Checking new applications is becoming too time consuming, and every day I have to check several applications from spammers.

The project was started to help Bitcoin Talk members to improve their English, and it is only open to members of the Bitcoin Talk forum. New members are still welcome, but in future they will have to send a PM to this account, and request a membership. That will ensure that they are active members of the forum, and help me to spend my time more productively.

Having spent most of my early days programming in basic assembly language, I still have a slight mistrust of "high level languages". However, I realise that computing has become so sophisticated now, and one needs to support a wide variety of platforms. I'm going to need to write a couple of programs for some upcoming projects, and I'm not sure that PHP is the best solution. I've been downloading the free eBooks from PackT, and I notice that many of them are guides for Python, and include books for specialist topics. I haven't started to read them yet, as I wanted to make a decision on the best language to start my experiments.

Do any of you guys use Python, and what do you think of it?

I'm having a coffee with Jet Cash, and we are discussing the recent fake news about Starbucks. He doesn't see how any cafe could accept Bitcoin in payment for a coffee. Well maybe if you use Lightning network, but a regular Bitcoin payment doesn't seem viable. Ignoring the issue of high fees, the confirmation time seems to be the problem. With average block creation times of around 10 minutes, it can take up to 20 minutes or so for a transaction to get into a block, and that is providing that it gets into the next creation, and it isn't an orphan. That seems far too long if you are waiting in a payment queue.

I see so many people wetting their pants because some fast food chain is rumoured to be accepting Bitcoin, but I can't see it ever happening. Can you see a way for the cafe to start accepting Bitcoin?

I was discussing no merit spammers with Jet Cash earlier today, and he made an interesting suggestion. Why not double the posting restriction interval for every 100 posts made by a spammer with no merits? I thought this was a good idea, and it could have two results. Spammers may stop and think before making rubbish posts, if they will reduce their ability to post. It could also introduce an element of self-moderation, and spammers may delete old posts to reduce their unmerited post count. This second point could affect their bounty payments, so again, they may be encouraged to make higher quality posts.

I'm so fed up with Windows 10 constantly messing with my computer, that I'm going to have to give my Linux upgrade some priority. I want to swop the HDD for an SSD, and to install Ubuntu Studio to replace Windows.  I've got so much to sort out at the moment, that I hoped to put this off for a month or so. It's now happening so frequently, and always at inconvenient times, that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and junk the insecure Windows spyware system.

Most members seem to be under the misapprehension that merit and activity are there to help upgrade posters. Well they aren't. There is only one factor that drives upgrading, and that is post count. Activity is a barrier to control high frequency posters, and merit is a barrier to block low quality spam posters.
Please respect both of these protective measures that have been introduced to restore the usability of the forum, and be aware that they are working well at the moment. The effects have become noticeable.

I apologise for creating yet another thread about these topics, but very few people seem to be aware that they are designed to be barriers, and they are constantly attempting to tear them down.

I can't find a mention in any of the stickies I checked.

I've seen so many spelling errors in posts here, that I thought I would post this observation.

When I am typing a post, I quite often make typos, especially as this keyboard has a dodgy 'a'. This usually results in a thin red line underneath the incorrect word, and I can correct the error before submitting the post. If it isn't a typo, but a genuine misspelling, then I can copy the word, and give it to Google to check. Google is quite friendly, and it will suggest some alternative spellings for me.

Please don't be lazy, and please correct your typing errors before submitting your post. It makes it much easier to read and understand your message.

I think this illustrates the need for the activity and merit controls, and how they are helpful to new members with an interest in Bitcoin. Without those controls, I could be a legendary by the week end. I hope that new members realise the opportunities that membership of Bitcoin Talk can open up for you. It is sad that so many seem to squander their time in the pursuit of pennies in the bounty arena. Instead of chasing rank and merit, you could be building the foundation for a lucrative career in the new world of crypto based economies.

It doesn't take much to start and run a Bitcoin node, and this gives you the chance to explore all the features and commands associated with the Bitcoin blockchain. There is a shortage of people with a reasonable understanding of its potential.

I've just signed up to Bitcoin Talk, and I was surprised that I wasn't asked to confirm my email address. I found this slightly disconcerting, as it means that a spammer can sign up with an alt name, and use somebody else's email address. If he makes this public, then it could cause problems for the rightful owner.

One other advantage of requiring email confirmation to a unique address is that it could reduce the number of alts being used by the spammers.

Jet Cash joined Bitcoin talk to discuss Bitcoin and online payment systems. He learnt a lot from the members here, and he enjoys the discussions about Bitcoin, and the emerging crypto economy.

The flood of alt coins and the associated bounties and air drops has caused a massive increase in advertising to try to suck unwary investors into risky speculations. This has led to the pollution of the boards here by a tide of low quality posting by signature spammers. Jet Cash has become concerned that he spends too much time discussing the new merit system, which was introduced to combat this pollution, and he has asked me to take over so that he can distance himself from the need to make increasingly abrasive posts.

I hope you guys won't mind me taking on this role for him. He still plans to award merit quietly in the background, but he doesn't want to talk about it any more.