Yes. I feel sad for low rank members aspiring and working hard and fair to be Seniors, Hero or Legendary one day. But like what they said, let's give it a try. Maybe things will get better in the coming days. There are a lot of adjustments and the whole bitcoin community were shocked by the new culture.

You can read this thread to know more about the new merit system. There was no email sent to me too, I just learned about it through this post.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2818350.0

Yes. I still believe in ICO's capabilities as long as the ICO you joined is reliable, authentic and promising. You just need to know which ICO to choose and be sure not to be fooled by fake ones. Also, choose an ICO that interests you the most.

I don't mean any harm nor want to direspect anyone. This is just my insight about the new merit system. The new system is useful for removing spammers, but is not friendly to all mediocre users here.

1. Newbies are affected of all. They are not yet knowledgeable enough to have quality posts thus have low chance of being given merit points. This will make it difficult for them to rank up. Much more difficult and quite unfair since those who started here with the old rules ranked up easily (not to mention those who are already in Sr., Legendary, and Hero).

2. Jr. Members can't put links in their signature.

3. There are speculations of people buying and selling accounts here. It seems like the new merit system made some people in this forum even more toxic and greedy. Let us all be fair guys.

4. Some question other people giving merit to posts of other people saying "Merit points for that kind of post?!". I think giving merit points to other people is purely personal choice. If a person thinks that post helped him even in little ways then let it be. It was his own personal choice. A lot may think that there is nothing so valuable about that post but maybe to the one who gave it some merit, it is.

That's all. I think the old system and the new system have both positive and negative sides. This is just my insight. Again, I don't mean to disrespect anyone. This is my opinion only. If this violated any rule, I am more than glad to take this post down.

Seems like this ICO has not yet published anything. I see no results when I look at sites like icobench and icorating. This will probably start posting announcements and bounty threads by February. By the way, where did you learn about this ICO? Can you provide any link sir?

Stuffs in this forum has been updated and the rules you previously knew might be unfamiliar to you now. Aside from the knowledge you can acquire from reading threads here, you also need to rank up. Ranking up is not so easy eversince the merit system happened. You need to have quality posts. You won't get any job here if you will remain as a newbie. Higher ranks get all the benefits of this new merit system and will probably get most of the jobs here. That is why I think, the first thing you should know is how to rank up. It's not as easy as it was before.

I know someone who cannot put links on his signature and this affirmed that the new merit system has indeed afflicted Jr.Members so much. I was just wondering how they could put signatures with link? Do they need just a few merit or do they really need 10 (promoted member's rank)?

I see the points of this post and to some, I agree. It will be difficult for low-ranked members to level up since the merit point requirement is too big. Most are just mediocre members here. The new merit system won't be friendly for newbies since they won't be able to post quality comments because they still lack knowledge. Hence, they will have a hard time earning it. I also yearn being high-ranked someday but I guess that will be hard to achieve now. Not all my posts will be given merit because hundreds and thousands of posts here might be more valuable than mine. But this system may really help reduce spammers, it's just that it won't be friendly to the majority of the people who are just starting off.

There's nothing much to do but wait and hold your coins. Some people panic when majority of the coins in the market crash and they end up selling at lower prices. This is not a good practice because it will lead you to greater loss. All I do is wait until my coins rise up.

I'll share with you some of my techniques of knowing if a bounty is good. Just a disclaimer - not all will agree with me. We all have different POVs. The first thing I check is the bounty manager's credibility. There are managers with good reputations and strong influence in this forum, and once the bounty is handled by one of those managers, I instantly become encouraged joining it. Another way is by checking feedbacks and reviews through sites like icobench and icorating. The most effective way I think is by checking their websites, the team and by reading their whitepaper. The project itself must also be timely and relevant. You will know if people will have interest on that bounty if you are interested yourself.

I think it is a good basis for leveling up. This will reduce nonsense posts in this forum and people who used to spam just to meet up their quota posts and deadlines will think twice before posting. However, this new rule is not convenient for newbies. They still do not know much about stuffs here and they have tendencies of asking questions that may seem nonsense or too logical for people who already know much. That's the downside of this new update.

Seems fair to me. Better than banning the cryptocurrency totally. Besides, the government will never approve anything without them getting benefits right? It's the government for God's sake. Of course they want something in return to give it full permit of operation. It is unrealistic if it will be taxless. Rules make the world circulating.

It is good to hear that countries like Korea is finally adopting the cryptocurrency market. This is a good opportunity for aspiring investors and traders, and the fact that it is timely, its approval makes it relevant to this generation. I don't see anything wrong with real names used for trading since the government will take responsibility of moderating it. I think the reason behind this condition is to make sure that all transactions made are legal and are not violating any law and ofcourse to keep track of people who trick others.

Investments are indeed risky, however the risk can be reduced if enough research is conducted. It is hard to look for legitimate ICOs but there are key points to consider. First, read their whitepaper. There are certain details written there that may look untrue or unrealistic, or their goals and platform may seem a little off. Veteran ICO investors know how to distingush real ICOs from not. Although it takes a lot of experience, you will get there. Aside from checking the whitepaper, I also consider the campaign manager. If you are not yet that great in detecting fake or unpromising ICOs through whitepapers, campaign managers are the easiest hint. Known managers handle bounty campaigns that are legitimate. Last thing is you can check the credibility of the ICO through sites like icorating, icobench etc. Yes, investments are really risky but there is no investment that isn't.

Divide your money. You can invest in bitcoins now since its price was low compared to it ATH price. Invest in some altcoins too. It is said that 2018 will be altcoin's year and I think it is quite true because some altcoins are showing off.

It is hard to lose money you don't have. It is still best to prevent losing money. But like what you said, it is all part of a trader's journey. Losing money is part of the experience and will even make you a better trader.

Ofcourse it does. Price dictates how well bitcoin is doing in the market. It shows how high it is demand is and if it is a potential coin in the future. Though it is highly volatile, it is what makes it unique. It could dump so low and pump so high. This characteristic of bitcoin increase the profit investors can get from investing in bitcoin.

If you don't like daytrading then you can try other ways of earning here, like long term investments or offering your skills and services. It is difficult to push yourself to do something that is out of your interest or something that is unmotivating.

Price fluctuations are difficult to predict unless you are an expert in studying price movements of cryptocoins. Ordinary traders will find it hard to know which coin will soon pump or dump. There may be predictions but not all predictions are precise. The only way, maybe, is to monitor the price every once in a while and read updates in this forum. Some veteran traders unselfishly share their predictions. That may be of good help.

Investing means purchasing a certain coin, holding it expecting a huge increase in price after a long period of time. Trading, on the other hand, is purchasing coins and selling it as soon as it rise. Trading involves only a short period of time and have a smaller profit since you can do it daily or weekly only.