BY RFC4880 😈😈😈 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3107429.msg32259207#msg32259207)  (Unfortunately, this was the most technical post I made this week; it was in answer to a question about PGP.)

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Quote from: BTCforJoe on March 19, 2018, 05:36:19 AM

Round 3 Merit Stats: This round, a total of 47 Merits were earned by 10 participants. Great job on earning those merits this week!

Well, I think I’ll need to up my game here. <g>

@BTCforJoe Not sure if you updated my reward conditions on the main post.
I will be reviewing all the posts from the last round that was posted before 19 March midnight (Indian Standard Time) and hopefully choose the first recipient of my first merit point giveaway.
Its only 1 point as I am not a merit source, but I hope its worth it.

Quoting my original post here :

Thanks Nullius I have always found your posts to be informative and create some great discussion. This has been a great challenge and a way to notice some other users that post quality information. 

I'd like to sponsor 2nd consodalation price for this week, if still possible.
Will provide with 2 merit as well  ;D

Let me know if you accept this Joe, and i will save them.

Hi Joe, I hope to be in for the 3rd round because of I don't find my name in the spreadsheet.

Thanks for your initiative and thanks to all that offer their merits.

PS: if you think to reward me, please give the prize to charity.

Bye!

I don't think you're being ignored or unseen. I think people are unsure how to respond to you most of the time if we're being honest. I laugh through most of your posts, but then I cringe at other parts of it. I'm interested in hearing more about why you refuse to merit ChipMixer participants from your source merits, potentially in PM so we don't clutter a thread. Just out of curiosity, because we seem to accumulate a good amount of merit even with your refusal; I'm just wondering if there is something worth knowing.

At least you admit your opinion is arrogant. :D
Point out the participants that are producing more spam as a result of this competition.
Are any participants being rewarded to spam?


Don't worry about it. Real life comes first, if something needs to be handled you handle it. You're still more active then me while being busy, so I wouldn't think much of it or feel the need to apologize.


I doubt Joe would do anything to alienate participants knowingly, but I agree that we should do something to optimize applications. I would offer my help in this area, but I'm not sure I can realistically watch this thread enough to handle that sufficiently.


The implication being that you wouldn't thank me if you weren't tardy.  ;)
It seemed appropriate for it to be that post.


I do my best to avoid the drama. Too much epeen measuring. If something needs my opinion I'll share it, but it seems my viewpoint is normally represented by one party or another. They are of very limited interest, for very limited reasons and the least of which is altruism or benevolence I'm afraid.


Turn it up to 11, ole' chap.

Hi! Can i join the next round if there any.

BitcoinTalk Username: DREWSKIE
Starting Post Count (including this one): 11
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address: 3LUJpeNuGEEfefwKVkAicfNmoRE2doZag1

Looking forward for quality posts...

Hello, @zangleerb and @DREWSKIE. Welcome to the challenge! Because you have missed the cutoff for Round 3, I have reserved you two spots for the next round (Round 4, beginning Sunday, March 25 6:00PM [GMT -6].

All other applicants have been accepted and added to the spreadsheet.

Unless I missed anyone (which could be the case, but I'll review the thread again), we are at 24 participants for Round 3. This means that there will not be a 3rd place cash prize. :(

Because of the emotional roller-coaster for the last round, I've decided that if we have 25 valid participants at the beginning of the round, the cash prize for 3rd prize will be available, even if a participant is disqualified throughout the round. I will re-visit this if this is abused, but I don't expect that will happen.

I apparently missed some posts here, as given the slight drama in the forums, so I'm going to go back and address all the posts that I have not already. Sit tight.

It would really help if you could just delete the posts that aren't registrants. I mean, the debates mixed with registration just doesn't do anything but give everyone extra work.

I myself have to go back and find my original entry post just to sign up for round 4 later on.

I think maybe if you had a separate thread solely for registration purposes, it would make more sense. Like, maybe put a link in the first page to the registration thread.

I think that's more feasible actually, because everyone's deleting their registration posts anyway. So might as well ask everyone to delete & register @ other thread.

I would really be down for that, less work for everyone involved, including you, Joe.

Can I try?

BitcoinTalk Username: SHOWDENY
Starting Post Count (including this one): 7
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:

First of all, the nature of this challenge makes it difficult for users to create quality posts from multiple accounts. While I have let alts join the challenge, @nullius hasn't enrolled in the challenge with his alt (@Meretrix (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1935564)). Because this issue was raised (sorry for just seeing this post; I must have missed it during the time it took me to create the next post after yours), I will create a rule that any participant that gets caught for joining with an alt account (simultaneously with their main account in the same round) will be disqualified and banned for the entirety of this challenge and all future rounds.

You have accused me of "farming" merits. I think that is a very irresponsible statement, and it shows that you have no regard for my intentions of making this forum a better place by spending HOURS (yes, hours upon hours) maintaining this challenge on a weekly basis. I have never asked anyone for merits, and I never will. I have no control over who decides to award me merits personally (here or in any other post of mine), but I'm willing to bet that none of them have questioned my ability to make great detailed posts, including within this challenge, which shows my overall commitment to the forums, its members, and the overall crypto community. The fact that you would make an accusation like this towards me makes me question your ability to properly identify and award merits as a source.

I am "selling merits"? ??? I would ask you to explain this in further detail, but I don't think you have the ability to do so. You will just use and portray your personal opinion, which has no factual basis to prove that I am taking any form of payment for providing this challenge. It started with me donating $25 and merits personally. I never asked anyone to donate any cash or merits to this challenge; they volunteered to do so. I have never asked for payments (cash, BTC, or merits) of any kind from any participants or sponsors, and I never will. So stating that I am selling merits is a blatant form of disrespect to me and the community members that have CHOSEN to be a part of this. They are not promised anything in return, and they never will be.

You seem to have a bone to pick with @nullius. That's fine, but don't criticize and make false accusations towards others because of your dislike for him. You're souring a great opportunity for members here to make some bitcoin and merits for avidly wanting to improve their posts. Yes, while a lot may simply see the $$$ behind this challenge, most of them are dedicated to wanting to improve their post quality. The ones that are in it just for the money obviously have not re-enrolled or met the requirements, as is openly evident in the public spreadsheet from week-to-week.


Again, how am I getting paid? I have never once asked for anything for my actions, and I am personally putting up my own merits and money to fuel this challenge. The winners of the first two rounds have had meritorious posts, and finding suitable posts to merit is a non-issue. If anything, this challenge is helping to create and identify more meritorious posts on the forums, and I don't anticipate that changing in the (hopefully) many future rounds to come.


I have never applied to become a merit source, and don't plan on doing so. I am not acting like a merit source. I am giving away my PERSONAL sMerit for this challenge. Again, I have never asked for sponsors; each and every one of them have volunteered. Why, you ask? Because they have each identified with the true positive nature of this challenge and its efforts to clean up the forums. I ask you to please get off your high horse and stop talking down towards me and the donors of a good cause. There is no ulterior motive here. None of the sponsors, myself included, are expecting anything in return, so for them to get shit on by an almighty merit source who happened to get lucky enough to identify 10 good posts for their application is not a fair assessment and action towards them.


Your spite is unreal in this very statement alone. I was considering not even addressing it, but I will. But just the part about you taking your job as a merit source very seriously. Don't let that misconstrue your abuse of power by thinking that it actually gives you some sort of power to be demeaning towards others. Yes, you are taking your "job" (which implies that YOU are getting paid, not me, like you've previously stated ::)) very seriously. Too seriously. It's not a fucking job. You don't get compensated for it, but the fact that you have called it a job implies that you feel you deserve some sort of compensation. In this case, it seems as if your ego needs stroking or your back needs patting because you became a merit source. You won't get that from me, or anyone else you've insulted in this thread. You are a little shit, and you can shove your almighty merits up your ass.


And are you saying that you merited a user because of your spite towards another user? Is that a responsible method of awarding merit, especially as a merit source? I truly do not understand what you're trying to say here. Again, you must have let becoming a merit source get to your head. Because I have never considered treating you differently because you're a merit source. I personally don't give a shit that you are a source.


Now you're stating that you will not award merit solely for the purpose of one user's actions, just because he is a campaign manager of a signature campaign that has 58 members in it? You're blatantly admitting that 58 users of the forums, regardless of their substantial post quality, will never receive a merit from a merit source because of your disdain for one person. @DarkStar_ has absolutely no control over what or how I post, and if he were to tell me to change the way I post, I would tell him to fuck off. This just shows how irresponsible you are as a merit source, and I personally think that it is enough grounds to make theymos aware of your irresponsible behavior. It's obvious that time has shown that you are not worthy of being a responsible and fair source of merit. At least to me, it is. I don't speak for anyone else, but I will be making a personal complaint about your behavior to the staff of the forums. You're letting your personal emotions get in the way of your "job". For personal reference, if you were my employee and expressed this same type of behavior, I would terminate your employment immediately.


Maybe you haven't taken the time to read the original post. Or taken the time to review the spreadsheet. Or the hours of commentary I have provided for each participant after reading EVERY SINGLE post that they have made. Or the critique that I give them in helping them to try to improve their post quality. Or the willing participants who have taken the time to read the comments and proceed to THANK ME for this service, and for the opportunity to improve their English and posting quality. Even if the "garbage posters" weren't a part of this challenge, they would still be across the forums posting "garbage" to get their post counts up anyways. At least here, they get constructive criticism and feedback. Whether they choose to heed my advice or not is up to them, not me. I don't force them to be a participant, and I don't make any personal guarantees that they will win. But thank you for at least prefacing your statement with your self-aware confession to your opinion being arrogant. If anything, however, you're the one producing spam in this thread.

I was thinking about addressing you privately regarding this matter, but because you have chosen to call me and a few members out publicly in this thread, I have shown you the same courtesy in reciprocating your own actions.


This is not worthy of a detailed response. But I'm just quoting it in order to reference it. Have fun deleting your posts; I've archived each individual page, as well.

Page 8 (http://archive.is/EoTAy#selection-2617.0-2625.475) • Page 11 (http://archive.is/DNrrQ#selection-4817.0-4826.1) • Page 12 (http://archive.is/qF3aO#selection-4849.0-4857.554)

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EDIT: Did I just get trolled? I think I've just come to realize that @digaran is not actually a merit source. Well, shit. ::)

Thanks for going SegWit! And yes, you are able to win the consolation prize repeatedly and consecutively. Only the first place prize has the stipulation that it cannot be awarded consecutively from round to round.

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Great, I have updated the top post. Thanks, Geraldo!

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Yeah, lol. Apologies; I was in a rush. I'm hoping that I won't make the same mistake again in the future :P

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Yup, the first place winner will receive $45 or $50! I have also decided that as long as the round begins with 25 valid participants, the cash prize for 3rd place will be available, even if users are disqualified during the round. The escrow should be fine for this week; I'm adding some more to it shortly. Thanks!

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I will include a link to each round of applications in the top post. I will make an exception for you (and any other user that displays similar privacy and personal concerns) whereas you can PM me your application directly.

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Perfect! I have added you to the list of sponsors. Thank you for doing this.

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Of course! So this week, we will have 2 Consolation Prizes. OP and Sponsor list updated.

You are not a source, why are you encouraging people to post in order to earn merits? I'm not on a high horse, you are. enrolled in a campaign yourself and looking down on people and their contribution like you are doing a charity. you do know that many of the members here would participate in anything for a few bucks? you are literally paying people with merits and money.

You have literally one of the top merited members participating here, we all know that he has the ability to participate with several accounts and win the prizes, you do have the same ability as well as any other Chipmixer members.  why don't you read through boards and pages to merit the good posts if you want to contribute? the whole merit system is a challenge for everybody, why would you create a mini challenge to do the same but with a big difference, you are producing more unnecessary content.

I wanted to merit DarkStar_ for something he provided me with. I told him that I wont merit him with my source, because he is a campaign manager, I shouldn't send any merits to a manager while I'm enrolled in signature campaign.

Why don't you remove your signature and post constructively, then wait for others to evaluate your contribution and give you merits? you have turned this to an opportunity to make your paid job easier for yourself. you are posting with a paid signature and claim that you are helping. you are asking people to come to you for merits. 25 participants and 3 winners, that means you have made 22 other members to post garbage, they are getting paid with money and yet they are posting garbage, do you think earning merits could be a better motivation?

How many members are posting with a substantial quality and get no merits? if you are indirectly making other members and merit sources to spend their merits on a member with the same post quality of another unmerited member, you are by definition allowing a selected few to farm merits.
If I have said "job" is because I have a limited vocabulary. don't expect a third world terrorist to know everything.

Btw, why didn't you apply to become a source? if you had the intentions of helping, you didn't volunteer why? you didn't want to help or spend time? what you are doing now is not spending time right?

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Thanks before and god bless.

I dont feel you need to be a merit source be allowed to encourage people to post quality content, even non merit sources have freely encouraged people in meta (read: the mods, DTs, veteran users, etc who aren't necessarily sources but still want the betterment of the forum)


I have no clue what the link to Chipmixer is and pretty sure that the one of the top merited members statement refers to Nullius, pretty sure there's tons of people willing to pay him much more than the average 2nd and 3rd price here per week to post (the prizes are 5-10$ if I'm not forgetting which is much much smaller than the average payout for a full members account). He has no reason to alt and post quality content to get like what is 15$ extra a week.


IDK about the others, I'm surely not posting exclusively for the prizes, if I were then I'd be participating in the millions of low effort bounty programs that "bounty hunters" love. I do not understand why you feel that we're producing unnecessary content, even if we were I'd say how is it bad that some productive content is being posted to balance out the utter garbage the aforementioned bounty hunters spew to fund their shill money filled pockets.


Again doesn't relate to this campaign in anyway


What? Why would garbage posters even bother for a campaign which is more or less a competition? (I mean I agree some idiots exist who just join thinking this is some run of the mill campaign but those don't even participate a second time and are dropping as the rounds are passing from the looks of the registrants). I also don't understand what you mean by what 22 people posted garbage? Participating in a signature campaign = posting garbage? That's not how stuff works.


I'm not upto date on merit sources but isnt Darkstar the only merit source who's sponsoring the merits? And that too he seems to be doing so willingly on a volunteer basis. Most of the the other merits are from regular users. Besides how is the campaign different from what many merit sources run where they audit your posts? This is just a more "fun" way to do the same thing


Just wondering on this one, Joe and Bill why not apply aswell?

That doesn't make any sense at all. Nobody is "making" anyone do anything here.

To me this thread is a huge help because I can find members and posts that I otherwise have no chance of finding in the deluge of sewer that this forum is becoming. If there are quality members not getting merits please direct them to this thread or to other similar threads or send them your own sMerits. Be part of the solution.

I plan to, at some point, apply to be a merit source. It just seems like staff is swamped with applications for merit sources at this point and there is no shortage of merit to go around in my opinion. There are people entirely more qualified for me that have applied and have been waiting a long time for a response (LoyceV for example). I don't feel like throwing my application on their pile of work, given all these other criteria, is going to do anyone any good so I've been doing my best to understand the merit system better and get a feel for how it should be utilized. I've been involved with challenges, review threads and discussions about merit so that I know what I'm doing before I'm a staff selected merit source. There's been only minimal shortage of merit, and I haven't felt limited to a significant degree on the sMerit I can deliver so it's been a good experience to see what a regular user is going to experience. It just seems appropriate to use the system regularly before applying, and seeing if there is even a need for me to do so.

I can't speak for Joe, so I'd have to let him answer.

digaran, this all just seems like discussion for another place. If you would like to have this conversation then please feel free to start a thread where appropriate, or we can all discuss this in PM. Your concerns are invalid in my opinion; I think you're coming to the wrong conclusions while presenting them arrogantly.


This is probably the best way to do it, that way nobody gets taken on an emotional roller coaster like last round. We've got the hefty prize this round, toughit is a quality user for donating their prize towards the pool. They're probably one of the top donors to the challenge at this point  :D

Thanks for the support, guys. This goes to show that there are, in fact, more people that understand the ideology behind this challenge. Is it ironic that the host is wearing a signature from a paid signature campaign? Absolutely, it is. Is it also ironic that the host himself is not a merit source? Again, absolutely. But I am putting up my own cash,amen my own merits, as many others are. The 8 merits that the only merit source sponsor provides is done so to quality posts that deserve merit. The moment that quality posts stop being produced by participants in this challenge is the moment that I will revisit the merit rewards. If you look in past posts, I have already expressed my concerns with the amount of merit being awarded via this challenge, and have also commmitted to revisiting the reward structure if and when the time arrives that the post quality becomes an issue. As of now, it’s a non-issue, so I appreciate the members who have recognized the overall value in this challenge, and having a roundup to find quality posts.

Are some of the posts by participants “garbage posts”? Yup. But rather than ignoring these posts, like most forum members do, I provide criticism to help these users to understand why their posts are considered lower than par. What they decide to do with that criticism is purely up to them, just like it’s purely up to the sponsors to do with their cash and merits as they deem fit.

If @digaran had his way, it seems apparent that he believes that only merit sources should be allowed to merit posts, period. Look at my sMerit history. I am not contributing to any so-called merit farming accounts. I do send merit responsibly.

@bill gator, you hit the nail on the head with your reply about becoming a merit source. I can only imagine that the staff have to review countless applications because of the newly-founded merit system. Obviously, they will make a few mistakes along the way, such as the mistake they made when making @digaran a merit source. But this, in no way, means that I am not spending my sMerit irresponsibly. In fact, I find that the method in which @digaran chooses not to award merits to be much more irresponsible than my method of utilizing this challenge to identify and award merits to deserving posts.

So much irony has been posted in the past several pages here, but it doesn’t seem that @digaran will stop with his skewed opinion, so I encourage everyone to stop addressing him at this point, and moving forward. I shall do the same.

Thanks to everyone for supporting this cause, and I look forward to reviewing all the posts of the Round 3 participants!

As promised, I've sent 2 merits to nullius for this (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2469397.msg25696091#msg25696091) post and I believe that it was their best one, however, this guy is one serious geek we need over this forum.
And, 1 more merit to Blue Tyrant as a consolation prize for this (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3138159.msg32441733#msg32441733) post.

I hope I am doing my job in kinda better way, sorry for being late as I was busy with something.

I would like to contribute more and will be rewarding 2nd place for Round 3 with 3 merits.

i like the challenge and hope it will help to raise the quality bar and help with merit generation, that is so critical for most of the users now. it would be impossible to completely eliminate the chance of challenge abuse, but it might help a lot of users as well (i hope ))
https://live.blockcypher.com/btc/tx/839f421fb2dbc33348c27446253b706c4b23bef0ff85578d05c6cdc02030796b/

Of course, thank others, I'm saying to all the sources, if you are not up for the task to help theymos, why did you sign up for it? if you were made a source without asking, yet you would like others to point you to quality posts, maybe theymos should reconsider and rethink that you are not a good choice to be selected as a source. if they have no desire to help you, I do and I am willing to put myself under the spotlight, given the merit stats are public and any abuse could disqualify me even from posting here.


Yup, gang bang me. apparently I'm all alone in this and staff made a mistake to make me a source. mexxer-2 where are you man? I need more undeserved merits, these niggers are gang banging me. <Insert lols>.


Yes they do seem to favor laziness, find us quality posts and we'll award them merits. (my alt account joins the campaign and posts quality to get merits, account's price has increased exponentially).


That's the thing, I don't think that theymos would appreciate this. the amount of merits in this challenge is extremely insignificant compared to the overall merits generated by sources. 25 members each posting a minimum of 7 posts, 175 in total. and how many merits they can win in total?


Not my way, theymos has decided this, after everybody has spend their initial sMerits, only sources will remain the active spenders. but your method is wrong, you know for the fact that nobody with a high rank account enrolled in a sig campaign would ever join your challenge, they could earn way more than what you are offering. it leaves us with low ranks, you are providing a way for anybody to enrol with an alt account and post 7 high quality posts to get merits guaranteed.


Which method are you talking about? because I have changed my method several times to find the best one. wouldn't it be irresponsible for me to merit campaign managers or my campaign mates? you haven't even applied to be a source, yet you are speaking of responsibility, nobody has expected you to spend your merits responsibly, as you'd like to call it "your own money and merits". it would've been much more expected if you were finding and identifying meritorious posts by yourself. instead you have chosen the wrong method, that is what I'm trying to tell you.

RE: The whole merit source thing

First week merit rewards were paid out of my sMerits, not my source merits. I've been somewhat busy recently, so last week's came out of my source. My point is that this is not the only place I'm distributing merits. If you check the Most Generous Merit Sender stats (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=merit;stats=topsendat), I am rank 11, which is above the majority of the sources. I'm also not that large of a source; I'm below average. If I had no starting/earned sMerits, I would not have been able to fulfill my end of the bargain for the first week.

Go complain that other merit sources aren't doing their job first, as there are quite a few people on the most merit sent list that are under the average monthly generation. They've burned their source merits, which I would say is much worse than meriting people for good posts. (I assume that was an attack at me, given that I'm the source sponsoring the first place prize for this challenge)

I've checked the posts of those who I've merited through this as well, and I agree that they are good posts, I would not be doing this otherwise. I don't think it would be wise or easy for Joe to farm his own accounts (assuming he has them) without posting "nullius style" posts, and if you were going to do that, you'd get merits anyway. The winners for the past 2 weeks deserve merits in my opinion. My "sponsorship", if you can even call it that is not guaranteed, I could technically pull out of it at any second. If only spammers were left, I'd definitely pull out.

Hi Joe, seems like i'm late to join this chalenge.
Is there still have a chance for me to join or could you take me to your list for next round?
Glad to be here, very appreciate of your kind effort to newbie like us.
Thank you so much in advance.

Cheers!
Indohunter

BitcoinTalk Username: braindeadgenius
Starting Post Count (including this one): 52
Current Rank: Jr. Member

Wao. This is a very interesting contest. I would love to participate in this contest! Now I have the opportunity to participate?

I did not understand it, when theymos himself publicly do not want to disclose this information then why  you are so vocal on it.

From below quote, I think Theymos is also in agreement for starting the Merit awarding threads.

Awesome, thank you so much! I will make sure to update the prizes and top post.

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Great, thank you so much for your donation! I'm very excited to see that others are stepping forward to see an initiative like this succeed. Kudos!

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As indicated in the original post, you can participate and apply at any time. Upon sending your applications, you will be placed in Round 4, unless it is sent after 9PM on Monday, March 26. Then you will be placed in Round 5. Bring it on, and good luck!

Just about a day remains for the round, and I must say that this week is going to be the hardest week for me to grade, by far. We have some real quality content that has been produced thus far, and I can’t wait to see who wins! Great job, everyone!

I’m adding a form for applications for Round 4, so I’ll post it up when it’s ready.

To apply for Round 4, please fill out this Google Form (https://goo.gl/forms/RDLzEf3ZGGQ4nBVM2) and submit your application.

YOU MUST SUBMIT A NEW APPLICATION EVERY WEEK THAT YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE.

Additionally (and I know this is going to be a pain in the ass), if you could go back and delete your old applications, it would help prune this thread. I made the mistake of not making this a self-moderated thread, so I cannot go back and delete the posts for you.

Moving forward, I will create a new form every week for applications. If you feel uncomfortable with using the form, such as for privacy reasons, please send me a message so that I can personally add you to the applicants spreadsheet.

Cheers!

Your google form looks pretty nice; that's going to make weekly applications into the challenge a lot easier to manage. I also like that you're not making it mandatory and accepting PM applications for those that don't feel they can use a Google Form. Top notch challenge management, Joe! This week is looking to be a big week for the challenge, looking forward to keeping up with the participants.

I have submitted how to confirm my entry? Because i can't not find my in Round 4 sheet?

I have submitted the application via the new form.
Will you manually approve the applicants, and then add them to sheet?

Also waiting for this week's results 8)

Sellingaccs, where can i find my user i.d.?

Go to profile and than click on show stats or show posts to discover your user id
example: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1080288;sa=statPanel where 1080288 is the user id.

Thanks for the help!. The last numbers from the url of my profile window =  user i.d. great!.I've submitted my application.

Haha RIP you I guess, posted a lot today, was free for quite a bit of time for the first time in ages so manage to cram in quite a few posts. Fingers crossed as always  ;D

Btw next round onwards (not the one that starts from tomorrow but rather the one that starts from the one after tomorrow's round) we need to use a segwit P2SH address in order to participate right?

Can you please re check this google form. I filled the form once but I am finding link of my profile  from excel row number 5 to 10. Also I am not finding the application of other people who claimed to fill  the form before me.

You're in. The form isn't automated to the spreadsheet that I have. I thought I had automated it last night, but it's apparently not working for new applicants; just ones who have filled out the form before I tried to automate it.

ROUND 3 IS OVER & ROUND 4 HAS BEGUN! Get your applications in (https://goo.gl/forms/RDLzEf3ZGGQ4nBVM2) before tomorrow if you haven't already!

I'm just tallying up the entries from Round 3. Give me a couple hours, and the results will be posted here!

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Please follow instructions in order to submit your application.

You have snipped my quote where I have asked Joe to announce the 2nd round winners, there is no mention of theymos publicly denying to disclose information. if you are referring to the list of merit sources, of course he wouldn't want to disclose it publicly, that would put a lot of responsibility on sources. he wouldn't tell anything I have said, that doesn't mean that he disagrees with them.


In a signature campaign everybody is getting paid. here only 3 members are. note what theymos said, free reviewer topics. this is not reviewing quality posts, this is asking people to post for money and merits. would any of the participants post without the promise of money and merits? if the answer is no, then what they are doing is farming merits. somebody like nullius would post if there is no merit or money prize. find his posts and merit them, find people like him and merit them. not only this is merit farming, they are advertising it on their signatures to invite more people to come here and farm merits.

When they do come here to farm merits, only the best quality posts would receive merits, what about other posts of participants? if 3 out of 25 users are receiving a prize, 22 members are posting garbage, for what? nobody needs their posts. they are not even going to rank up just with posting, so what they have done, is producing more garbage, there is already plenty of such posts. we should merit anybody who is not posting for merit.

Why do we have merit sources? if every forum member without being a merit source decides to do the same, what would happen here?
Contributing would be finding 25 members with unmerited and ignored high quality posts, then helping merit sources by introducing them to each other.

So many great participants this week. I am about halfway through the critique and review process. I'll update again as the winners are decided!

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Dude, just shut the fuck up already. You've tried to make your point, failed miserably, and now you're beating a dead horse. I'm done being polite to you. Please keep your opinion to yourself. I am not breaking any rules; if I was, I would have been reprimanded already. Just because you don't agree with what I'm doing does not give you the right to come and tarnish this thread with your repetitive babble. If you truly have a problem with it, message me in private so we could have a civil discussion, rather than you trying to convey your bullshit upon users that have already disagreed with your opinion.

Your replies here are now borderline trolling. They are repetitive and slanderous in nature. While I respected your opinion before, I do not now. If you feel that I'm breaking rules with the way that merits are distributed here, simply report me to a moderator. Until then, please kindly fuck off.

Is there any issue with the spreadsheet? I tried to view it but it wants me to login.

I have disabled it during the scoring process. I will enable it again after the winners are announced.

I'm almost done, but I have come to the final two participants, which just happens to be Toughit and nullius. This may take a few hours... :D

Just kidding, I'll be done within a half an hour. brb.

Winners, please post the links to your post(s) that you believe to be the most meritorious. If the merit sponsors agree, they will merit that/those post(s) to award you for winning this challenge.

Merit sponsors, please post when you have awarded the winners. If you do not agree with the winners' selections, please use your discretion to choose a post (or multiple posts, if applicable) to award merit to.

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Congratulations to the winners of Round 3! Overall, great job again this week, folks! You guys really stepped up the game, as is evident with the 4+ hours it took me to critique and score this round.

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Round 3 Merit Stats: This round, a total of 98 Merits were earned by 13 participants, for an overall average of 7.54 Merits earned from those participants. Great job!

Round 3: Notes & Critique

Here are my notes for all of the participants. Please remember that this is my personal opinion, and in no way reflect the views of the moderators, staff, or any other members of this forum. If you don't like it, start your own challenge. These notes can also be seen on the spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12ITbgScwqraCTgirTJoXIkNtcPfgwA6yNAcFS7iPzTI/edit#gid=914177555).

cheefbuza: All of your posts are straightforward and to the point. You were not repetitive, and I don't find any of them to be shitposts (with the exception of your post about USDT). With the exception of the two posts that I find to be meritorious, however, I don't find your posts to be highly substantial. Your posts, however, are above average and can be used as an example of keeping it "short, sweet, and to the point!" Great job!

sull.kureen: While I do like the intent behind several of your posts (trying to steer newbies away from just joining bounties, and using yourself as an example of how you started "incorrectly" on the forums), a lot of your posts are what I consider to be shitposts. English is not your first language, and it is VERY apparent. If you're going to partake in an English-speaking challenge, I would highly advise you to start learning more of it. One thing I will tell you, however, is to stop quoting and thanking original posts in your replies. This is considered to be a shitpost, in my eyes, and it provides no true value to the discussion (whether your post was in the thread or not would have no significant value to it). Great job on your topic about the historical value of Bitcoin, but it's one that has been covered repeatedly in the past. If you're truly willing to continue receiving feedback and learning English, please check out https://www.duolingo.com/course/en/ar/Learn-English-Online and sign up (free!) to spend 5 minutes a day (or more) to learn it!

epidose: I like the overall gist and essence of your messages; I just wish that you didn't participate in so many of the threads that are obviously there to shill member ranks and activity. Your posts remind me of that nerd in a high school classroom that is trying to do your school work when there's a substitute teacher is present, but all the kids around you are goofing off. You're obviously doing the right thing, but you're in the wrong place and time to do it. Please be more mindful of where you decide to post, as posting in the Bitcoin/Altcoin Discussion topics that you've chosen just means that your well thought-out reply gets lost in a sea of shitposts. You obviously spend a lot of time on your posts, which is great, but I'd love to see more references and sources of examples to support your ideas on some occasions. Keep it up, and try to find less "spammy" topics; your posts are too good for them.

charlie137: You make a lot of definitive statements without supporting references/sources, and you also make a lot of blanket statements that really don't contribute to the ongoing discussion within the topic you're posting. It's obvious that you have above average knowledge of technical aspects of cryptocurrencies (good luck with AXE!), so I'd like to see you apply more of that to become a semi-source of knowledge and authority about topics you decide to post in, even if it's your own. Lately, you've been posting in megathreads with one-liners that provide no (or very little) value. This really hurt your score for the week, and I KNOW you have the potential to write some amazing content, as is evident by many of your posts from your history. This just shows laziness to me, if I'm being honest.

asrifki99: Does not qualify: There are no active posts within the duration of Round 3

bitmover: Wow. You came out of nowhere. You are obviously very knowledgeable about Bitcoin/crypto, and you navigate the forums here very well. Your posts indicate that you have users' best interest at heart, and I haven't seen a single shitpost from this round. Other participants, please take a look at @bitmover's post history since March 18. Their ability to do outside research and stay relevant is way above par, and if I may be honest, they are the newest user that I am proud to have representing this challenge. Amazing job, @bitmover!

MyIota: First of all, your ten-year prediction format and post is amazing. AMAZING. I really enjoy your writing style and opinions throughout your posts, but be careful; some of your posts are in borderline megathreads that were designed to shill and rank member accounts. You have to be careful where you post, and I believe your posts are good enough to where they should not be posted in threads where the OP and other posters will never/rarely return... I also truly appreciate your willingness and desire to make the forums a better place, as is seen on your stances on the merit system. Kudos to you. In the future, when posting outside references, try to include a link or image to backup your claims/posts; it will just provide that much more validity to your posts. Overall, great job, and you're another contender to watch out for in the future!

MyLitecoin: This is an obvious alt to @MyIota. If you would like for me to critique this account, please let me know. But be warned of two things: (1) If you'd prefer for me to critique and score this account, you will lose and forfeit your score for @MyIota and (2) please do not enroll more than one account at a time in future rounds. Because the discussion of allowing alts was being considered during the time you sent your applications, neither of your accounts will be disqualified from this round.

De4ted: Your posts are below average. They are either trolling or unsubstantial. Your English is passable, but it's not great. This makes it hard to convey high quality posts, so if you want to start posting more substantially, I would recommend that you start spending 5 minutes a day to learn English (https://www.duolingo.com/course/en/ar/Learn-English-Online). Great job on finding the users who are obviously merit-farming, and thank you for adding it to the list of suspected merit abusers. In the future, please do not post in topics that were clearly designed to shill member ranks and promote shitposts.

vlad230: Your post in the "Is it a bug" thread shows me that you can think outside the box, and that you care about privacy. I added that post as a meritorious post because of your out-of-the-box thinking, and validity to how a private person would want to anonymize their online activity display. It's a short and simple post, but reveals the type of mental capacity you have for privacy. Kudos. You've also shown a lot of interest in helping others and helping yourself. You've posted in a lot of Merit threads, and started your own service, which is great to help other users rank their accounts. But I'd like to see more activity in other boards besides mainly Meta and your topic. Your knowledge about altcoin is great, so why not help support some other discussions regarding mining activities and technical help? I see a lot of great potential for you; keep it up!

butka: Another user to watch out for! You show a lot of potential, and your willingness and desire to learn about and contribute to the technical aspect of Bitcoin/altcoins is endearing. You're a great addition to this challenge, and you're one of the top contenders. Your posts are yet another example of what it means to be "short, sweet, and to the point". It's obvious that you're new to Bitcoin compared to a lot of other users, but you display some great knowledge and are asking all the right questions. You're going to integrate very nicely with the forums. Keep it up, and I hope you decide to stick around the challenge for a while!

flip4flop: Another solid week for you. Your stance on Merit and users and these forums is growing stronger in what I believe to be the right direction, and I'm glad that you're continuing to partake in conversations using your opinion. I know that your strengths lie in altcoin mining, but your score was affected because of your limited reach by sticking to only a few subcategories of the forum this week. Part of the overall full crypto experience, in my opinion, is to branch out and either (a) offer insight and knowledge or (b) request insight and knowledge in all aspects of the community. Either way, you've got some great posts, and I love your meritorious post in response to a newbie question. Keep it up!

yazher: Disqualified. Posts are solely in merit or bounty threads. This does not match the intent of this challenge.

buyandsale: Does not qualify: There are only 6 posts within the duration of Round 3

Blue Tyrant: This is the round where I see you familiarizing with the forum and add to your already extensive knowledge of how it works. I like the way that you've started building character for your account, and the manner in which you interact in topics with other users. While a lot of your technical knowledge is lacking in this round, you've contributed in a fun and charismatic fashion across multiple boards of the forums. I think your previous rounds have set the bar high for you. While you did get to undoubtedly make some new friends this round, you've made far fewer exceedingly substantial posts than other participants, which hurt your score. That's fine, as I still consider you a highly-contributing member of the forums.

r1s2g3: While most of your content is original, and several of your posts took a good amount of time and thought to produce, I think you can do much better. No offense, but the way in which you choose topics to answer is carefully thought out, but overall, your posts lack major contribution. Maybe it's because of your limited English, as it's apparent that English is not your first language, but there are so many posts that I wish you would have detailed more than just making blanket statements and posting your reference/source links. While none of your posts are bad, they could be embellished a bit more in order for you to score higher according to my [mysterious] criteria. Keep it up!

Verde_Mantis: Disqualified. This user joined a paid signature campaign after applying to this challenge.

dmonrey002: Besides your posts in Trading Discussion, your posts include a lot of definitive replies that would be better supported if you backed them up with references. You shouldn't make statements like "One example, if I'm right is..." This is considered unsubstantial and provides no value to the topic. However, your knowledge in trading and investing seems to be above par of the average user here. Do you have a background in trading fiat currencies? You've shown initiatives to help other users understanding trading terminology, which is a great step towards showing that you care about wanting others to benefit from Bitcoin/crypto. Just be careful as not to give financial advice without providing some form of liability clause. You don't want to be responsible if someone follows your advice and loses in the market. While English is not your first language, you are a rare example of someone who gets their point across in the majority of your posts.

Sellingaccs: Ugh. You've applied to rent your signature space to someone during this round (reference: http://archive.is/9NFuu#selection-6399.0-6401.230). While wearing a paid signature at any point during this challenge is clearly written as a no-no in the rules, I guess I didn't specify that you shouldn't apply for any paid signatures either. But this should be obvious that it goes against the very nature of this challenge, which is why I have made the decision to disqualify you for this round. I'm sorry, @Sellingaccs, this was a tough decision, but I will state that after giving your post history a brief scan, you would have scored above average, but I honestly don't believe you would have ranked if given the full criteria for the scoring process.

detector: You've posted in a lot of speculative threads which I find to be solely for the purpose of shilling member ranks and posts. You have also made a lot of blanket and safe statements that don't provide any true substance to the topic at hand. Your posts wouldn't make much of a difference to the overall topic if they were removed from it. Please try not to post definitive answers like "Yes it's true because..." if you cannot support your opinion with facts. You can't claim that something is true based on your opinion by saying that statement, and then following it up with words/phrases like "maybe", "some groups", "is basically" and "may have". In the future, if you are posting opinion, rather than fact, don't make it sound like you are posting a fact. I know that English isn't your first language, and that has a huge factor in how you respond to posts, so if this critique doesn't make any sense to you, then I'm reluctant to say that this challenge isn't really for you. Let me know what you think.

draculaaa: You don't have enough posts outside of topics that are about bounties in order for me to be able to critique you. The few posts that you have made are horrible, and it's obvious that you just joined this challenge for a chance to win some money. I will not waste my time with scoring you.

vishnu_g: Does not qualify. There are only 6 posts within the duration of Round 3 (5 of which are in bounty threads)

Toughit: Does not qualify. There is only 1 post made within the duration of Round 3, and it was in the challenge thread. WHERE DID YOU GO, TOUGHIT?!

nullius: Man. You had me worried at the beginning of the week. I know the CloudFlare issue is a huge one for you, as a proponent for security and privacy. So seeing posts repeatedly about the issue had me concerned that you would not be able to deliver. But you did. Not only did you provide humorous posts, spam/scam warnings, and viable solutions for the current meta issue overload, you threaded it all together with the development and technical aspect of Bitcoin. Reviewing your posts, I actually learned a ton. One thing I should remind you of, however, is that often times, you elevate yourself to another level. I don't mean this as a compliment; some of your posts tend to resonate with a very limited audience (not your technical posts; rather, your personal humor posts), which I am a part of, for the most part. Some of your posts had me literally o.O'ing in speechlessness with literally no way of being able to score them lol. Either way, your posts are extremely entertaining to follow. You really are a tough act to follow.

I have merited flip4flop for This post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3165736.msg32753875#msg32753875).
However i'd like to leave this challenge as i did not really apply for any kind of signatures yet because i did not even get any information.
I would not have left the campaign for a paid signature, but however i think that disqualifing all of the posts because of showing a interest of renting a signature is not in my opinion same as acting on it.

I thank you for letting me be part of this challenge, and wish all the luck.

Best Regards.

But you did apply. This is what I had to think long and hard about. You publicly left your application in his thread and clearly stated your terms:

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But by you replying in his thread with specific requirements is the same as acting on it. It's easy to state that you would not leave this challenge because you weren't accepted. But can you understand how it looks to me? I spend hours of time and my own personal money to help users who showed interest in wanting to be a part of something cool that positively affects the forums. But when they go against the core fundamental of what makes this challenge so unique, it's kind of insulting. Whether you were accepted or not, you still applied. Which to me is a big no no.

I didn't ban you from the challenge; I just disqualified you from Round 3 because I truly believe that there is a real possibility that you just made a simple mistake. But if you'd really like to stick by your decision and remove yourself from the challenge, I cannot stop you.

Thank you for your donation and effort to make this a better challenge for all! I truly appreciate it.

thank you! i did took the foot off the floor lately being a little disappointed in overall dynamics of the market progression and forum reactions. plus some sensitive posts are being deleted or ignored, which is kinda vibe killer) i do agree i could provide more links instead of statements, forgetting how much time im spending on google

I've Merited this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3171247.msg32805496#msg32805496) with 2 Merit points. I only give 2 instead of 1 for a post if it's a Newbie making an effort, which is clearly the case here.
I love seeing Newbies who post quality instead of just spamming like the majority, this is what the Merit system is designed to reward on this forum, and users like this are the ones who should be able to level up.

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@BTCforJoe: very good job, again! I was thinking this thread should find an official sponsor instead of users paying from their own pockets. "Joe's Signatureless Challenge (Round 4) - Sponsored by xxxxxxxx".

@BTCforJoe I truly appreciate your kind words. I really enjoyed participating in the contest, and I wasn't expecting a second place!!
Thank you very for all your efforts, analyzing each participants posts.

Congratulations to nullius, Blue Tyrant and all participants!

This is for sure the best signature campaign.  ;D

I believe my most meritorious posts are  my Portuguese translation of an article on the Lightning Network  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2852931.msg32927823#msg32927823),  why I am not worried with the price (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3153173.msg32699111#msg32699111) and Can Proof of Work hasten renewable energy adoption? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3167859.0) and 2FA - Important Precautions with Google Authenticator  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3178131.msg32900782#msg32900782).

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On round 4 I will try to improve my text format, which was my lowest grade.

This is going to be a busy week for me, as I going to travel for a few days to a place with limited internet access, but I will do my best to produce good quality content.

Thank you Joe for for the kind words and for your encouragement. I really enjoyed the challenge, and I'm in it for another round. Congratulation to the winners, and to all participants.

Thanks for noticing! Really appreciate your support.

I'm participating again this round:

BitcoinTalk Username: MyLitecoin
Starting Post Count (including this one): 39
Current Rank: Newbie
BTC Address:
Disclosure: I was participating as MyIota, but now I am participating as MyLitecoin.

I got your note. I just wanted to let you know that I did look through the rules with careful reading and so no mention of alts, which I thought was weird because most sig campaigns have something about that. And then I realized it's becauase you wanted to encourage everyone to not join sig campaigns, so it made sense that you'd want to catch everyone and their alts too in that net.

Anyway, that said, I'm obviously only applying with this account for this round. Btw, the main official rules still don't state anywhere that alts aren't allowed.

I'm not sure anyone really cares about alts on this thread. All we want is good constructive posts here. If a user can do that with more than one account (unless I have this wrong) then they may as well do and promote this scheme further.

@btcforjoe, you should try to get everyone to at least change their personal message to promote this campaign.

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Also, can I sponsor the next two weeks of payments? (with 0.01BTC, do I send this to your escrow address in the op or another address - just in case you don't want there to be too much in that address or can't recieve from bech32 addresses). This is a good campaign and hopefully it'll continue.

Thanks again for running this! I have seen some great informative post from so many different members as a result of this.  I have been trying to branch out of the Altcoin section more and more every week.  Hopefully my post distribution this week will be a little more balanced.

Great to see the forum move away from spam and more toward education.

Awarded.

Yes. It's against the rules to have alts join. I really didn't get a chance to read through all the drama, but it sounds like someone is accusing Joe, well maybe multiple people, of being an alt of Nullius, and that Nullius is just mass-joining this campaign to transfer merits between himself and Joe and other alts, to create a legit-looking merit farm with a worthy cause. They also point out that Joe's in a sig campaign... to which Joe just says "is ironic, haha".

I'm not really up-to-date on that debacle, but it seems as though Joe got scared and is now banning alts from the campaign. Now I don't care if Joe is Nullius or if there's some kind of backroom-merit transfers.

The point is, I'm not a Jr. member yet, and I like the idea of this challenge, so I'm going to hang out here, and hopefully spread a positive vibe with his signature. The challenge is honestly worthless if you're not wearing the signature. The signature helps people see and understand why we're doing this, and they'll feel inspired.

But yeah here's Joe's direct quote about alts:

Was it an actual draft that was saved in your drafts (forum meta (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=drafts)) section? Or was it just a draft you were working on locally that wasn't able to be saved to the meta? Either option is pretty messed up, but if it's the former, then there could be much more vulnerabilities and bugs from this cloudflare integration than we see on the surface.

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I have added the following rule regarding alt accounts to the top post:


But for full disclosure, please note that @nullius will not be partaking in Round 4, but his alt @Meretrix will be. @Meretrix is not eligible to win the first place prize in Round 4.

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Thank you, very much! Although I would love the idea of an ongoing sponsor for this, I really don't mind putting up some cash money for this. I don't want to obligate any individual or business into having to commit to this on a weekly basis. If anyone wants to donate towards the cause, they are more than welcome to at any time, but I will be making a conscious effort not to put much focus on the sponsorship aspect of this challenge, as this should be a great opportunity for members to want to make a better forum experience, not a thread to showcase sponsors :P Does that make sense?

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You're quite welcome, and like I said in your critique, you really caught me by surprise this week. @nullius literally only beat you by 0.06 points. When @nullius first joined this challenge, I (semi)joked that nobody would ever be able to beat him (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3055616.msg31597144#msg31597144). Little did I know that just a few short weeks later, the race would have been so close. Great job, again! I have merited this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3153173.msg32699111#msg32699111) (HODL) and this post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3178131.msg32900782#msg32900782) (2FA).

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Please follow the updated instructions for submitting your application :D

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Unfortunately, because we now have at least one hater on this challenge, I don't want to give them any reason to believe that this challenge is anything else than what it is intended for. Having alts simultaneously enter the challenge would not be fair to other participants (I was specifically thinking of @nullius and his alt when this rule was first being considered).

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Nah, I think that if a participant wants to promote it, they can, but it shouldn't be a requirement.

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Wow, this would be great! You can send it to the escrow address in the top post. Thank you so much for your donation!

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Finally, good news, everyone:

We officially have 25 registered participants for Round 4, which means that there will be a cash prize of $5 for 3rd place!

Good luck, everyone! Registrations close at 9:00PM (GMT -6), so make sure to submit your application! The link to the application form: https://goo.gl/forms/5ZFbI8HmeDkeoqU53

I've given a shot to sponsoring this momenterily. If it turns out that this goes well, I may consider doing this on a permanent basis. Or at least doing the full cash prize permanently. $20 really isn't that much to spend on a good cleanup of the forum (though hopefully we can get a few extra newbies joining this campaign and improving their post quality - with the promise of getting a reward for good constructive posts every week).


Funds sent!

I know it's a bech32 transaction but the amount that it cost me seems rediculously low in tx fees for one input/two outputs so if it stays unconfirmed (I used the within 25 blocks feature as I want to not clog the network with a transaction that isn't needed for another few days) then contact me and I'll bump the fee up a bit.

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Who's nullius' alt also?

Thanks Joe for an honest opinion.  My basic motive to join this contest is to get the feedback only. I never thought of winning any position amidst nullius, Toughit (though he did not posted), Blue  Tyrant and flipflop.

Looks like you got little surprised by bitmover, but I am following him from the start of the round 3 and knew at once , that one more good contestant is in the competition.

@bitmover
I read your some of your post by using Google Translate and I found one scammer copy-pasting you also.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3164920.msg32734677#msg32734677

Congratulations to all the winners and @all : Cheers and Keep the spirits up.

Thank you @r1s2g3. I did my best this last week as I had some good free time.

This post was a very interesting experiment.
I made an English version of this post some weeks ago.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3064698 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3064698)

The reception was not very good. People didn't like it, few comments, few views, I received some critics... Maybe I posted in the wrong board? Beginners & help was maybe not the best option.

Anyway, I knew this post was useful, as I really missed something like this when I was recovering my BCH on last August, and was in my first blockchain interactions. So I translated my own post to Portuguese and posted on my local board. The reception was great.

I learned that in local boards this kind of post is more useful. On the local board people were really helped by the guide.

Local board works as a completely different forum (at least in Portuguese local board). People have different interests and a different technical level.

I will try to make more articles translations to contribute with more technical information to my local board. I think it will be useful there. I translated one article about lightning network that people really liked.

I'm excited to hear that we have enough participants to qualify for a 3rd place prize. It is amusing to me that nullius has entered with a fictional character persona, and I believe nullius to be creating an entire fictional universe out of alt accounts. If they are not, then they should be, as the forum would be more entertaining if that were the case. That being said, it is also very interesting to me the new rules pertaining to alternate accounts. I think it is interesting that nullius is guaranteed to not win 1st place (unless there are undisclosed alts), and that someone else has a good shot at the increased prize pool this week.

Have you experienced any problems with the google forms or automating enrollment entirely? You mentioned that someone barely beat another user by .06 points or something like that, and I'm wondering if I missed something in terms of how posts are being graded and scored.

I also hope to have more participants when they see our signature
BitcoinTalk Username: Michael CF
Starting Post Count : 93
Current Rank: Jr.member
BTC Address: 17kpBS8V6gEifrNEmrxQiYBe5CZxLmaiXe

Yay..I'm late again.
Merited: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3133667.msg33122304#msg33122304

Congrats, Blue Tyrant (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1903208)

Hey Joe, I'll provide again Merits, two merits for 3rd place on round -4  ;)

The automation process was flawed within referencing new data from the sheet that was created by the form to the sheet that I have created for round 4. I thought it was automated but I have to manually go in and reference the new entries. It still beats having to type out all of the usernames and user ID’s though. The scoring formula is just a weighted average based on the 4 criteria’s that I grade when reviewing users’s posts, so the difference of 0.06 points is a valid difference! THAT’S how close this round was!

The application period for Round 4 has ended.

All applications submitted from this point forward will be added to Round 5.

We have received 3 applications after the cutoff time of 9:00PM (GMT -6), so those applicants have been placed in Round 5. Those users are Lorin (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1169943), marcelo01 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1976974), and max2607 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=947848).

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Thank you very much for donating towards this challenge! Low fees won't be a problem; there will always be enough Bitcoin in the escrow to secure the current round. Including yours, we have had a couple donations this week, but before they were received, I funded the escrow address with another $30.

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That would be @Meretrix (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1935564).

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You've turned out to be quite an awesome merit sponsor :) I hope to see you around again in this challenge between signature campaign rounds! Thanks again, Geraldo!

Although im not currently part of this challenge, i'd like to add one merit donation to the 4th place. Let me know if you accept this, and i'll save them.

Edit: I meant that i'd like to give the merit forvthe same requirements as LoyceV, so low ranked members have a chance too for merit :)

Although the.nym.zone’s official position is perforce that there may exist some benign uses for undisclosed alts, running multiple entries in the same contest against its explicit rules would be abusive and outright fraudulent.  Not only would such a thing be wrong in principle:  In practice, it would also destroy our reputation.  As disembodied ghosts in the.nym.zone, reputation is all we have!

Adding some teeth to the theory, nullius is friendly with folks in Reputation who could be expected to red-tag both of us to hell if we were caught abusing alt accounts.  I don’t think he is someone who could try to fly under the radar.

Thus when he created me, after he first bought me some shiny Copper jewellery, the second thing nullius did was to establish bidirectional linkage between our accounts using neutral trust feedback.  You can see the sent and received feedback on my trust summary page (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=trust;u=1935564); n.b. that trust feedback can’t be backdated.  When in doubt, check trust pages.

I must emphasize, too, that using undisclosed alts in close proximity to each other would almost certainly lead to being caught sooner or later with some form of forensic authorship identification.

For a real-life example of forensic authorship identification on this forum, see how tspacepilot outed Quickseller’s fraudulent self-escrow scheme (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1171059.msg12330041#msg12330041).  Warning:  That post is long and technical.  Yet I doubt that such a sophisticated analysis would be necessary to catch multiple contest entries by the man famous for the “nullius post”.  Our writing style is distinctive!

The language patterns used for such identification are subconscious, and almost impossible to reliably modify through conscious intentions.  Though my style may sometimes be modified to take on a feminine lilt in the manner of scripting dialogue for a storybook, the underlying statistical patterns would not be significantly changed.  We’ve read academic papers on the topic.  Mr. “nym.zone” would make a joke of his street cred as a privacy expert, if he were to suppose that he could reliably fool such an analysis without botching his words in some horrid way.

Whereas in a writing contest, we must necessarily make more than short, terse posts; and we cannot use intentionally mangled language, as anonymous parties oft do to avoid identification in high-threat scenarios (https://steemit.com/shadowbrokers/@theshadowbrokers/grammer-critics-information-vs-knowledge):⁰


Yes, we could write like that.  In dark corners of the Internet, how do you know we don’t?  You would never find that!  But of course, we would not likely win a writing contest by such means.

The greater lesson:  Authors can almost never be truly anonymous.  The smaller lesson, here apropos:  For many reasons, neither nullius nor any other sane person would try to cheat in a writing contest using multiple identities.

❤️ The Meretrix

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0. We state no opinion about TSB here.  The above quote is simply an apt example of intentionally mangled writing by person(s) of indisputably high intelligence for OPSEC reasons, based on the threat model necessary when openly perpetrating the extremely illegal act of leaking classified exploits from USG intelligence agency blackhats.  They leaked the exploit which unknown person(s) then used to create WannaCry.  It is wise for them to not only change their writing style, but to mangle their words beyond recognition.

Awesome, this is very noble of you. I've merited you for the simple fact that even though you have a right to be frustrated for the last round of this challenge, you have still shown that you care about the intent behind it. To be clear, do the same conditions apply as @LoyceV's conditions? That your merit is only to go towards a Newbie or Jr. Member?

Cheers!

Hi Joe,

I updated my application. I didn't see that you needed the Google Spreadsheet form until now. I'm not sure if that rule changed happened before/after the deadline had passed... Am I still in this round?

Good day! I was wondering if it is available to change the bitcoin address.  Can I change my bitcoin address because my current bitcoin address that on the spreadsheet have hacked. Kindly change to

Thanks for the kind words! And yes, the same conditions apply to mine as well as LoyceV's donation.