Yubikey uses symmetric crypto. The entity validating the Yubikey code knows the Yubikey's secret key and can therefore produce valid Yubikey codes for the person being validated. Even if Script was powerful enough to validate Yubikey codes (it's not), you'd have to publish your Yubikey secret key to the network, which makes it pointless.

Most new users don't need to know how the system works. Especially mining, which most users don't participate in (just as most users of gold don't mine gold). You only need to know the properties of Bitcoin: 21 million max BTC, low fees, no central authority, etc.

Securing your wallet is difficult. You need to use much stronger security practices than most people use for anything, since a hacked Bitcoin-related account causes irreversible loss. Damage caused by a hacked email account or even a hacked bank account can be mostly reversed. I think that this will end up being solved with cheap dedicated Bitcoin devices which store your private keys securely and perform transactions for you. Currently, if you can't properly secure your own wallet, it might be best to use a verified MtGox account with a Yubikey instead of a Bitcoin client or other EWallets.

I updated the specification:
- Added "Overview of problems with SMF".
- Certain languages are only preferred, not required.
- Using a database abstraction layer is allowed, but not preferred.
- Link to final hashing scheme.
- Added tags as a required feature.
- Added drafts as a required feature.

Bots are already effectively blocked unless they have manual help.

A test to get out of newbie status would be entirely counter-productive. The point of newbie status is to:
- Create an unavoidable cost associated with creating an account. If you're banned, you've got to do some work to be able to post in regular sections again.
- Contain most spammers and trolls so that their posts can be seen more easily.

A test has no cost for trolls, spammers, and banned users. It has a cost only for legitimate new users, who are exactly the people I want to enter the main forum.

Nothing in that topic was edited by a moderator recently.

There's no built-in way to change the limit based on membergroup. Fixing that has been on my to-do list for a while.

Only me, Gavin, Satoshi, and Sirius are supposed to be able to access the database directly, which is required for reading PMs. MagicalTux and anyone else with access to the server (hosting staff, etc.) could technically read PMs, though they shouldn't.


Probably never.

In order to collect more money for the creation of good forum software, the forum is selling ad space in the area beneath the first post of every topic page.

Ads this week will be allowed to contain any non-annoying HTML/CSS style. No images, JavaScript, or animation (no marquee or blinking). Ads must appear 3 or fewer lines tall in my browser. Ads will be prefixed with "Advertisement:". Ad text may not contain lies, misrepresentation, or inappropriate language. Ads may not link directly to any NSFW page. Ads may be rejected for other reasons.

There are 10 total ad slots which are randomly rotated. So one ad slot has a one in ten chance of appearing. Eight of the slots are for sale here. Ads appear only on topic pages with more than one post, and only for people using the default theme.

The ad lasts 7 days starting from when I put it up.

Stats

Exact historical impression counts per slot:
https://bitcointalk.org/adrotate.php?adstats

Efficacy stats:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=54182.0

Info about the current ad slots:
https://bitcointalk.org/adrotate.php?adinfo

Auction rules

Post your bids in this thread. Prices must be stated in BTC per slot. You must state the max number of slots you want. When the auction ends, the highest bidders will have their slots filled until all eight slots are filled.

So if someone bids for 8 slots @ 5 BTC and this is the highest bid, then he'll get all 8 slots. If the two highest bids are 8 slots @ 4 BTC and 1 slot @ 5 BTC, then the first person will get 7 slots and the second person will get 1 slot.

- When you post a bid, the bids in your previous posts are considered to be automatically canceled. You can put multiple bids in one post, however.
- All bid prices must be evenly divisible by 0.5.
- The bidding starts at 0.5.
- The auction end time is 00:00:00 on August 12, UTC. Countdown. (The end time may be extended -- see below.)
- If two people bid at the same price, the person who bid first will have his slots filled first.
- Bids are considered invalid and will be ignored if they do not specify both a price and a max quantity, or if they could not possibly win any slots

If any valid bids occur less than 30 minutes before the auction end time, then the auction will be extended by 30 minutes. If any valid bids occur less than 30 minutes before the new end time, then the auction will be extended again, etc. The time will not extend beyond 6 hours total.

You must pay for your slots within 24 hours of receiving the payment address. Otherwise your slots may be sold to someone else.

I'll send you a payment address in case you win.

I don't think I'll be here for the auction end, though I'll be back 12-24 hours from then to collect payments.

I don't have a problem with people selling forum accounts to Tor users as long as the price is significant enough to deter people from repeatedly evading bans (maybe 0.25 BTC). I might add this feature to the board itself at some point.

You can use local thread rules if you don't want free discussion in your topics.

No. This would get in the way of free discussion. Most people are bad moderators. The OP sets the initial conditions for discussion and then loses all control over the topic. OPs do not own replies by other people.

It's fine if it's locked.

Unlocked cross-posts are OK only in "Newbies", "Important announcements", and the local sections.

BitcoinEXpress asked me to clarify: I only know that the forum account DannyMaddox is BitcoinEXpress. I don't know anything about real people named "Danny Maddox".


IP evidence shows only Allan74 as an obvious possibility, though there could be more.

Yep. BitcoinEXpress is DannyMaddox and MicroCashMike.

Most of the Christians I know barely know who Muhammad is. So I'd say that this is fake, or at least a very rare occurrence.

His spirit was trapped in this forum and he continues to annoy us from beyond the grave.