No.  I agree that speculation serves a valuable purpose.  I'm arguing against manipulation.  Perhaps it is intentional, or perhaps it is simply a flock of fools fulfilling the prophecy of their leader.  It doesn't matter which.

I'm not asking to ban or regulate anything.  Regulations cannot end this behavior.  They only make it more perverse.

I am simply appealing to reason:  Realize that creating coordinated mass movements creates a little profit for a few, but damages the future of BitCoin as a whole.  We have an opportunity to create something much bigger than day to day profits.

Instead of creating artificial waves to exploit, speculate on BitCoin's future.  Buy the rumor, sell the news.  Create your own charts.  Analyze web boards.  I don't care what your strategy is.  Just stop participating in the coordinated attacks.

And I would remind you that just because you can do a thing does not make it right.

This, like all the similar manipulations we see in stocks, creates big waves that are profitable to people who have the advantage, at the expense of everyone else.

If this was a casino, fine, have your fun.

I do not want to play in this stupid scam.  I want to use BitCoin for things that aren't a zero-sum game of trying to screw the other guy just a little bit faster to make a profit at his expense.

I want to use BitCoin to CREATE VALUE, and until it's established well enough to resist this kind of manipulation, this insider trading scam is screwing it up for the rest of us.

Yes, and I have no problem with him providing the best information to PREDICT the ups and downs.

I DO have a problem when he starts CAUSING the ups and downs.

If you're strong enough to physically overpower him without putting yourself in unreasonable danger, you should.  If that's not possible, drawing a gun and ordering him to stand down is reasonable.  If he continues to attempt the rape (or attempts to rush you), shooting him is then likely the minimum force necessary to prevent a violent crime.

Property crimes are variable, but to prevent violent crime I'm pretty sure that "minimum reasonable force" is legal in every state.  Some states allow you to escalate your use of force faster than this, but I'm not aware of any that would require you to stand aside while a rape is in progress.

Unfortunately, no.  We're not free and safe.

If you defensively resist the illegal actions of a cop, you'll get roughed up a bit, arrested, and then eventually take a plea bargain for 6-12 months for some BS charge so that they don't put you on trial for "assaulting a police officer" and put you away for 6-12 years.

Resist harder and they'll just shoot you on the spot.  They'll get some review that finds that their actions were reasonable under the circumstances, and no one will question what they were doing to you beforehand.  The only exception is if your buddy catches the whole thing on video and posts it to youtube.... Then they get fired.  For killing you.

Want to try it out on a small scale?  Try the TSA.  Go do ANYTHING that isn't completely compliant, subservient behavior (question their authority, complain about them groping you, ask to see a manager, refuse to comply with some inconsequential thing, whatever), and you'll find yourself detained for at least a few hours, and possibly end up with a criminal record depending on the words that come out of your mouth during that time.

There are tons of cases where someone does something seemingly innocent without any malice or criminal intent who then gets dragged through the system...  All you have to do is stand out in some way that draws their attention, and they'll find a way to make your life hell.  Convict you?  Probably not, but they'll wreck your life for months and you'll run up tens of thousands in defense costs.

The US is a police state, and it's getting constantly worse.

It's a witch!

That is reasonable, and I retract my bitching about this situation.

I still encourage a generally stricter moderation policy.

Oh, WTF mods.  All manner of obvious trolling, threadjacking, scamming and other bullshit is tolerated here every day.  I don't agree with the laissez-faire approach, but you're libertarians, so I guess you can't help it.  This is your house, so I tolerate it.

But when one of them shows she has a heart and comes clean, then you bring out the banstick?

We found a few clues and were getting ready to sock your pink pony ass.  I completely missed the HELP ME SAVE PONIES though!

Good show, sir.  

And kudos for having the decency to end it cleanly.

Hello!

I'm unabashedly an alter-ego.  Sometimes I want to say things that are too dark, off-color, or politically unpopular to say as myself.

Despite my name, this account isn't to reply to myself to create false consensus.  I only use it for anonymity.

Well, yes, but it's her fault, really.  She was asking for it.  Practically begging for it.  Can't fault a guy under the circumstances.

Sorry, I know I'm going to hell, but it was too easy. 

More seriously, she's 17, not 7.  She's old enough to own her opinions and the blowback they will generate.

Certainly.  Speech isn't free everywhere.

Where are you?

Why should we trust you with our BTC?  I'm not saying I don't.  I just want to hear the pitch.

You can have currency issued and backed by a central authority easily - check out Pecunix.  But that's not "bitcoin backed by gold".  Bitcoin's big advantage is it's decentralized.  In that scenario, who holds the gold and guarantees a fixed exchange rate?  What's their motivation?

Nope.  Faster (or more importantly, power efficient) cards push up the hash rate which drives up the difficulty.  It will give you a temporary advantage until they become widespread, but don't expect it to change the basic economics in the long run.

No one will deal in paypal unless they already trust you.  It's too easy to scam.