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I think people are intrinsically repulsed by the concept of intrinsically worthless money...they just don't realize that that is precisely what they use...people don't quite see that Bitcoin, while still intrinsically worthless, can't be created ad infinitum.
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It would be unwise to kill our only magazine for spite...
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Has anyone added up the amount of btc passed via ppt operators to Pirate? I'm not interested in what people believed their account balances to be, but the actual net number of Bitcoins that flowed in to pirate...
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Can the future bitcoiners learn from the mistakes of others? Maybe if we can help educate them.
I think this is a valid point. I think the scammer tag is a super way to educate. |
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I'll chip in my ill gotten BTC2 when you all are ready.
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Matthew,
What you did was dumb. There is little point trying to teach people a lesson - you are no better teacher than a lifetime of experiences, and your lesson won't be learned. There will always be this exact type of situation everywhere you go. Everywhere. I'm sorry you hadn't realized that.
I must admit I liked the Bitcoin movement far more before your stunt. This has brought out the bad side in so many of our community...we've gone from revolutionaries to whiny brats, big dreamers to big babies, bright individualists to a herd of thoughtless beasts...how are we gonna get anywhere if all we do is rip each other off or trick the stupid in to ridiculous bets? There are better things to be done and in your absence perhaps it will be easier to get good things done...or maybe we will just keep gambling and scamming...
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I kinda have to agree...I mean....seriously? People are upset they didn't get something for nothing?
I think you missed the part where people are upset because someone else would've taken their money had he won, but would not pay out if he lost. It's a tiny bit different. Other people were also upset because Matthew spent 3 weeks building up to a HUGE climax... that in the end turned out to be a "meh."  It's as if some guy invited everyone to come watch his spectacular fireworks, people took the time off from work to come see it, and when they got there, all they saw was him tossing a lit molotov cocktail into the air, and saying, "Get it? GET IT!?" And even after it fell on his head afterwards, it really wasn't all that entertaining. I agree the whole idea of the bet is kinda childish, but the expectation of others that Matthew pay out in Bitcoin rather than accept the scammer tag is silly. I'm not a fan of drama and theatrics (cough...Ellet...cough) but Matthew taught me a lesson: people don't think when they are being greedy. I mean, even our forum founder holds stolen Bitcoin unashamedly and he has the gall to consider Matthew a bigger scammer than himself? I'm not certain he would have taken the money had he won, in fact, he offered scammer tags to all who chose not to pay. If people paid Matthew, it would have been to get the scammer tag taken off...not because they lost a bet. I hold two stolen Bitcoins (roughly). It's easy for me to admit I don't deserve them because its not much money...I should like to think I would feel the same way if I held a large amount of stolen funds. But even if I had a large amount of pirate profits, I sure as heck wouldn't brag about it or try to convince others that "I didn't _know_ at the time it was a ponzi, therefore it's ok that I keep my winnings now...." |
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Jesus Christ...
The bitcoin community is gullible as fuck. Therefore, it attracts scammers.
That's how simple it is. No pathetic posts about feeling betrayed, no multiple threads about the same topic (being butthurt about getting scammed), no tears and drama is needed.
The only thing you all need, is to learn how to use your brains. Do not trust anyone, especially not just because you had sweet chit-chat over Skype and PM's. Your parents obviously failed to raise you, because even kindergarten kids know they're not supposed to trust strangers.
I kinda have to agree...I mean....seriously? People are upset they didn't get something for nothing? I guess if you got ripped off by pirate you would fall for this to... |
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Matt is invited to come on DonkDown radio on Wed. to discuss this matter.
I feel a follow-up interview to his first one is needed at this point.
Can't wait to hear it. |
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the larger investors in his scheme certainly should be pursuing him.
Well they're certainly not wasting their time here. Lol...he got his scammer tag...the deal was pay up or accept the tag... |
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(24-08-2012 05:30:51) steamship: _matthew_, ill buy your debt for 10k if pirate pays. The time is GMT+1. If anyone wishes I can PM the whole log. Not posting it cause I don't feel like editing it. The fun part starts there, with pirate offering to take on his bet and matthew refusing it. The debt of a bunch of scammer tags? If I put up a big bet, I'd take the scammer tag option. |
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Thankfully, I escrowed my 40btc bet and have actually received the 80btc from escrow. Thanks Matt  The fact that he allowed escrow early on makes me think he intended to make it a real bet until it was clear he was going to lose hehe I guess he intended to set up a heads I win, tails you lose scenario. Hence the limited use of escrow. The fact that he did some escrow (I'm presuming its true) makes me think he intended to win and get btc or scammer tags galore doled out. |
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I made money off of pirate. I put BTC10 in some passthru and took BTC12.4 out. It was a gamble, and I didn't get greedy. I was actually surprised when I got my money back.
Why? If the scheme was still running it would be foolish for him not to give it back because you would yell about it on the forums and trigger a premature panic resulting in massive withdrawals. I had anticipated a collapse earlier than it actually collapsed...I figured if small timers like me are able to get in, it must be close to the end. |
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I am soliciting offers for the purchase of my 103 BTC balance at Bitfloor.
I will purchase it for my 36 BTC balance at bitfloor  Nice try. If I end up filing suit in small claims court for my debt, I would consider acting as your agent as well for a reasonable fee. Good luck with that. If he really does have law enforcement involved, I believe your claim will have to wait... |
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I'm still agonizing over which is funnier... watching the entire spreadsheet worth of bettors get pantsed in public, or the outcry over it.
If anyone who had an IQ reaching into double digits did any background on Matty, and his Hilarious Horde of Hijinks you would have known good and early that this would turn out to be a spoof, a canard, a bon geste. You have all been made out to look as foolish as online personas can possibly be, and every single bettor who lined up for this abuse looks about as intelligent as the losers on To Catch A Predator, who stand there dumbfounded, wondering why they aren't screwing a 14 year old hottie, and they are being grilled on TV instead.
I would imagine the only remorse Matt has is that it fell on the 9th of September, and not the 1st of April.
What a boatload of buffoons! Quick, back into your clown car and go chasing after the next great scheme... you know they next one has to be real...
This needs to stay...too good not to quote. |
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All but the most retarded here assumed near zero chance the Pirate would legitimately pay up. That includes Mathew.
No, MNW stated clearly and in so many ways that he expected pirate to pay. I believe that everyone is being ridiculous and that Pirate is probably not a ponzi for several very good reasons. When the bet is over, I'll give my reasons, but it won't have any bearing and is still based on something that I cannot prove.
I still believe there is a very high chance that Pirate is just doing a business which we don't understand, and my sinking gut, although questioning his lack of professionalism, lateness, etc, reminds me that no one is perfect and it may all just be a series of bad coincidences. I hope I am right and that I am able to prove to the community once and for all that what we don't understand is not always a scam. If I happen to be wrong, I'm happy to have enjoyed this entertaining time with everyone, and I've actually made quite a lot of new friends (as you can imagine).
If you invested in pirate without even bothering to research his business model, find out his info, etc, you're also basically gambling, but only -you-. Others who invested in him may not be gambling, they may be just taking risk. I am taking a risk with this bet. I believe I know what he's doing and I believe it is not a ponzi.
This is a fairly solid post with some convincing research. You've managed to sway my possition more than is typical. It would be interesting to see if Matthew has any responses to these statements at this point and if so, what they would be. If his goal really was to 'educate' the community, this would be a good chance to do so...and probably a better use of time than slitting his wrists. I'd like to hear his reasoning on this... |
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Yeah.... I am starting to be afraid of you people...  He didn't take anyone's money..... He played a bad prank and lost a lot of respect..... +1 |
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Matthew committed fraud, plain and simple. While I'm personally only disappointed that I'm not getting 400 BTC, others used this bet as their main method of hedging against Pirate or made other investment decisions based on this bet because they trusted Matthew. Matthew has demonstrated that he is unworthy of anyone's trust. I guess I was right the first time. I have no confidence in [Matthew]'s sense of morality, and I will never trade with him.
So....did he take more money than you did? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=105288.msg1155862#msg1155862 |
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I'm not in charge of scammer tags, I'm just saying making up hypothetical situations and expecting a serious answer is kinda dumb.
I'm simply asking for bitcointalk.org's definition of a scammer. It's a legitimate question. If that doesn't exist that's fine. Maybe we should wait for Theymos to weight in, if he chooses to do so. Thx. Matthew didn't take any money, but I believe others have received scammer tags preemptively. so SCAMMER sometimes means ALMOST SCAMMER. One problem with the bet scenario is that nobody would have really known what to do were Matthew to win the bet. Matthew wouldn't have gotten the scammer tag, but he would have been just as guilty. I agree with this... People are going overboard... I sorta knew it was a joke from the start..... I don't care if he gets a scammer tag or not. I think we need a gullible and/or complicit in crime tag for the ppt folks who assisted in the theft. And a clever crook tag for those who actually made money on the pirate fiasco (for the record, I made a little over BTC2...which I'm willing to return). |
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