@theymos you make a lot of good points, but you seem to paint a picture of all business and empirical capitalism.  I'm sure that's the motivation behind many, but that's not the whole story.  Before I get into that, if I may retort to your points:


This is beneficial to all parties, and I don't think that's a point of contention. 


Sure, but we trade with plenty of countries with high wage employees, too.  There's plenty of trade with EU countries, Britain, and Japan.  Not too long ago Japan may have fit your description, but they no longer do.  In large part that can be attributed to trading with the US.


Nation building is a losing proposition statistically speaking.  When it works it's nice but Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq kind of proved that when you lose you lose big, and people die.


This.  World domination through economics.  That's the new form of warfare, and really the only acceptable type for a super power that wants to maintain a moral high-ground.


The only thing I would add to this list as a caveat to your first point is the influence of the tech industry.  I think they are more powerful and influential than the MIC in this day and age.

Back to my original claim that it's not all business and becoming the worlds economic overlords:  As I was countering your points, I too was trying to paint a picture.  The American people don't want to take over other nations.  They don't want their young adults fighting in some foreign land for someone else's benefit.  We are flush with our own natural resources, and we recognize the blessing¹.  We're mostly, as a nation, proud of what we've achieved, and we still have plenty of issues to solve here at home.

We also understand as a culture that we are not always compatible with other cultures.  We also have a cultural bias towards self-reliance and independence.  This is something that dates back to the founding of the nation and why many supported Isolationism.  Maybe a lot less so today, but in the past this was a demonstrably significant factor in American culture. 


¹For lack of a better term.

We are successful in learning that TradeFortress has BTC0.02 with which he can afford to experiment, and Patatas can be trusted to return a BTC0.02 no-collateral loan.

Hi ASU,
Thanks for the loan request, and repeat business.  You're approved and funded.

Please send your payment to this address: 0x73fF544f3d5B6FE3A40cCD22fAad34fD3837560b

TxId: 0x2c8cc797f93438fadc17fb79cf0737d9e6e56594f8cce300a3612d6136cd76c7

Thank you.  Yeah they're not quite as flashy and modern as AR-15s so they're not manufactured in anywhere near the quantities.  There are only a handful of manufactures still making new components and whole rifles.  The modern SAI rifles have a bunch of parts manufactured in Taiwan, so they're not the American Dream that the older ones were.

For those of you who've never handled or shot an M14 type rifle, they are absolutely awesome.  One of the most accurate semi-auto rifles ever made.  The design is based on the M1 Garand rifle which proved to be a game-changer during WWII, but with a few contemporary upgrades, like a stronger gas system and a detachable box magazine.  They are as durable as FAL rifles, as reliable as AK-47s, as accurate as AR-15s, and prettier than any of them could ever hope to be.

Can you tell it's my favorite rifle?  I have a small collection of them that I've built myself; all with US government surplus parts and hammer forged LRB receivers.  They are as authentic as is legally possible.   

That was my dilemma, there are folks who's reviews I would like to see, but not necessarily give them my vote for DT1.



I thought of this solution, and even created an alt for that purpose, but I have not implemented it yet.

I've thought of this option, and I do think it can be helpful.  It would be nice if we could add a custom depth to each of inclusions, but like o_e_l_e_o mentioned, it would add complexity to an already complex system.  Maybe a custom depth setting can be implemented as an option, and not a requirement.




This is one of the philosophical debates about the current system; is it a "trader" rating or a "trust" rating?  Should it be limited to those who've completed trades with one another, or is more than that?

It's my opinion that the trust system is designed to be more general and broad, and therefore more useful than merely a "trade" rating.  There are many attempted scams that don't necessarily involve a trade of goods or an exchange of currency.  And anyone could simply start trading in rinky-dink transactions that amount to only a few dollars and still earn a high trade rating.  If it was limited to only trades, then every one who dealt with CanaryInTheMine would like a trusted individual.  We know that's not necessarily the case.

What narrative?  You've had no involvement in this thread until you replied with this post which off topic and trolling bones261, Darkstar_, and LoyceV.

And now you're trolling me, so this will be the last reply I'll make on this subject.


Good idea.  Here, let me help you out and we'll get the whole exchange in the archive.

http://archive.fo/1ePGT#selection-36691.0-36691.48

Yes.  You can use the "options" button on the seed tab to add an extension to your seed, effectively turning your 12-word seed into a 13-word seed.  You can add multiple words in the extension, and the words can by any gobbledygook you want, they do not need to be part of the Bip39 list.

And of course, the wallet file itself can be encrypted with password.  If you encrypt the wallet file you'll need to enter the password every time you open the file.  Even if you don't use an extended seed it's highly recommended to encrypt your wallet file.  

Would it be possible for you to quote me some broad heads and a dozen new arrows, shipped to California?  I don't remember the length of my arrows, but if the price is right I'll send you the details.

Thanks.

I'm sorry for your loss, I can't even imagine being burned for everything I've worked for.  It must be absolutely devastating.  But not all is lost.  Money is only material, and it sounds like it's time to go back to work.



Greed.  Ironically this is the same reason you fell for the scam.  You expected to get 10 times the money back that you sent, and were blinded by your greed.  I'm sorry you had to learn such an expensive lesson, but thank you for sharing your experience.  You may have saved someone else from suffering the same fate.

24 hours later, and still nothing?  What is your definition of "Shortly?"

This whole thread is a joke.  Anyone who puts "I dont care what any of you idiots say" in the subject of the thread is not playing with a full deck, and is unlikely to engage in a meaningful discussion.

The quote you included is nothing but me speaking for myself.  Lauda and I have crossed paths a few times, so yes, I know who she is.   Regardless of what cryptoputzer says she hasn't done anything to earn her way onto my trust list in either capacity.  teeGUMES and Bill have.  So, what's your point?

That's not nitpicking, it's a valid point.  It's obvious to me (and probably most) the merit system is intended to reward folks for contributing to the forum and making it a better place for all.  

Merit shouldn't be used to reward yourself, or help your friends rank up.  And I think those who are blatantly misusing it should be tagged.  I'm just not convinced that's the case in this particular situation.  

Guys, please don't allow Timelord2067 to derail this thread with his trolling.  wwzsocki deserves the effort of staying on point. 

Yes, you are right, but that doesn't mean I haven't considered the facts.  I see a lot of facts that add up to a lot of circumstantial evidence.  It's all very suspicious.  Even if wwzsocki is telling the truth and crypto mania is his friend, there has obviously been an excessive amount of merit cycled between the two accounts.  That's an issue, but is it a red trust issue?  Once again I'll bring up that theymos isn't concerned about merit abuse, because of the decaying nature of sMerit.  There's only so much those two accounts can cycle, and at some point it will be completely depleted.

It's also worth considering the accounts and their behavior; are they beneficial to the forum?  I think the answer is yes, and you are entitled to disagree.  This shouldn't be something that influences whether they get red trust or not, but it does add to the circumstantial evidence supporting wwzsocki's claim.  His pattern of behavior does suggest that he may be telling the truth.

For the next point I want to make make I'll bring the famous tag line from the OJ Simpson trial: "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit."  Does the evidence presented prove, beyond a reasonable doubt that wwzsocki and Crypto Mania are alts?  You may argue that this is a bad example (because we all know OJ is guilty,) I would argue that it's the best example.  The systems are only as good as the people implementing them, and people are flawed.  So, the system is bound to be flawed.  But if the system's flaws are biased towards the presumption of innocence, then they are flawed in the right direction, in my opinion.  

The trust system is decentralized, meaning you are welcome to tag the two account for any reason you choose.  I'm not asking any one to remove their tags, just consider your justification for doing so carefully.



That's thing, there are no official rules for trading merit with your alts (or friends,) yet there are a few activities that don't violate the rules but are sure to earn you a red-tag.  That's the issue with a decentralized trust system, it's bound to have flaws.  As a community we should work together to mitigate those flaws.



I beg to differ.  I think I've made my argument base on reason.  I have never crossed paths with wwzsocki or Crypto Mania, and I have no emotional attachment to either.  But I do have a vested interest in a fair and unbiased trust system.

Do teeGUMES, Bill Gator, and Rmcdermott927 have nothing to account for?  I didn't force teeGUMES to abuse his trusted position, or bill gator to deceive the forum community to arrive at his.  I have one vote, just like everyone else you called out.  I put to mine to use the best way I saw fit.  That's how the system works, if you don't like it, suggest a solution.

If a business acquaintance owed me $4000, and I end up in the drunk tank for a few nights, and I use my one phone call to call my mother, and my business acquaintance puts my money in his bank account, and I have no way of communicating with said business acquaintance...  Does that make my business acquaintance a scammer?

I don't know what happened to the BestMixer folks, but what if?  All we can do is ask "what if?"  This whole thread is a big fucking "what if."

Give it a rest, man.  We don't have anywhere near enough information to conclude that Hhampuz scammed anyone, and giving his track record the safe assumption is that he never will.

I've been watching this thread from the beginning, and to be honest I want to believe wwzsocki.  He's not a spammer, he doesn't come off like an account farmer, he contributes to the forum, and all in all I think he's an asset to the German and Polish boards, and the forum community as a whole.  

As a testament to his character; look how he's handled these allegations: He's remained calm, not made any personal attacks against his accusers, taken all the criticism for what it's worth, answered the questions asked, and hasn't lost his composure.

His explanation even seems plausible.  I could see myself using one of my addresses to help out my brother, or a friend (who I've been trying to introduce to crypto) just the help them get started while they are still learning.  The only trouble with his excuse is that many many bounty spamming shitbirds have exhausted it as an excuse.  But wwzsocki isn't exactly a bounty spamming shitbird, now is he?

I don't see any reason not to believe him, and in the big picture, what has he really done to deserve all these red tags?  Theymos himself suggested that giving red-tags for merit abuse isn't a great use of the trust system (I'm paraphrasing because I'm at work and I don't have time to dig for the exact quote.)  Since I see no legitimate reason not to believe him I am leaning towards giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I would much rather see a guy who is suspected of merit abuse go free rather than see an innocent dude labeled with these tags.  Yeah, I see the amount of merit cycling between the two accounts, and it does seem excessive.  The use of the same address is also suspicious but not incriminating.

Now all of you folks that gave wwzsocki and Crypto Mania neg-tags are welcome to use the trust system anyway you choose.  That's what it's there for.  But please do consider your actions and their ramifications.  wwzsocki has just been kicked off his sig campaign, and I can only assume that it was due to this accusation and the related tags.  

For that reason alone, I hope I'm wrong and you guys are right.  It would really suck if you guys are wrong and he still lost his spot on that campaign.

Gather all the evidence you have, documents, bank records, coinbase transactions, screen shots, the Facebook user, everything you can think of, and call the police.  It's a large enough chunk of money that the police will put some effort into it, maybe not much but some.  

If the scammer was dumb he may have made a mistake along the way that would allow the cops to track him down.  If the scammer was smart and covered his tracks carefully, you're not likely to see that money ever again.  

Oh, one last thing:  Move this thread to the Scam Accusations board.  There's a link in lower left-hand part of the page labeled "move topic."

The last time that happened to me I was 19 years old, woke up in the backseat of an old Volvo heading down to San Luis Obispo for a weekend with three pretty girls.  Money wan't my concern, I was just worried I didn't have enough condoms.  

BTW, I think I can trust you enough to loan you a measly $200.