I agree. One merit is a small baby-step in the right direction but it doesn't go far enough. I think one merit to move from Newbie to Junior is fine, but Juniors still shouldn't be able to have a signature at all. As I originally proposed with the one-merit Jnr requirement, Juniors should also have their signatures removed completely and to get one you need to become a Member with ten merit. It's far too easy to beg, borrow, steal or trade a solitary merit and requiring ten is obviously ten times more difficulty. I think we should probably make changes to the Copper Membership as well as it's far too cheap at $10-$20 or whatever it is. A farmer who is making thousands upon thousands will just cough up for it as it's a small price to pay for them and is only a small spanner in their works. Copper Membership should just be some sort of basic whitelisting feature which allows you to post images and post a little faster, and that's about it. As I've suggest before though I wouldn't be against more expensive ranks like Silver and Gold Member that give you the benefits of say a Full Member and Hero, but just as long as they're not so cheap that any farmer can afford them on their hundred accounts. I would say something like $100 for Silver and maybe $500 for Gold. At the moment one merit or $10-20 is just too cheap and easy for spammers to bypass in whatever way they can.

I'm not sure about a probationary system, but I don't think one merit is enough to be able to earn from posting here. It's fine for moving up from Newbie to Junior Member, but I think we should require ten merit and to become a Member before you can get a signature and start earning from posting. Getting one merit is far too easy and you can pretty much beg, borrow, buy, trade or even steal a merit (copy a great post, hope someone merits it, then remove post). Job done. When one is all you need people will just try their damnedest to get it in whatever which way they can then revert back to their previous ways of shitposting. Trying to beg or buy ten merit is significantly harder, especially for a shitposter, but not really for a great poster. A great poster could get that with a great post or two. A bot or the worst of the worst of posters has no chance and would be quite expensive to purchase and ten times more difficult to abuse. We also still need to punish ICO campaigns who will continue to pay Junior Members for spam, because one merit certainly isn't going to stop them from spamming once they've achieved it and campaigns are still going to keep on paying spammers the as long as we tolerate it.

I'm confused about what point you're trying to make here. Are those your threads? Are you complaining that neither of them were merited? The English one is barely coherent and looks like it's just been auto-translated or even plagiarised from somewhere.


It doesn't matter how much you divide something up when your English is so poor that nobody can tell what point you're trying to make exactly. I'm sure you could have got your point across in a sentence or two instead of needlessly waffling on.

Tell me how close I am with my translation: "I'm a bounty farmer and I now can't claim bounties because of the god damn merit system", or have I missed the point completely?


A newbie can post in the exact same way a Legendary account can. The only difference is the time limit between posts, but there's nothing stopping a Newbie making an exemplary post. The problem is they rarely do or at least are drowned out by the thousands of Newbie/Junior shitposters who come here every day just to make some spam to get paid and that's what we need to try curb.


No, it almost certainly is. What else has changed since September 17 other than you now need one merit to get a signature? Nothing. And that's why you're mad. You now have to make the strenuous task of getting one solitary merit over god knows how many accounts you have and that's why you're annoyed.



It sucks for the bounty abusers like you. What other system do you propose to stop all the abuse? I'd love a better system to be proposed as the one merit one doesn't got far enough.


I take it this is op's alt account too? Funny how Julia instantly turns up in here to back you up and you both talk barely coherent nonsense and say "cooper-member" in the exact same way:



Julia also turns up in that thread you linked to in the op.

I'm guessing you have a shit load of accounts and the merit system has fucked you over from being able to get paid to post, right?

Is this another of your alts:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=2043707 absenter87

It received four merits. Send two of them to the Uesly_Future account, then he merits him one back. I'm sure this is just the tip of the shitberg here.

I would guess because it's a very tasty Member account that was luckily airdropped ten merit and is now very valuable to him.


That's not what it is. The account is permabanned. I don't know why. Probably because the posts are pretty much exclusively generic bot-like 'good project' posts:



You we're told to stop multiposting, not to stop from posting all together.


The forum can be very ugly and scams, spams and lies are rife. There's a very shady side to this forum because a lot of people are greedy and come here to abuse the system. We're being sceptical of your claims because we've heard this exact same thing numerous times before and they've often been found out to be lying. Nobody is saying for a fact that you are lying about it being your father's account but we have no reason to believe you either. Us being naive and believing everything everyone ever said or the excuses we hear time after time would make this forum a much worse place. Sure, you can call us cynical and harsh and it certainly sucks for you if you're telling the truth but we're just being realistic and calling it like we see it.

Merit doesn't matter at all unless you're only here to earn via a signature. You don't need any merits to be able to post and if you contribute something worthwhile then you will get them anyway. People should be less concerned about actual merit but the quality of their posts. If a quality post doesn't get merited then so what. Keep making them and your chances will increase and you will get them eventually.


I agree with this. I was wondering why the op's post got merited when I saw it and I don't think it's a good idea to do. If you're going to merit them at least merit their merit-worthy post, because it's clear people are just creating these sorts of threads 'agreeing' with the merit system just to try get a merit. Then once they have; job done as they've got what they need. Others then see this then they try their hand at it.

What email address? It's already hidden on your profile. Or do you mean email addresses you have posted elsewhere?

Some people buy their university degrees off the internet. Others earn them legitimately through hard work. How about you earn your merit legitimately and don't concern yourself with those nefarious individuals who may try bend or break the rules to get ahead?

Report them to me. I'll leave them appropriate feedback.

Bump. Don't let merit ruin lives. Think of the kids.

Re: Not Fan of Merit Point System

We're not a fan of the thousands of people that have destroyed the forum by coming here just to spam on dozens of alt accounts each which I'm sure you are one of. One merit is barely anything, but it is probably a big something is when you've got dozens-hundreds-thousands of accounts. That pretty much means you're screwed.





You haven't wrote over 800 posts. They're mostly bounty reports. Maybe if you actually put some effort into contributing here then you would get some merit. Maybe give that a go instead of whining.


But what about all the excellent posts they made before the merit system that they didn't get the chance to be merited for? That is even more unfair. I wouldn't be against everyone starting at zero either, but why don't you concern yourself with your own posts rather than others as moaning at them to be demoted still won't help you or get you anywhere. One day I hope that all signatures are removed completely until you have earned something like 500-1000 merit. Then users like you really would be screwed. Would that make you happy? Of course not. You'd be back here in Meta hysterically crying.


I wouldn't have merited that post but I see nothing wrong with other doing so either. The irony here is that user didn't need the merit as he purchased the copper account anyway and also actually wrote something better than what you currently have.

I know what the consequences are. I know what the consequences of drinking or doing drugs can be as do most people. That's why most people enjoy these things in moderation, also like gambling, but that's up to the individual. What facts are you backing up exactly? Show me the facts that prove gambling is immoral. You are either not actually reading anything I'm saying or are incapable of understanding any opinion or argument to your own. None of what you're saying is relevant to the argument I'm making here at all. Nobody has said you can't get addicted to gambling so what exactly are you trying to prove? The argument is that gambling is not immoral nor does everyone get addicted to gambling. Most people do not get addicted to gambling. Most people do not get addicted to alcohol. The fact that some do is completely irrelevant.



I know why people enjoy gambling. It's the same reason why people like drugs, sex and chocolate. That doesn't mean people can't enjoy them responsibly. Again, you're trying to disprove an argument I'm not making.

Anyway, since you are incapable of actually making a valid point based on the arguments I'm making and I've said all I needed to say on the matter, I'll leave you with the answer to your question:

[is] Gambling is okay?

Yes. Yes it is. Get over it.

No, the garbage is coming from you again. Gambling by itself isn't an addiction. It's a game/entertainment. Is drinking alcohol and having sex an addiction too? No, not by itself, but some people can get addicted to them both and lose lots of money and ruins their lives in the process. Your point is fundamentally flawed and based on pure ignorance.

You're the one who is acting high and mighty but you're too naive and blinded by your own ignorance to see this. You're acting as if gambling is a crime when in the vast majority of places it isn't (and it certainly shouldn't be). You should have zero authority to tell people what they can and can't do with their own money.


No. I think you're a child because you're behaving like one and are making arguments from a very childish/ignorant and misinformed mindset. You can oppose gambling all you want. You can oppose drugs as well, but I think you have zero right to tell anyone else what they can and can't do with their own money or body.


I know the consequences, but you don't know the facts and are making very faulty arguments based on opinion rather than facts. Most people can gamble or drink or have sex or eat chocolate or take painkillers without it becoming a problem. I can do all those things without them becoming an issue. Some can't. That's their responsibility to handle. You look after yourself and lets others look after themselves but just because some people can't handle their drink, drugs, or gambling habits doesn't mean everyone else can't and shouldn't be able to enjoy those things responsibly and it certainly isn't immoral of them to do so.


Your rank is irrelevant here, but your flawed morals and opinions are what we're judging you on.

Highly educated moran.

He's showing the flaws in your infantile logic. You are clearly a child with a very immature opinion if you think Gambling is one of the 'worst sins' and the only person who is ignorant here is you. Everybody else is being completely rational and logical except you.


Gambling is just entertainment for most people. I know many people who gamble very occasionally and it's just a bit of fun for them. Sometimes people win and sometimes they lose but they know what they're doing. I know a lot of people who drink alcohol occasionally and have met very few people who have ever had a problem with it. Some people might ruin their lives with gambling/drinking/smoking/drugs/eating/sexing/driving, but that's their own issue to deal with and people are responsible for their own habits and addictions and I think that should be none of your concern.


How about you practice what you preach and stop being a huge hypocrite? Some people believe in the choice of freedom so stop trying to push your own opinions and beliefs down the throat of others. Nobody cares what you personally think is a sin. People should be able to do what they want with their own money and that includes gamble, buy drugs, sex or whatever else you might think is sinful. Nobody is forcing you or anyone else to gamble and people have a choice and nobody else is responsible for that. The people who's personal details are on that email list you're trying to sell that is probably compiled illegally and likely without their consent have no say in the matter of who buys their personal info, so yes, that is more immoral and shady than advertising a gambling site in my opinion.

But then where did they get the list from? You probably have no idea where the emails originally came from and it's very likely the were collected/collated without the users consent. The agency probably got it from either some dodgy crypto site or ICO that required emails and sold them on or the hacked forum database or any of the other multiple bitcoin sites or exchanges that have been hacked or breached in the past.

Well where have these email addresses come from and how were they obtained? I'd say there's a very good chance they were obtained in some nefarious and shady way and the users on them probably didn't consent to them being sold on to anyone who is willing to pay for them. If they did consent then I guess that's on them.


I've tagged plenty that have spammed my email address with ICO offers as they have clearly bought the hacked account email dump from this forum from somewhere.

Does anyone have the list he was selling? If my email from this forum is on there I would certainly leave negative feedback.

Doesn't/wouldn't work. They can already do that but as long as something can be put in their signature ICO crap campaigns can and will pay them for it. We need to force their hand by removing it completely so nothing can be put there so there's nothing for them to be paid for. Juniors can't even have a link in their sig but Junior accounts are being farmed in their thousands to take advantage that campaigns will pay them for any spam they can be bothered to make (or copy and paste). I do hope theymos will remove their signatures at some point because it effects their ability to post zero and they can still purchase a Copper Membership to get a Member-level signature anyway, but I would argue Copper should just include some basic whitelisting features because it's too cheap as it is. We could introduce Silver and Gold ranks that are more expensive and include Full/Hero-member benefits instead.

This is why we need more than a one merit requirement. One is fine for merely moving up from Newbie to Junior, but not to get a signature and to be able to earn from them here. One half decent post or copy and paste can get you that sole merit that you need then you're good to go and carry on with the shitposting, but it's obviously ten times harder to get ten merit. Signatures should be removed from Juniors completely because one merit is nothing and doesn't and shouldn't qualify you to earn via posting here. Ten is a different matter. I would even argue that signatures should only be available to much higher ranked members who have actually achieved a substantial amount of merit and that really would be a reward for those who contribute something valuable here and for those that don't then sorry, but you can't earn from posting. The forum would be a much cleaner place if this was to happen but with this tiny change it's not going to clean up the forum by much, just throw a small spanner in the works or some, but once they get that merit they'll carry on as usual and revert to shitposting if campaigns will keep paying them for it.

Not quite. It's like the diet/lite version/extreme compromise of what I wanted, but I guess I'll have to take it for now. If we removed signatures from Juniors completely and only Members and above can have them once they've earned the required merit then that really would make a difference. I've seen dozens of shitposting newbies get a merit since yesterday just for merely agreeing the new change is a good thing. Most of them are probably lying and are crying with rage behind their computer screens but know that screaming and complaining about it is futile so they just agree, especially when they see others have been merited for saying so. You can get a solitary merit here by fluke or accident (or buying/trading it with someone), but let's see them try get ten of those to get a signature. A half decent poster will have no issue in getting that at all but a shitposter is screwed. A farmer with dozens to hundreds of accounts even more so. I can only hope more of my suggestions are implemented in the future including removing signatures from Juniors because one merit still won't make much of a difference to the overall quality of the board in the grand scheme of things. We need to go after the ICO campaigns next that are paying for the spam in the first place.

Because people are signing up to this forum in droves just to shitpost over hundreds of accounts each and something needed to change. Care to make some suggestions how we can take back the forum from bounty hunting copy and paste spammers?


Personally I would prefer it if everybody started from scratch and zero merits. I'd be fine but that would certainly sort the wheat from the chaff. I'd also prefer it if that nobody could have a signature until they achieved 500 or 1000 merits or something. Now that really would make a difference to the quality of discussions here.


Why? So you and your thousand alt accounts can sway the vote? Polls are useless here. How about making a constructive argument or suggestions to improve the place instead of just complaining.


We've been discussing how to make this place better for years. Where were your contributions to those discussions? You were probably too busy shitposting to even care. Now a spanner has been thrown in the works and you're suddenly a concerned citizen who is outraged.


This forum is centralised. Go join a decentralised forum if you want that.


Twisted logic. What about the hundreds and sometimes thousands of quality posts we made before the merit system was even introduced? It isn't fair we never got merited for them. What about all those who actually joined in bitcoin and this forum because we actually fell in love with the tech or the politics behind bitcoin and not just signed up because somebody told them they can get paid by posting here? That's why we need changes because bounty hunters and sig spammers have ruined this forum.

Someone find me where this is text-spun from:


Stands out like a sore thumb over his other shitposts and the grammar is different.


Most of these people are probably kids or immature adults at best. They're babies who've had their pocket money taken away and are throwing a temper tantrum about it.

You woke up from October 17, 2011 to September 17, 2018 just to post this. If you don't like this forum then as theymos said, vote with your feet and leave. If there are better forums then you're just wasting time even posting here and if this was true then you would be gone already. The actual fact of the matter is that there are probably no better forums on the entire internet for earning than here, hence why there are so many shitposters and whingers at the very fact they now have to get a solitary merit to be able to earn. People just got so lazy, greedy and entitled that they're outraged over such a minor change which doesn't even go far enough. You and everyone else do not care about having to contribute, you just want to earn as easily and as lazily as possible and now that's been made a tiny bit more difficult. I hope one day theymos will actually remove signatures from even higher ranks and only give them to people who actually contribute something here. Then that will actually make a difference to the quality of this board. Good luck trying to beg or buy 1000 merit.


Is this one of them?




Then don't buy it. Earn your merit.