Bitcoin Forum

User quest_777 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1997451) asked my support on promoting his Quest on Bitcointalk. He's done that before (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3309853.0) (several times), and the prizes were legit. This year, prizes are mainly altcoins but also some Bitcoin.
Many of the discussion happens on Telegram, and a lot of it is in Russian. I think it's a nice quest to share on Bitcointalk, and it would be great if there's some active discussion from prize hunters around it.
Since it's not mainly Bitcoin, I don't think Games and rounds is the right place. But altcoin giveaways aren't allowed either.

The Quest is a large art drawing with words hidden in them. Follow the words/arrows/hints in the right direction and you can complete the seed phrase. I've never managed to find one myself, but spent many hours on it last year after printing and taping 16 pages together.

Where can this be posted and discussed?

Imho the main options could be Gambling Discussion, Gambling or maybe Games and Rounds, although for the last one it's said


My vote would probably go for Gambling Discussion, although I know that's not gambling per se.

This are not exactly giveaways he is offering but more like mind games, so my suggestion would be to open separate topic in Altcoin section, maybe best place is somewhere in Marketplace (Altcoins).
I think that I saw some gambling websites in Altcoins section that are not accepting Bitcoin, so that would be perfect place... I can't remember exact place, maybe there is Gambling in Altcoins thread.
If he manages to keep payment at least partially paid in Bitcoin I don't see why he couldn't post even in Games and rounds.
It's best to hear first some confirmation from moderators.

Big brains are needed for solving this.
I tried solving few bitcoin puzzles before, but I lack patience and skills for this.
It can still be fun and group of people/friends can solve them easier I think.

Gambling Discussion or Altcoins Gambling doesn't seem right to me. With gambling, I expect the user to risk something. In this case, it's a "free for all" game without the possibility to lose money.

I think so too, that's why sharing results could lead to a useful topic. And that's another argument against the altcoin boards: they're filled with spammers.

This is not going to work like a normal giveaway where forum member posts their usernames/crypto address, isn't it? theymos said,


Where the quest will be given? If I'm not wrong then the Quest was posted outside of the forum and OP (quest_777) had updated it in his thread. However, there shouldn't be any problem if you are going to post the quest elements in your topic. Because, forum members aren't going to receive prizes by replying their usernames/address in the thread. And the chance is really low to see ‘insubstantial posts’ in that thread. It will only work as a discussion thread to reveal the quest. In that case, the altcoins quest (giveaway) thread will not break the above rules. Or I'm missing something here? You may run this in Service Announcements (Altcoins) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=197.0) or Service Discussion (Altcoins) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=198.0)

Altcoins gambling site ANN threads are made in the ‘Service Announcements (Altcoins)’. As example: check this (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5344949.0). There is no specific gambling board in altcoins section.

Based on what you are writing, it sounds like something that belongs in the altcoin bounties section. If someone is having to do substantial work outside of the forum, the thread you describe would not violate the no altcoin giveaways rule. 

I'm afraid that if it'll be posted there then instead of a proper discussion it has a big chance to fill up with shitposters who won't understand what's all this about.
But maybe I'm wrong, maybe I have a wrong impression about the bounty hunters of 2022...

--
Seeing the logic behind the replies I understand now how right OP was to ask this question in the first place. And I believe that indeed the proper answer can only come from mods.

If he wants to announce it (and he's mostly giving away altcoins), Bounties (Altcoins) is probably the correct board (at least based on your description of the puzzle / game). If it's a discussion thread about the puzzle / game / whatever then Service Discussion (Altcoins) is also an option. Depending on the amount of BTC given away compared to the altcoins, Games and Rounds might be OK, but don't be surprised if it gets moved to the altcoin sections if BTC is less than 50% of the total prize pool.

I don't think it belongs in the Bounties section. Loyce's description suggests that this thread will be for discussions, not for bounty reports. In my opinion, and since it isn't about gambling, it belongs in the Service Announcement and Service Discussion sections. It is only a question of whether this thread belongs in the Bitcoin section or in the Altcoins section.

Then there's another section that nobody has mentioned yet, Micro Earnings (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=212.0):
" Faucets, rotators, web based games, and other services that are primarily based on ads and/or micropayments. "

Correct. Insubstantial posts don't belong in the thread anyway.

The Quest is basically an image, hosted somewhere, then posted on the forum. The discussion isn't supposed to be like "give me money" but something like "I found the first 4 words but can't decipher the fifth". Last year, on Telegram, I saw several questions where for instance a small part of the image was cropped to ask what it says.

Service Announcements/Discussion doesn't seem right either, because it's not really a "service".

I think you're right, but I don't want that board because of the terrible spam it gets. It would be easy to bump the topic to stand out, but I expect it to be filled with "proof of authentication" posts by spammers who don't read .

That's the thing: the thread itself isn't about giving away anything, the discussion is about finding it (and maybe a few hints).

BTC is less than 50% ($3600 DASH, $1400 BTC and $1800 UFO plus additional prizes), but BTC is a substantial amount. I've seen (and created) topics for much less than that in Games and rounds. In my opinion adding altcoins on top of Bitcoin doesn't make it worse.

Based on what you wrote, I think Service Discussion (Altcoins) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=198.0) is the right place. I don't like it though, it feels like the forum rules are too strict for this specific case.

I don't think that's the right place: it's not about ads and prizes are a couple hundred dollar each.

They can always post it to off-topic but it probably won't get much attention there, and since this is minds games I would go ahead and post it in games in rounds, even mprep said is OKish to do that.
My suggestion would be to avoid talking anything about payment and rewards (or post any payment in Bitcoin) and just post link to telegram channel for extra rewards in altcoins.
That way you are playing with or around the rules and I think that many people visit games and rounds daily, so you would get much more people than in altcoins.

Hey everyone!

So, what do I need 2 do to get the information to the right people and avoid breaking the forum rules?

With respect,
-Jeff

You have two options here to make your quest topic. The first one is Bounties (Altcoins) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=238.0), where there is a high chance to see insubstantial posts from bounty hunters. The second one is Service Discussion (Altcoins) (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=198.0). The chance is quite low to see useless posts in that section. Service Discussion (Altcoins) is the most suitable place for the quest discussion between those two. The best thing would be to create a self-moderated thread and delete insubstantial posts for avoiding all kind of uncertain inconvenience. In that case, you (the quest topic creator) have to observe the replies of the topic on a regular basis.

Since from what LoyceV described, your game / puzzle doesn't seem to involve any incentivized posting on Bitcointalk, you (or whoever you've designated) should just post a thread about your puzzle in either Bounties (Altcoins) or Service Discussion (Altcoins). If you're uneasy about breaking the forum's rules, read through the stickied threads in whichever board you intend to post in. If you're still uneasy, read through https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0) if you haven't already. If you're still not sure if something you want to post is a-OK with the rules, PM me the contents of your thread and I'll glance over it.

When it comes to harsh punishments for single offenses, the main 2 are plagiarism (permanent ban for most users; long temp ban + even longer sig ban for reputable users) and on-forum altcoin giveaways (temp ban for 7-30 days). If you're neither plagiarizing nor incentivizing users to post posts in one or several specific Bitcointalk threads in exchange for altcoins, you're most likely in the clear (bonus points if you've read through and understand all the rules listed in https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0)).

I don't think there is any basis for believing that -- the bounties section is filled with a lot of people bots who fill out bounty reports and have zero merit, but that doesn't mean they randomly post in threads. I also don't think the expected people who will post in a thread is a reason to not post the thread in a particular section.

It appears I am correct based on mprep's post (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5383594.msg59120847#msg59120847) directly below yours.

The person creating the thread is going to be giving away some tokens or altcoins in exchange for solving a puzzle. That is a bounty.

I believe LoyceV already explained this. The thread itself isn't a bounty since there won't be be any specific tasks, but it'll be a place to discuss the game and share some clues.


By the way, there was this topic in the Bitcoin Discussion section, except it was an all-Bitcoin prize, but the moderators didn't move it: 0.01BTC Monster puzzle - SOLVED (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5255464.0).

Bounties can also have signature campaigns, where posting in threads is also rewarded. And some managers didn't care that much about post quality.
But I may have a wrong impression based on the days people accounts were spamming the altcoins area for the yobit campaign. Since then, at some point, I've set altcoins on ignore and .. maybe the things got better and I've missed that.


The problem starts to arise when the bounty pool contains (more than 50%) altcoins. Without that it would have been easier to choose, although, indeed :), Bitcoin Discussion is not much of appropriate either.

Correct. The difference is that you don't need to post anything to find the funds: all the information will be instantly available to anyone. You won't get anything for posting. I'd say that makes it different than the usual bounty.

TL;DR:

Big brains not needed. I can offer a few pages on my website for this if they want  :)

That could work, but I doubt it would work: People want to use Bitcointalk for promotions because of it's audience, not to use it only as a host (Telegram does that already). It would probably be possible to create a forum for giveaways, duplicate all Bitcointalk accounts, and require a verification code to be checked from the user's Bitcointalk profile page to verify it's the same person, but I doubt it will get used.

You may not like it, but I think it's a good decision. Much better than the Bounties (Altcoins) section anyway.

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Considering the possibility that something like this could easily be abused to collect IP addresses and locations from bitcointalk members who choose to verify their profiles, I believe this would be against the spirit of anonymity.  ;)

Good point: make it Onion only.

No I meant just posting the giveaway details on a page. What, did you really think I cooked up my own phpBB-on-Wordpress instance recently?  :P

Just hosting it is easy, it's the discussion around it that's needed.

No, I'm saying I see potential if someone makes it. Say:

• spamtalkxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.onion
• I can go there, and claim LoyceV
• The site gives me a password that becomes valid if I post it's hash somewhere in my Bitcointalk profile
• That confirms I am the real owner and I can post on spamtalkxxxxxxxxxxxxx.onion
• If I get banned on Bitcointalk, I get banned on spamtalk
• If I change the hash in my profile, my password becomes invalid
• A shitcoin giveaway on Bitcointalk can ask to post shitcoin addresses on spamtalkxxxxxxxxx.onion
• A user can post shitcoin addresses for on-spamtalk-forum-giveaways that aren't allowed on Bitcointalk
• Posts can get wiped after a while, or shitcoin advertising can pay for hosting

This setup ensures users won't accidentally compromise their location/IP, they won't accidentally use the same password as they use on Bitcointalk, and nobody can claim a username that doesn't belong to them on Bitcointalk. No email addresses or account recovery required.
It requires some customization on php forum software, which I can't do so I won't make this. But if anyone's interested, it might get an audience.
I was in doubt if I should PM this or keep it in public. Since it kinda concerns the forum rules on altcoin giveaways, I think Meta is still the right location. And since my question was answered, I decided I can go a tad off-topic in my own topic before I lock it. If this gets real, maybe Project Development would be a better place. If not, it's Friday night and booze is waiting!

I don't think that changes the fact that the thread in question in a bounty thread. Telling someone to complete some action off the forum, and doing some other action off the forum to redeem the "prize" is still a bounty. From what I can tell, no one is offering any kind of service, and as such, any service discussion sub would be inappropriate.

See:

Based on my reading of your description of the proposed thread, and the thread (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3309853.0) you referenced, it is not a discussion about the game, but is rather a thread announcing the game.

Yep, I want to post the Announcement and the main Action will take place in Telegram since we have the Education infrastructure there and also I use it to track users, and most important - the Winners. Anonymous winners spoil my reputation so I did put a shitload of time to make it roll great and to avoid b*tches who take the prize without even entering telegram group which is ads free, fee free and created for quick discussions and responses from me.

Hi again, guys!

So, where do I post to gain best effect? Will be posting in next day or two.