I'm here because I saw EcuaMobi's warning thread in the Marketplace. I didn't see yours, and I've included the Marketplace board on my watchlist. Sad, because it just goes to show how many scammers are starting new threads lately.

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I also came here to say that I fully support the idea of restricting self-moderation options for newbies. I hate to say that people should be able to easily identify scams and avoid because we all know that it wouldn't keep happening if people were just a bit patient and did some due diligence before making purchases. Unfortunately, as much as the staff don't want to get involved with the ecosystem of the boards, scams within the marketplace here contribute to a negative view about the forums overall. I, myself, have been scammed for a service here (and I'm pretty tech-savvy), and every time I posted my experiences on the thread, it would be deleted immediately.

That brings me to my next question. Is there any reason at all to keep the self-moderation option for newbies? I could understand that they want to keep their topics clean and organized, but isn't that what the top-post is for? I'd imagine that a simple edit (and inclusion of quotes, if necessary) and maintaining a well-organized top post would fulfill the same duties as self-moderation, amiright?

I'd love to see the admins at least acknowledge that they've seen this topic. I see no use for newbies to use self-moderation features in the marketplace.

I hate that I have to merit this post, as it should be quite obvious, but I guess when it comes to deals that are "too good to be true", they usually are. I'll do my part in helping keep this thread bumped if it gets buried; I use the merit system to help personally "flag" posts, like bookmarks, for me to reference and re-visit in the future.

And yes, I agree that the "Self-Moderation" feature shouldn't be allowed in the Marketplace. I'll discuss it in @MiLkz's thread. Thanks!

I agree. I used to love the Bitcoin Discussion thread when it used to be similar to Ivory Tower. I will say this though: I've started a couple of topics on the board, and I've made each one of them self-moderated to help weed out sigspammers and shit posts. I hate to say it, but those topics never became popular, even though I feel that they're actually a lot more decent than the shit show that we're currently seeing.

But as a lot of you have mentioned, once the sMerits dry up and sigspammers realize how difficult it is to rank up shit profiles, we'll likely see some drastic (yes, drastic) changes in the future. Won't happen overnight, but I think the staff's foresight about controlling the spam with the Merit System is actually going to work within a few months from now.

I can't wait.

Oh, and OP, I do agree with you. That thread definitely needs to be locked. Wouldn't even mind a few of those accounts within that thread banned.

I came here to say this, but I'm not sure about the validity of that "leaked" news. I couldn't find many [verified] sources about it after seeing it on Twitter.

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Poloniex will undoubtedly surpass Binance and Bitfinex as the largest exchange if they allow U.S. residents to register and buy crypto on the site again. However, they do have absolute shit customer service, but that's probably due to influx of new users over the holiday pump. With Circle's budget and surely-allocated resources for this acquisition, this buyout could end up being the best news for the crypto industry. I'm imagining that Poloniex will reintroduce fiat currency as an option for exchanging into crypto.

Now the only thing for them to do is to accept and adopt SegWit-enabled wallets, deposits and withdrawals.

Common Questions & Answers about Bitcoin

Q. What is Bitcoin? Isn't it just made-up money?
A: Bitcoin is in some ways less of a made up money than the money the banks have conditioned us into believing is valid currency. Let me explain how, The main two problems with the Historic money systems is bank currencies/notes are manufactured/printed as required meaning banks can devalue your Bank note just by printing more and over circulating. The second main problem is bank notes state 'I promise to pay the bearer on demand the some of - Five pounds sterling' for example, this is supposed to link to a real commodities like Gold or silver and if we all wanted to cash our I O U's in at the same time would banks even have enough real commodities to cover this (I would not bank on it lol). Another simple way to look at these issues is banks that control 'current real money' are simply businesses and if banks go out of business your pieces of paper (e.g. bank notes) are worthless. Bitcoin solves these problems and is not manipulable like £, $, Euro etc.. is as the amount of Bitcoin has a predetermined amount that is hard coded into the source code. Another huge advantage the new money system Bitcoin has is the fat cats are not taking big 3rd party cuts on transactions especially international ones making Bitcoin already the preference for allot of people and business when completing international transfers. (@ScotlandPros)

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Q: Is Bitcoin a scam? What about a Ponzi scheme?
A: Bitcoin isnt a scam or a ponzi scheme, it is a currency. The price can vary due to changes in supply and demand, but this doesnt affect bitcoins use as a currency to buy and sell products and services online and in person.

Ponzi schemes promise unrealistic rewards and rely on new investors to pay the profits of current investors, and in the end exit scam and leave the new investors with nothing.

This is not bitcoin. Bitcoin is in essence a software run by thousands of computers decentrally (and you access this network when you use a web wallet or desktop wallet). It is based on secure cryptography. Bitcoin isnt owned by one person and cant exit scam. Bitcoin will always be available as long as there are full nodes, miners and people who want to use it. And anyone can run a full node on their computer without high expenses or detailed technical knowledge.

Bitcoin is also deflationary, which means less bitcoin is generated per 4 years, which decreases new supply and keeps the price stable or increasing. This shows that bitcoin is planned for the long-term and will be around as long as we - the users - buy, sell, hodl and use bitcoin.
(answered by @retprogramisto)

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Q: Isn't it too late to get into Bitcoin?
A: It's never too late to get into Bitcoin, people said this when 1BTC was worth 1000$ [and even less] and now they regret not getting into it. (@Oulay)

It is never too late to start using bitcoin. No one can predict the future price of bitcoin, but bitcoin has a lot of potential and with more users (=more demand), it is likely that the price will increase. You dont need to buy 1 whole bitcoin if it is too expensive. You can buy any smaller amount such as 0.5, 0.03, 0.001 btc at any time. The bitcoin community is open and welcomes new users, and people are happy to give help and advice about bitcoin.
(answered by @retprogramisto)

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Q: Is Bitcoin legal? I heard it's illegal in some countries. Why?
A: Legality of bitcoin is based on every country of a person who uses it. For example, a country banned bitcoin, this means that using bitcoin is already not legal for this country. Bitcoin is also legal as long as it is supported or acknowledged by a country or there as long as it is not banned. (answered by @purple.thoughts)

Bitcoin is a currency, therefore it is irrational to ban it, just as it would be irrational to ban cash or USD. Some countries claim to have banned bitcoin, but even in these countries you can still use bitcoin, download and run bitcoin software, and buy and sell bitcoin peer-to-peer. If the legality of bitcoin concerns you, you can search "is bitcoin legal in [country]" in any search engine.
(answered by @retprogramisto)

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Q. Don't people use Bitcoin for the black market or for illegal stuff?
A: Of course it is [used for black market or illegal stuff]. Any form of anything that can generate money is. More crime is funded by fiat than Bitcoin, it's a bit of a moot question. The government/IRS bought software to track Bitcoin and blockchain tech. Sure at some point the government is bound to use national security in the quest to regulate Bitcoin but to avoid Bitcoin because it is used in crime is like avoiding cash cause someone snorted cocaine with the bill. (answered by Walrus1)

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Q: Why is Bitcoin so expensive? I can't afford a bitcoin.
A: Bitcoins price depends on supply and demand, i.e. the price of bitcoin depends on how much people are willing to pay for it.

Because bitcoin is a deflationary currency, you cant simply print more money, if more people want to have it. Generation of new bitcoin requires electricity (=proof of work mining), which means it costs money to make new bitcoin. Additonally the block reward is halved every 4 years, which means miners generate less bitcoin as time goes on.

This means that the supply of bitcoin decreases over time (due to less bitcoin in circulation due to hodlers) and increased demand will increase the price of 1 bitcoin.

Price spikes may also happen suddenly due to increased demand in bitcoin and constant supply. Meaning, if a lot of people want to buy bitcoin and there is a limited number of bitcoin on sale, the price can increase rapidly.

This means that people who bought bitcoin at a lower price can earn profits, if they sell some of their bitcoin at the higher price. Or they can hold their bitcoin (hodl) which decreases circulating supply and therefore can increase bitcoin price.

You don't need to buy 1 whole bitcoin. You can also buy 0.5, 0.03, 0.0001 btc. The smallest unit of bitcoin is a satoshi and equals 0.00000001 btc.
(answered by @retprogramisto)

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Q: If Bitcoin isn't bad, why do famous financial gurus like Warren Buffet warn us to stay away from it?
A: First and foremost, anyone who is a financial advisor like Warren Buffet could never advise the public to invest in an asset that isn't regulated by the SEC. He could be sued, or even jailed for giving such advice. The reason people like Warren and Bill don't advise investing into bitcoin is because they are beneficiaries of the current CENTRALIZED economic [fiat] system. They are among the richest people in the world! The system made them this way, so why would they want to change it? (answered by DAOfan)

Banks, gurus and governments want the world to stay as it is. They dont want to lose power, influence or profits to bitcoin. Therefore they spread FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and false assumptions about bitcoin, to discourage people to use it.

Bitcoin can be liberation from financial institutions like banks and credit card companies. People can use bitcoin freely and anonymously like cash, without required trust in a third party (how can you know that your bank keeps your money safe? that it doesnt invest your money into causes you disagree with? that it cant be stolen or seized?).

Bitcoin can be a viable alternative to Paypal, banks and credit cards to buy online and in person, as you dont need to trust a financial institution with your money. With  bitcoin, people can send money internationally to anyone with processing times as low as 10 minutes and fees as low as 50 cents. No monthly fees, personal information or long contracts required. Bitcoin puts the control back in your hands - if you protect your bitcoin private key, only you have control over your money and no one else can access it.

It is clear to see the benefits of bitcoin over traditional payment methods, and banks can see this too. Bitcoin is a competitor to banks and some banks see it as a threat, while other banks greet bitcoin and even integrate crypto trading into their offers.

That is why it is better to do your own research and read multiple sources, instead of naively believing "gurus" or "leaders". These people can have agendas and give misleading information to discourage people. Therefore as with any research look at a variety of sources and think critically about the information you read.
(answered by retprogramisto)

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Q: How do I cash out Bitcoin?
A: You can pay for things like coffee or dinner easily with Bitcoin [at over 40,000 businesses that accept it worldwide]. More and more businesses are starting to accept Bitcoin. Additionally, you can exchange fiat cash on Bitcoin ATMs, which are readily becoming more available on a regular basis. You can also exchange many fiat currencies into Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) at cryptocurrency exchanges. (@smileflowers)

There are also some Bitcoin debit card service available, where you can just load the account with Bitcoin and then use the card that they provide to shop anywhere that accepts credit card payments. (@coly20032003)

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Q: Is Bitcoin safe?
A: The algorithms and technical solutions that underpin the foundation of Bitcoin are absolutely safe. But the answer to this question depends on you personally. Just ask yourself: Is your credit card safe? Is the Dollar, Euro or Yen safe? The water you drink, the air you breathe, is it safe? Are cars or planes safe? Don't get on the plane if you doubt its safety. The same is with Bitcoin. Only your faith in Bitcoin will give the answer whether it is safe or not. (ValeryO

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Q: Who controls Bitcoin? [the answer could use further explanation]
A: Bitcoin is not controlled by a centralized organization. It is "controlled" by a network of people, such as: the people who hold them; the miners; the traders; the developers. It is the Bitcoin community as a whole that controls Bitcoin. (@coly20032003)

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Q: Will Bitcoin make me rich? (asked by Walrus1 here)
A: There is no guarantee in any market and useful advice is "Dont invest more than you are prepared to lose". While there are good reasons for bitcoin to increase in value, nothing can be guaranteed.

Bitcoin offers many opportunities to earn money online - from trading, sale of goods or services or mining - and many people profit from bitcoin.

However, bitcoin is a currency and not a get-rich-quick scheme. You can definitely earn money with bitcoin, but you need to make effort. Check bitcointalk.org and reddit.com/r/bitcoin to learn how to earn with bitcoin.
(answered by retprogramisto)

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Remember, you can post your own questions in this thread! If it's a popular question and receives an answer worthy of being included in the list, it will be added and the person who answered it (this could be you) will be merited.

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Source: Wikipedia

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Questions like "Is Bitcoin illegal?", "Is Bitcoin a scam or a Ponzi scheme?" and "Why is Bitcoin so expensive?" are common amongst people (usually friends, family, and coworkers) who have no experience with Bitcoin. These questions are usually negative in nature, mainly due to the position that mainstream media puts Bitcoin (and other alternative cryptocurrencies) into. Rather than do their own research about Bitcoin, these people tend to listen to the fud and deter themselves from learning more about it.

You'll often hear them say things like "I've heard about Bitcoin a long time ago, but I never got into it" or "Don't hackers use Bitcoin to demand ransoms?" or some other fud-fueled question.

Let's all do our parts to help educate them in simple terms. This topic will provide you answers with (hopefully) all of the questions that you receive by people who have no idea what it is. Here's how it will work:

• Answer a question (or as many as you like) from the list in the next post below. Give me your best answer, and if it helps the overall greater good of Bitcoin, your answer will be quoted into the answerⁱ in the Questions section, and you will be awarded with a meritⁱⁱ.
• Keep it simple. Try to keep the answers non-technical. People that don't care about Bitcoin tend not to want to because they don't understand it. Why? More than likely because it's all just "computer speak" to them.
• Ask a question. Do you commonly get asked the same thing (that isn't covered below)? Post your question, and whoever has the best answer (including yourself, if you choose to answer the question) will be awarded a merit, and their answer will be added to the listⁱⁱ.
• Do not shitpost. One-sentence answers (very few exceptions will be made) will be purged, as to help eliminate spam (and obvious sigspam). Yes, I will delete your post if it's obvious that you're shitposting solely to increase your post count for your signature campaign.

Remember, these questions are for complete Bitcoin newbies or people who have no idea what Bitcoin is. Please try and avoid submitting technical or more knowledgable questions like "What is the genesis block?" or "Who is Satoshi Nakamoto?". Let's focus on helping our friends and family get their feet wet first and then change their overall negative perspective about Bitcoin first.

ⁱWhether your answer gets added will be under my sole discretion. If you don't agree with me, start your own thread. | ⁱⁱMerits will be distributed until I run out of sMerit to award.

I just came here because of your clickbait title. I just read through the thread, and this is all I have to say:

Stop trying so hard to earn merit. Your post history is worse than decent, and although the quality has been getting better recently (meaning the past few weeks), it's an obvious ploy to try to earn more Merit (keyword: obvious). I'd just like to point out the fact that I (and more than likely others) do not tend to merit posts that are obviously looking for merit.

Contribute something more natural to conversation. Take time to partake and engage in topics that are relevant and topical to Bitcoin. If you don't know what people are talking about in the topic, do a little Google search and try to gain knowledge on the subject matter, and then ask questions that show genuine interest. If your post is genuine, it will show through; especially if we can see that you've taken the time to be a part of a larger conversation rather than just contributing to megathreads.

Give yourself some time and explore the vast sea that is this forum. Get involved, and make some friends.

But do NOT post passive aggressive topics that turn into sucking up to others. That's the vibe I'm getting from you in this thread. It's unnatural, forced, and quite frankly, awkward as hell.

It has been two days since I have sent you a message on Telegram, inquiring about the purchase of a Red Lolita package. You have not responded to it; is this a better method to reach you? Can you please reach out to me so that I can purchase this package? Thanks much!

Telegram: @BTCforJoe

Signature campaigns are not managed by the forums, so there shouldn't be a need for the forum staff to do anything to protect users from scam signature campaigns.

Nobody is forcing members to join campaigns, and I think the problem lies in the fundamental issue of people joining the forums (not just the campaigns) for the wrong reasons.

Your signature space is YOUR space. Signature campaigns pay you to utilize this space; a rental, if you will. The signature can be whatever they designate, and they pay you in return, but you, as a signature campaign participate, should at least personally endorse the space that you are renting. Just because they're promising to pay you for the space doesn't mean it's a necessity. I personally have only been part of signature campaigns where I have no problems endorsing the product. YoBit, Bitmixer, and now ChipMixer. I've used all of these services, so I have no problems with waving their flag in my signature spot.

With all of that said, if a company is not willing to escrow the funds for campaigns on the forums here, the participant/applicant is knowingly taking a risk by joining the campaign. How does this fall into the responsibility of the forum staff? Why should it? These are 3rd-party services and have nothing to do with the responsibilities and duties of forum staff members.

Do you want to avoid scams? It's pretty simple: If it looks like a scam and sounds like a scam, chances are that it is a scam. Walk away. Simple.

I fucking love you.

Now I'm curious...

Name: BTCforJoe
Link to previous posts: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=557989;sa=showPosts
Telegram/skype username: @BTCforJoe
ETH Address: 0x0c2C52C67D413485Ed027825C00fD2022C767E19

Agreed.

I think what a lot of people fail to realize is that the merit system was introduced with an "influx" of sMerit that came with all accounts across the forums, based on that user's rank, by default. Again, as others have mentioned, once these sMerits have dried up, the system will become effective in keep shitposters and sigspammers at bay. Yes, they can easily create dozens of multis for the sole purpose of merit-farming, but at that point, who is really going to take the time to create constructive posts (enough to get merited) in order to send their many alts a merit here and there? It really sounds like a huge investment of time and energy being wasted to distribute sMerits across a network of alt accounts that may or may not be sold in... a couple of months or years for a few bucks?

Come on. Anyone who is saying that the system will not help decrease the shitposting on the forums hasn't thought past the short term.

I'm curious to see the overall activity stats from January of this year compared to January of 2019 when the time comes. I'm willing to bet that user sign-ups will be at an all-time high, but the activity per capita will be at an all-time low. We'll have the merit system to thank for this.

Think long term, folks.

For the record, anyone reading this, please note that the OP's experience is based on having an anonymous account that is not verified.

As an avid user of LocalBitcoins, I will easily state that I do not buy or sell to accounts that are not verified, period. And when I see a trade where they want to pay with an account that is clearly a third-party account, I cancel the trade.

OP, your actions are shady, and I support LBC on their decision to suspend your account; they want to be a legitimate P2P exchange platform, and it's users like you who tarnish their credibility as a brand/service provider.

I see nothing wrong with the way that LBC has conducted this incident.

Just the fact that you're asking for donations to help support what you're doing means two things:

1. You're not profitable. If you were, you wouldn't have a need to ask for donations in order to keep your site running.
2. You're not sustainable. You should be earning enough income from your advertising or referral sources to be able to continue paying out your members. It doesn't seem to be the case if you're asking for donations.

Additionally, changing your referral commissions is the best way to get someone like me not to push your faucet. What advantages would I have to advertise this faucet for you and bring referrals if I know that the rate could drop from 20% (current commission) down to 5%, simply based on how much you have available? Why would I waste my own money and risk credibility introducing this to my downline network?

Fix your model.


It's worthwhile if you have a network of referrals who will join using your link. There's a huge ecosystem of faucet referral income for anyone who is willing to take the time to build a mailing list or a database of faucet claimers. I'm still passively earning a couple hundred dollars a month in referral payments for faucets that I've introduced people to many many moons ago. That amount could easily be in the thousands per month if I put a few hours a day, but there are very few faucets that are actually worth referring/promoting nowadays. They disappear as fast as they appear.

So you're saying that this is purely coincidental, and that you are not linked to any of those other accounts at all?

If you want to earn merit, just show some passion in your posts. And I'm not talking about posting shit like "I love your idea; I think it's great!". I'm talking about genuinely showing the members of this forum that you actually love what you talk about. When I choose to merit posts, I look at a couple of factors, but mainly that the post is kind of a "benchmark", if you will, of the types of posts that I want to stand out.

And another sure way to get shit on is by creating a thread to ask questions about shit that's already been answered. A simple search could have saved you this embarrassment. Just sayin.

Thanks for the warning, but you should post some more information about your experience, post some proof (screenshots will help immensely), and then make a thread on the Scam Accusations board: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=83.0

From your post, I have no idea who the "scammer" is, or which service that you purchased.

Partake in healthy conversations. Try to avoid most of the bullshit megathreads like "what do you think about Bitcoin?" or "Will Bitcoin reach $20,000?". Instead, look for topics that truly interest you, and write some well-thought replies. If your goal is to earn Merits so that you can rank up, the best way to do that is by showing your interest and knowledge (or desire for knowledge) about something you're passionate about. You're rarely going to get merited for posting in megathreads...

Just please do not become a shit-poster. I can see from your post history that you do have some shit posts, so try to focus on QUALITY moving forward, not quantity.

And check out the Meta board; there are PLENTY of threads about Merit, and even some where members are giving them away to posters that feel they are worthy (and actually are).

Hey, a few questions:

1. What is "EPG"?
2. For the Lolita Package, you indicate that only 1 connection is allowed at the same time. Does this mean that I can have this installed on multiple devices (smartphone, tablet, computer, TV), but I can only use it on one device at a time, or does it mean I can only have this installed on one device?
3. Are you an authorized reseller for this service? What I mean is that if there are any problems or issues, are you the direct contact, or would you be a middle-man?
Would you be willing to give a 3-month vouch copy so that I can review your service? I will gladly pay after the 3-month period, but would love to use this on a daily basis and provide some feedback and a review about this for your thread. I am interested in the Lolita Package (White + Red packages). If so, please let me know and I could provide you with my information.

Thanks, and good luck!

So we're not in disagreement then. If you re-read what I wrote, I'm saying that I cannot clearly state that there is no risk with the website version. And then I go on to say that I personally do not store any bitcoin in any of my vanity address wallets that were generated on the site.

I'm not in your shoes? I've been in your shoes. How hard is it to rank up? It isn't. If you're talking about the new Merit system that was just introduced, it shouldn't have a deciding factor in your ranking as long as you're posting quality content. Your merit count should go up organically as long as you don't shitpost all over the forums, kind of like you just did for this thread. All the information you're looking for is already on this forum in one way, shape, or form. If you don't understand it, maybe it's time to find a new forum to join. This one obviously isn't for you