What I meant is, bitcoin is a technology (general) but also a particular implementation. Bitcoin.org is catering to the implementation. That in itself seems like a centralization of sorts.

This just shows how unorganized this forum is. We could have easily worked together to make a much more interesting gesture out of that graph. 

This is how I understood it too, but it begs the question: What is bitcoin.org representing? The technology or the current blockchain? If it's just representing the blockchain, then Gavin (and whomever else has permissions to accept PUSH requests) has total control of the entire network. If it's representing the technology that powers the blockchain, why not revamp the bitcoin.org website to allow people to publish their own versions of bitcoin, including alt coins, forked chains, etc? They wouldn't go anywhere (I guess), but like voting, it would at least in the sense of voting for elections, it would make people feel like they have a choice in the matter.

What do you think?

Exactly. It'd be like saying that Science is centralized just because not everyone can understand it. You could of course argue that science kind of is centralized by the governments and institutions, but I'm not quite sure about that. One thing I have felt odd about is requiring just a handful of bitcoin developers to "approve" push requests on Github itself kind of makes it centralized, at least for the current blockchain if you ask me. I'm comfortable that nothing nefarious would get past the current community, but that is also true for small governments and look how that turned out. I can imagine that later on the slogan will become "Bitcoin, decentralized and anyone can edit the code* (Code editors must be pre-approved by a panel of the richest guys in Bitcoin)"

I get the feeling the nature of your question is more about "how do we make bitcoins after they've all been mined?". If that's so, even after 99.99999999% of new coins cease to be created, miners will still be earning the coins used for transaction fees, which as I understand it, would cause the free market to increase the fees lest miners stop mining and bitcoins become less dependable and secure.

$16.42

@contest rules: Is this The Price is Right style where the winning bid isn't just the closest, but the closest without going over?

Yea, it's unactionable debt (i.e. debt that can't be claimed in a court of law), so it's basically a gentleman's agreement, but I wasn't acting like a gentleman. That's the best way to describe it.

So if you get a parking ticket and don't pay it, does the court say that they gave you a loan for the ticket amount?

I do not remember ever borrowing any money from you. If you are considering the bet as being a loan, you'd be mistaken. That does not however change my mind about what the right thing to do in this situation is and I will continue to work towards it.

Old habits die hard, but I have come to grips with the need for a new attitude in my life. It may take some time, but it is part of the many things I want to accomplish this year.

I wasn't aware your shareholders made the bet. To discuss a settlement (which cannot realistically be 750 BTC unfortunately), please PM. Thanks.

Thank you for clarifying muyuu. One of the benefits of communicating with me would be to know what is actually happening and keep track of payments. If you are unwilling to do that, I guess you will just get paid when you get paid (which seems to be your attitude anyway). I'm sorry that I have caused you to take that stance on the matter and I hope that I am able to make things right soon.

Thank you finway (good to see this thread is working!). If you would be so kind as to respond to the message I sent, it will make keeping track of things much easier (that goes for everyone else as well).

That's simply not true. What if someone's bitcoin address has changed? What if I am trying to contact them to offer a settlement? It's fine if they don't accept and I owe them the rest of my life, but some people who actually want to be paid something will probably want to be notified of such intention. It's not so cut and dry.

I've messaged you, not sure if you have me on ignore or didn't get my message. Many people who have posted in this thread have already been messaged and not responded yet. It has prompted the creation of this thread.

Someone had already put it quite eloquently; it is the equivalent to having broken someone's windows. I did not benefit from it, but neither did the person whose windows I may have broken. Just added to the chaos and now I am paying for the broken windows and trying to put them in myself. Some people are telling me that they already replaced them and they'd rather have me rake the leaves in their yard. Some people are telling me that they want the full price of the window. Still others are telling me that the house they were living in was in a fire and doesn't need the windows replaced any more. I can hold the label of "scammer" for a lack of a better title, but scammers don't pay people back and work to change their lives.

Foundation needed for non-bitcoiners to come to with questions and insults? Yes, very much so. This forum scares people away.
Foundation needed for bitcoiners who use it everyday? I highly doubt it. The blockchain is our foundation.

I've never had any more information than anyone else had. I did lose control though and I'm ashamed of the whole situation.

The people whom I bet with tell a much different story.


I have lied many times in my life, can't say I've ever sucked a cock. Not sure where you're going with this. Are you saying that all homosexuals are scammers? Were you scammed by a homosexual?

The only person behind the sale was Zhoutong. Many people on Skype and IRC have tried to give ZhouTong advice on how to do things in a fair, legal, and transparent fashion. He made some mistakes (he is 17 remember?) too but it would be disingenuous to say that anyone other than Zhoutong and the Intersango crew were "behind" any sale.

Bitcoin 100 probably also received donations from Zhou Tong. I'm not sure where you're going with this.

Honestly, I'm just trying to make things right by my own standards. I cannot possibly tell you what other people's standards might be. One person might think by their religious law that I should be hung for embarrassing them. Another person might think simply telling me not to do it again would be sufficient. I'm not doing this for other people, I'm doing it for myself. I have always thought that when I was on my death bed, I'd be happy because I literally have done everything I've always wanted. Recently I realized that that isn't true unless I make amends for this. I don't expect people to suddenly like me after 13 months of trolling because I handed them some bitcoins, or moreso, the people who aren't even involved in that bet who are just reading this thread and eating popcorn. I'm not interested in a popularity contest anymore. I just want to make things right and know that I did what was right. I get trolled a lot but it only bothers me when it's the truth.