[your]

I have been into BTC/crypto for a little over 2 years now, even though i had my eyes on it for a lot longer i never "took the plunge" (regrettably) later than i should have done.

Throughout my time in the 'cryptosphere' i have had countless conversations about it with friends and family. I like many others here believe i'm a visionary, you can see where this is all eventually heading and how it could/will pan out. I can't understand why more people arent involved to be honest, though the feedback i have had seems to revolve around "i don't really understand it" and " that Bitcoin thingy". 


So, im just trying to find out a few things from other members here from around the world:

What are your friends and families thoughts/views on your crypto journey? Are they into crypto too?

Is your country/region positive about crypto?

I only ask this as i genuinely only know one other person in real life who has an interest in crypto. I'm from the Uk and don't really see a lot of fuss about it, maybe its totally different where you are?

It would be great to hear some feedback.

I have barely been on here the last few months as i have had so much on in real life that i literally haven't had a lot of time to be on here.

I completely missed the 'Newbie/Junior member/1 merit' implementation, but i must say that in the past few days i have browsed i can see its definitely paid dividends with a much improved and organic posting behaviour on here as opposed to a few months back when the quality was pretty drastic to be honest.

Its not easy trying to keep everyone happy, but bravo to the decision makers for making a good call. This is definitely a step in the right direction in the War on Spamerism 

[and]

Ok, so the purpose of this post is educational and to stop you from wasting your own time.

Day after day, we see a lot of brand new members start out here posting these guides- very simple guides - about a lot of stuff beginners should know or learn. The harsh reality is that most of these 'guides' have been repeated umpteen times and i can guarantee i have seen the EXACT same guide here multiple times with the odd word that may have been changed.

So here is my guide bit of advice to change the way you start out here!  

Simple guides

If you are considering doing a guide, i am sorry to tell you this but you are wasting your time. Unless its unique and genuinely helpful then great. But to give a guide on "what is Bitcoin" "what is a currency" etc etc, don't bother, its all been written before. People who have been here a while have seen this happen and can spot a plagiarised piece from a mile off. Then we check your post history and see the rest of your posts have been spam/garbage. If you are brand new here then the chances are you are perhaps trying to pull the wool over senior members eyes- its not going to happen guys.

Members are watching

Starting out here can be daunting. Its actually quite hard to introduce yourself and "mix in" with the crowd initially and write your first few posts.  For every piece that you write you will have eyes on what you have wrote, so make sure its worthy of reading and makes sense. Posts like "what is bitcoin price" and "when moon" and all the other shite you see on here will get you on peoples ignore lists straight away so just don't post it! Make relevant replies to topics you are interested in, look for the threads that interest you where you have an opportunity to have your say as you know something about it.

Starting Out

Please- don't start out here with a pointless or irrelevant post or you will get nowhere fast! Just use common sense. I know of a lot of members here who like to see people who actually make a bit of effort with their posts. It dosent have to be an essay, or absolutely perfect written English....just be you! Introduce yourself, ask questions, be curious, seek information. Personally, i like to see someones personality come out in their writing, thats when you know when someone is here for the right reasons!  

To summarise, you do not have to reinvent the wheel to make a difference here. Just be yourself and fellow members will notice good and consistent content.

A lot of this might sound super simple, and it is just that. It just amazes me the amount of people who get off on the wrong foot here, so i think its important to highlight the fundamentals.

If you need any advice feel free to reach out!  

[eliminate]

Even though i haven't been here long, i've seen an influx of crappy/irrelevant posts and the same topic being repeated day after day- god only knows how some of you must feel who have seen the same thing hundreds or possibly several thousand times. 

Obviously i can see due to the amount of posts in Meta, that a lot of people are fed up of seeing the same crap posted day in day out. The real shame is that you have to practically hunt for something decent these days in amongst the sea of spam that plagues the site. Everyone has a say and can put forward an idea so i thought i'd give it a shot too!

I know that the bounties here are more than likely making up a large portion of website traffic. I totally understand that to stay at the top of the alexa rankings, you need website traffic and by eliminating newbies entirely- you also get rid of a shitload of traffic.

So is it not a possibility that in future we could have new bounties initially posted here as per usual in the ANN section, then any 'work' i.e. reporting of what the member done that week and contact details posted, social media links, telegram names etc etc, hosted somewhere else on a sister website a Bountybtctalk for example? Would this not rid the forum of a good chunk of piss poor posts?

Another thing i wonder is, why do bounty campaigns have posting requirements if the stuff that is posted is utter crap?

Is it not prudent to eliminate excessive posting requirements and in doing so eradicating a lot of needless comments and hopefully a better standard of posting within the forum could naturally bring people here, those who actually want to come and read organic posts instead of bounty requirement posts?

Obviously i know what i mentioned has its possible drawbacks in terms of website traffic, the rest is just general wondering why this actually goes on here when we all know the issues it creates? 

Hello everyone, i'm not too sure if this is the right place for this, so if there is a better place for this post to be hosted then firstly i apologise and secondly feel free to move to the relevant board.

Ok, so i have an idea at the minute that i think is definitely relevant in crypto and will almost certainly be needed in the future aswell as right now. I'm not wanting to talk about the idea for obvious reasons but i can say i have done my due diligence and i genuinely think i've spotted a niche in the market that i think is needed.

I'm asking you kindly for your opinions (or experience if you have any) on how you would go about starting from an idea to turning it into a reality and what steps to take initially?

I appreciate any input you may have.

[The Traffic light system]

Hello everyone, hope you are enjoying your weekend! 

Since i joined this forum, i have literally lost count of the amount of times i have seen asking about how to rank up and how to get merit. It seems fairly straightforward to a lot of us here as its not exactly Quantum Physics. Put the effort in consistently and get rewarded (hopefully).

Where i see a lot of people going wrong here, is the belief that it is impossible to get Merit and rank up in the forum. When you start out here you are a little fish in a big pond so it can be a little intimidating and hard to get recognised initially. Or, what i have seen a good few times now when i have trawled the site looking to give out S-merit and some posts are decent but not quite meritable. I wish there was a way i could signal to the person who's posts i have seen that they are nearly there and definitely on the right track.

So i came up with an idea- a system to recognize posting behaviour.

The Traffic light system

Spam/Crap/poor: If you seen anyone posting crap, this would signal to the member that their posts are not really what we are looking for, and depending on the person (i.e. if they have a good attitude) it gives them a chance to change their posting habits to get on track.

Somewhat agree/ok/on topic: This is to highlight that that the profile user is posting correctly, is relevant and on topic, and there post is of a reasonable standard.

Great post/merit worthy/good standard:To show the profile user that they are definitely on the right track, their post history is decent, and someone to watch.

Rules/Requirements (to be debated obviously)

• In order for a member to use the system, they must have attained a required level of Merit or rank (this is to ensure fairness and proof the member who is awarding is indeed trustworthy)
• There would be set amount of these per day/week/month that a user can send
• The 'traffic light' would be displayed on a users profile beside their name, if it were green it would indicate to a merit source (or someone who has S-merit) that this person should be looked at to potentially receive merit (at givers discretion obviously)
• Leaderboard, whereby a member who has been voted  throughout the course of a day/week/month could see what they have achieved and to show transparency

Why am i suggesting this?

Firstly, let me just say this is just theoretical. I don't know if this could even be put in place as i dont know what the forum is capable of doing with regards to changes or what is possible.

The reason i'm suggesting this, is a LOT of people who i have came across when i have been looking to send S-Merit were very nearly there but not quite Merit worthy. Some are posting good content and getting no recognition. This system would encourage the user to continually post good content as they are officially on the radar if they are in the 'green'. It would encourage the people in the 'red' to post better or be forever ignored, and would show the 'amber' that their input is noted and they actually exist.

With the amount of people here, it is very tough to stand out from the crowd. Some are no doubt discouraged that they are not able to rank up as they are not receiving Merit, this gives support and hope to those who are making an effort. It discourages those who spam, who will then NEVER have the right to moan again as you could point them immediately to the fact they are posting crap via the in-house traffic light system.

As i said, this is just an idea- one i think could solve a few problems here, and will certainly improve the quality forum wide! 

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Oh, and sorry for the long post! 

[AT ALL]

With all of these new exchanges popping up here there and everywhere, i am seeing a very common theme and it's one i don't like AT ALL and i feel it gives bitcoin/crypto a bad reputation in general.

What am i talking about? Trading competitions! Where you can win XXX amount of whatever crypto for being the most active or hitting a certain limit. Don't get me wrong, i'm sure there are a few people out there who will do alright from these deals, but i imagine the vast majority end up losing in the short term or the long run.

For me, its targeting the wrong audience. It does absolutely nothing toward our hallowed "mass adoption" hopes, and its encouraging gambling all so that the said exchange can make a profit in fees!

Yet we wonder why the SEC are so reluctant to give crypto its blessing! 

Whats your thoughts?

[ANYBODY]

Hello all, just thought i'd share this with you to prove a point that it is absolutely possible to "rank up" quickly on Bitcointalk.

Let me just say that i am not posting this to boast or brag (totally not what i'm about), its simply intended as a guide/advice to show that it is actually pretty easy to rank up if you're willing to work at it.

I joined here in mid-May, wasn't active for the first 2 weeks while i browsed the site offline, and i haven't been online much at all over the past 2-3 weeks as i have had lots going on in 'real life' and vacations etc, so effectively i have been here less than 2 months!

Just to let you know, i don't know ANYBODY in real life from this site, i don't get any preferential treatment and there's no bias toward me, you or the vast majority of people on here. So please don't think that its impossible or too hard to rank up- it's really not. See below.

• Post quality: Super simple tip. I don't profess to be an expert writer, infact, i've been called out on here before a few times for making my posts too long (i obviously disagree  ). What i do know is effort is rewarded. If you are willing to post something helpful, something useful, something that another user on here can look at and take something constructive from, then that is what i consider to be a good post. It dosen't have to be an essay or perfect grammatically correct English- it just needs to be useful/helpful!
• Study other people: Look at what other people are posting. This is so easy, have a quick look at higher ranked members post history. I'm not saying copy from them- Definitely not, but look at what they are posting and understand why they are a respected member. Its really no coincidence. They are posting high quality, relevant content that people find useful.
• Shitposting: Pardon my language  , it has to be said though! If you shitpost on here then i can GUARANTEE you will be stuck as a newbie forever. Examples of shitposts? take a look at the Bounty section... Its an embarrassment! If you post "great project" "super project" and all that other crap- you will get what you deserve....NOTHING.
• Merit begging: Really didnt want to bring this up, but if you beg for Merit then you are done! Easiest way to get Merit? Make something worthy of Meriting! Its nice to know your work is appreciated and that people find what you say worthy of a Merit. Once you get your first/first few, it will spur you on to [continue] make better quality content
• Quality over Quantity: Guys just use common sense on here. Why bother posting 10-20 crappy posts when you could spend the same amount of time (or less) making decent thought out posts that could potentially be rewarded and recognised by the community? Makes more sense right?  

I'm no different to any of you. i'm just an ordinary family guy who is sharing his experience as a relatively new member and how i have found my time on here so far. If i can do it then so can you. This really isn't rocket science- it's not even hard work!  . Just change your forum habits and if you are willing to put the time and effort in, you will be a valued member of the community and rank up faster!

If anyone has anything to add then i'd love to hear your thoughts! Cheers.

[EFFORT]

Ok, this could be unpopular opinion but i'm speaking my mind here and i'm not out to cause trouble or start mud slinging here...but this NEEDS to be said!

As stated in the title Newbies are NOT the only problem here!

I posted last night here, as i usually do its quite long and detailed as thats how i write- i like to be thorough! Not to everyones taste, though other peoples writing style is not to mine either.

I hadn't been on here for well over a week and i can honestly hold my hand up and say that i had no idea a similar post to mine had been posted a few days before.

The response i got was and i quote: "These have been suggested before, and there was just a thread like two days ago with hilariousandco suggesting that there needs to be a merit requirement for the noob-->Jr. Member transition.  Therefore, this thread is redundant and, in addition, it's way too wordy.  Seems more like a merit-grab attempt than some actual concern from a member with 56 activity."

Now who said this is irrelevant, and i don't have a problem with them either, i'm merely using this as an example.

To me there are 4 totally unnecessary putdowns in this paragraph. Let me address them:

-Firstly it wasnt a "redundant" post, as there was additional info on there that wasn't covered (though i chose to lock the thread shortly after).
-It was classed as too wordy- well as i stated above i write the way i write and i can't please everyone- would you rather 'When Bitcoin moon' posts or someone who actually puts a little EFFORT into their posting behaviour?
- It was no "Merit grab" attempt, for what its worth i don't fish for Merit, if someone chooses to give it to me then thats their call, i'm really not bothered but can you honestly tell me why i would even need it when i don't even use the bounty section? Please don't assume you know me- you don't.
-Lastly the "actual concern from a member with 56 activity" REALLY? You bought Bitcoin before me so my opinion is irrelevant?  

The last statement to me implies utter contempt to 'newer' members and that anyone new here is of no importance. I'm sorry but i have as much right as anyone else to be here. Yes there are people who've been here longer than i and built this place to what it is, i just don't think it gives someone the right to be judge, jury and executioner just because you rank higher.

I'm only using this as an example of MANY other negative and quite often vindictive behaviour toward other members.

Particularly in the newbie section, i have seen many people shot down when they've posted something quite useful, cited by senior members for having been posted before, its not relevant or its a merit attempt. You have to remember there are hundreds of newbies EVERY DAY on here that probably aren't going to scroll through dozens of pages, so is it relevant- for a newbie yes, yes of course it is!

While i am all for constructive criticism, i don't think this helps in ANY WAY shape or form, it only serves to dissuade members from posting anything else in future in fear of being vilified or singled out.

I'm probably seen in the eyes of some as causing trouble here, but you couldn't be further from the truth. Its an open forum and i think we have every right to speak our minds- good or bad. It needs to be looked at and senior members should be ambassadors for the site...not executioners.

And as you can see....i always make lengthy posts!  

I can see me getting shot down for this post.....C'est la vie.  

[No Newbie to Jr Member rank up WITHOUT Merit]

Hi guys, i haven't been on here for over a week or so but see the same questions popping up quite frequently with regard to stopping spammers/scammers etc.

What i mention here may have been mentioned previously i don't know, but as this is the Meta section i figure i might aswell have my 2 cents.Please forgive me if these subjects have been touched upon, i just think we can't progress without sharing ideas i guess.

No Newbie to Jr Member rank up WITHOUT Merit

As described in the title, I propose that ANY newbie member should have to gain a small amount of Merit (Maybe 1-2) in order to rank up to Jr Member.

Reason being: I think a LOT of people/spammers/ low quality posters would be put off from joining or participating on here from day 1. As the vast majority of bounties require Jr Member rank in order to participate, i think there's a good chance that this would really encourage folk to make an effort with their posts and in doing so - eliminate a lot of crap that the forum is swimming in.

This may sound tough or discriminatory to some, however i see it as an incentive and i really don't think its too tough to gain 1 Merit! It only takes a little effort.

Suggestion number 2 is similar to number 1

14 day probationary period for new members

A period for monitoring a persons activity on here and to ascertain if it actually is a person or a 'bot'.

Reason being: I'm not wanting to sound like the Gestapo here so please don't think i'm being harsh. I feel that if people are here for the right reasons- i.e. actually participating and joining in the conversations- this really wouldn't have been an issue to me when i joined up. If its explained (possibly by email or on registration screen) when you first join up as to why its been implemented, i again think it only encourages the right sort of person to join and encourages better posting behaviour. If its a (another!) spammer- they fail probation and dump them!

I really don't think either of these suggestions are too harsh. Most genuine folk would understand the reasons behind it. Both are easily achievable if you're a newbie. What i don't know is if these are at all feasible to implement within the site, but i just thought i'd share my thoughts out loud.

[FOLLOW THE RULES]

Hi everyone, I just thought that i'd share this to people who are brand new/relatively new here.

This is an attempt at trying to get people who are new here to pay attention, not to make silly mistakes, FOLLOW THE RULES and become a valued member here. Its a bit of a long read but stick with it as it will help you on your journey here.

For starters i'd point you to this here which you should definitely read before doing ANYTHING!  There is some excellent advice here and some of it is so basic, yet people don't adhere to what it says. Please do yourself a favour and read it: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1689727.0

Biggest Newbie Pitfall

We see the same topics and posts here multiple times on a daily basis, i'm pretty sure you know the ones i'm on about- how to rank up, how to get merit, its too hard, its unfair etc etc.  

I can tell you right now, whether you like it or not, if you post something like what i've written above you are most likely ALREADY DOOMED . Sounds harsh but its true. I can't even begin to imagine how many times senior members here have seen these posts. I have been here 5 minutes in comparison and i am fed up with seeing them so trust me when i say- DON'T ASK! The answers to your question are already littered throughout the site and really aren't difficult to find. That's why its vitally important to look around for a solution.

Remember, i'm only saying this for your benefit.  

Browsing OFFLINE

Ok, this is subjective and i'm not saying its for everyone, but it helped me when starting out here.

I browsed the site offline (not logged in) for the first 2 weeks i joined here. This will sound counter productive to a lot of people here, the reality is that it has gave me an advantage that a LOT of others have missed. So why browse offline?

1: To see what people are posting here. Could i 'fit in' here? Have i got enough knowledge to be a valued member? If not, i needed to find somewhere i can mix with the crowd.

2: To keep my activity/merit (was hoping i would get some!  ) ratio respectable. Again, this depends on the person. I'm not here to Bounty Hunt primarily. Don't get me wrong i wear a signature but i might aswell if i'm here i guess. When i started here i wanted to become a valued member and contribute, try to make this site a better place, to prove that there are actual people out there who's sole intent isn't driven by reward, rather than the art of learning.

3: To stop me posting irrelevant/pointless comments. I'd rather post something relevant or helpful than a string of words that are meaningless. There are MODERATORS all over the site, so post crap and spam, you will stand still and never rank up. The alternative- post where you have solid information/insight to the question/problem thats been posted by the OP.


Find your NICHE

As stated above, find places within the site that are your NICHE. Break the site down into categories and find what YOU know something about. If that's the bounty section- unlucky! You should be looking to post where you are comfortable posting and where you have something to say. There are niche's ALL OVER this site. If you're an 'expert' of a certain trading strategy, a certain coin, a certain exchange, mining equipment, cloud mining, wallets/ledgers, upcoming events, great sources of info, i don't need to go on here- i can think of loads more off the top of my head.

Look for the posts that YOU know something about, participate and contribute.  

Finally, don't complain!!! In 99% of cases where i see people complaining about the rules, the rankings, the merit system etc, there is one common denominator- behaviour on the site. Anyone can look at anyone elses posting history, if you're posting rubbish you only have yourself to blame.

The rules are the rules and they aren't going to change to suit you. Just adhere to them, learn, take onboard what i've said here and i PROMISE it will help you. This isn't rocket science guys, a lot of it is just common sense.

As i always say, if you need any help then reach out! I will always try to help where i can.

Thanks for reading this far and good luck on your journey here.  

[A suggestion]

Hello everyone, as i'm still fairly new here I feel a bit   when i post in this section as don't want to give the wrong impression of me. I just thought i'd share an observation of what i see here on a daily basis as a newer member than a lot of others here.

I'm sure i'm not the only person who sees the same things being asked MULTIPLE times everyday by people on here, in particular in the beginners section and in the Bitcoin discussion sections. I just find it staggering that some of the most basic questions are asked repeatedly and the answers are even on the same page as they've posted on!  

I genuinely think that some of the things posted are virtual copy/paste clones with maybe a few different words sprinkled here and there.

Has this always happened here or is this a fairly recent thing? I can't answer that. But, what i do think could be the reason for these posts, is they are new people with literally nothing to say, so they write some BS that we've all seen dozens of times, even though the answers are most probably available in the next thread.

A suggestion

I don't know the extent of how many people join here daily and how many are just timewasters etc, but i suspect a fair few will NEVER participate in any part of the forum other than the bounty threads, and even then it's pretty much guaranteed to be very very basic.

What i thought of was an idea where an Introductory section was implemented into the forum, whereby, if someone were to join the forum they would be pointed to this specific section and would be asked what they are joining for, what they hope to achieve, what can they bring to the table etc etc. Basically, a way to see if people are genuine or not and in a way-POLICE (politely) members prior to actually posting elsewhere.

This may seem harsh to some, but i think its a good way of encouraging the right sort of people to be joining up here and sets a precedent that this place isn't a meal ticket, spam fest or a pathway to riches.

Of course, i'm not sure if this is even a possibility, and i know its possibly a drain on resources and people to moderate it. I'm literally only thinking of the  'Greater good' of this place. Anyhoo, i just thought i'd throw that out there to see what other people thought?

[lot]

We are seeing a lot of new exchanges popping up here there and everywhere. Some which are obviously more established, and some that are pretty crap or just looking really shifty.

One thing that stands out to me recently though, is the amount of 'promotions/competitions' these exchanges are running whereby you have to invest or trade the biggest amount of a specific crypto in order to win a prize.

To me this just shouts out GAMBLING.  I personally think its totally irresponsible, it portrays crypto in a really negative manner to someone neutral/not into crypto yet, and above all it could be very dangerous to your finances!

Don't get me wrong here, i think the vast majority of us that are in crypto are risk takers, as realistically we can't be 100% certain that it will ever get to the hallowed 'Mass Adoption' stage, but i'd also like to think that the vast majority of us are looking at future use case/fundamentals of a said project before making an investment.

'Competitions' like this are only going to get us all (more) scrutiny, and sadly, not taken seriously by would-be investors sitting on the sidelines.

Just my opinion and i'd like to hear what you all think?

[If you're new here i seriously recommend doing the same.]

Hello everyone!

Hope you're all well and surviving the dreaded bear market!  

Just thought i'd share my experiences of the first few weeks i've had here. I joined here for the first time ever in mid-May, i didnt start posting until approximately 2-3 weeks ago though and mainly browsed topics and threads when i wasn't logged in. I wanted to find out what it was like here first, what i could bring here (if anything!), to study what people were doing right and avoid making mistakes a lot of people do when they join here.

If you're new here i seriously recommend doing the same.

For the most part i've thoroughly enjoyed it here, i've picked up some tremendous tips which i knew little about before being here including:

• Understanding mining. Always had an interest in it, but never really knew a too much about it. This place has a wealth of info on mining and i'm glad i have found it.
• Astounding amount of knowledge and insight into most of the niche areas i'm involved with or interested in.
• Opportunities and rewards that i genuinely never even knew about before being here.
• Tips to grow or start your crypto related social media channels.
• Pointers to other great content across the web- rather than the same boring FUD filled channels you see on google all the time.
• Wise words from the senior members of the website who've been in crypto through every bear and bull market who can put our minds to ease when it looks like things are going 'tits up'!
• How to say "Great project" repeatedly.....well maybe not that one!  

Seriously though, I could go on and on. I'm absolutely over the moon i have found this place as i don't know ANYONE in real life who is into crypto. So finding likeminded people with the same passion and interest that i have is an awesome feeling.

I'm thrilled to have ranked up to Junior member today, very grateful for the Merits iv'e received as it shows people are looking at what we all post, and  that i am genuine and wanting to contribute here- as and when i can.

What i'm also trying to say is- all the info you need is here! You just have to seek it out and find it. I've learned a lot in a short space of time and i'm grateful to each and every persons post that has helped me.

If you're new here, don't ask silly questions that will immediately put you in the bad books and on people's ignore list! Learn, contribute and stay positive!  

[Airdrop analysis]

Hi everyone,

What i am saying here might be basic to some of us, however, everyday i see more and more newbies on here, so i think its relevant to mention. Not only that, its also a little heads up to some of us who might be set in our own ways. Not only that, you'll probably have noticed that some of these scammers are starting to get a little more sophisticated. So we all need to be careful really.

Airdrop analysis

I don't know about yourselves, but my twitter feed is inundated with Airdrop offers/promotions, luckily enough for me i can usually spot a bad one ASAP- and lets face it- there's plenty of them!  

To separate the good from the crap, I use a basic rule of thumb:

• Good English. Poorly written English is one of the biggest giveaways of a scam Airdrop. I'm not being judgemental here- it's a fact! If you are an ambitious start-up business, then surely you'd outsource such a vital task to someone who can provide professionalism to your project. I also understand that we have people from all over the world here, so they may fall victim to these scams because of the language barrier.
• No website. I might have missed the boat on a few good airdrops for following this- who knows? But i use it as a guide. If they don't have even a basic website they are full of crap and won't be around for long. Just my opinion though
• How long have they been posting. Again, this is just a quick check, have a quick flick through their posting history. So they've only been posting a few days- great- MOVE ON! 99% chance its just another bullshitter looking to try and blag some ETH from you.
• Due Diligence. Probably the most important part. If you're going to sign up and give away some of your sensitive information to an unknown, isn't it worth just checking that this project/these people, are actually real? Google is your best friend, check for reddit, steemit, medium posts about their business. Check to see if trustworthy people have gave any positive feedback anywhere. This only takes seconds so its worth doing.

Friendly reminder

Just please be aware of all of these supposed Airdrops. You'll be wasting your time with a LOT of them who'll never even make it out of their supposed 'ICO'. Just protect yourself by getting a new Email address which is ONLY for your crypto stuff and use passwords that you don't use elsewhere.
These scammers are a little more savvy these days, so we all need to be on our guard to protect ourselves, fellow users and the crypto community.

Feel free to add anything here that others may find useful.

Thanks for reading.  

Hi guys, just wondering about other peoples opinion on this.

In order for the world of Crypto to grow and be mass-adopted, do you think crypto needs to step out of the shadow of Bitcoin or do you think its the other way round and that people should scoop up Bitcoin and let it always rule the roost?

I only say this as any sort of negativity that Bitcoin receives, shouldn't really affect some promising projects and cryptos that are essentially doing their own thing and making their own progress- only to be pegged back by Bitcoin losing value!

Yes i understand that all cryptos are tethered to the price of BTC, but will it/should it always be that way?

I thought i'd put this out there today and ask you all: Is there anyone who is making a full time living from Crypto/ working online?

I'm just curious to see who among us is lucky enough to be able to be in this full time? Perhaps share some tips or pointers with us all to see if we could achieve the same status! 

I'm not there yet, but i'd love to be! and i'm trying all sorts to see if i can make enough to cover my bills and then build from there i guess.

Would love to know your thoughts? Cheers

[LOT]

Can i firstly just say, this post is not an attempt by me to fish for merit. Infact, it could be counter-intuitive to award merit for this post, so use your own judgement here, and do as you see fit.

If you are a newbie here, you might find this helpful to clearly understand about how and why you would be awarded Merit for your participation on this forum. This is only my opinion by the way, i am not saying that i am the King of Merit by any stretch of the imagination. I just think a LOT of people here are lost when it comes it comes to this topic. Also i haven't been here for long, so if i post something that isn't factually correct then please let me know and i will edit the post accordingly.

There are a 2 main things i will cover here, one is why the merit system is VITALLY important to the site, secondly its how to go about gaining merit from your fellow members.

Merit on Bitcointalk

Since the inception of the Merit System, we have seen hundreds, perhaps thousands of posts about "how its unfair to newbies" or "you can't find something to talk about" or other generic excuses that people use when they are struggling to gain merit points. There's usually a fairly straightforward answer: your posts simply aren't meritable. You have no idea how many of these posts i have looked through, same old excuses, same old story. The common denominator over ALL of these posts is effort, though i will do another post on that at a later date.

What we need to understand here is, the Merit system has been put in place to protect the site. It's not about excluding you, or making you feel unwelcome, or discrimination. It's here because it NEEDS to be here to protect the integrity of the website.

I've recently made a few posts in the META section, to give an opinion from a newbie perspective, and if any of you have had a look in there you'd understand whats going on. We as a community are being swamped by people who are here for strictly financial gain only, they have no interest in contributing to the site whatsoever, no interest in learning anything about bitcoin or crypto, and are here solely for an income source. Now if people tell their friend they are making a good few bucks from here, and they tell their friend, and they tell theirs- you get the picture! You end up bogged down with masses of people who could potentially ruin this place for everybody.
If you want proof of this you just have to look at the Altcoin-announcement section where the bounties are. COUNTLESS pages of people participating there- yet the very same people can't be bothered to at least TRY and make a decent post or something worthwhile.

Eventually, because of this behaviour, it will end up diluting the quality of the website, diluting the quality of the bounties/airdrops etc, and above all- diluting the user experience on here as visitors grow tired of seeing the same old "please sir" "great project" posts every single day!

The Merit system is here to attempt to ELIMINATE the parasites among us (as a lot of bounties require higher ranks), and REWARD the people who contribute. That's all it is, its really not that difficult to see is it? You can argue all you like, but this is the simple reality.

So if you are here for the right reasons- great! There's plenty of help to get you going.

Gaining Merit from fellow members

If you've been here a while and you are scratching your head thinking its an impossible task to gain merit, first thing i would advise you to do is take a really good look at what you've posted since you've been here. Hand on heart- is the quality there? Is there anything useful there?

Then ask the question: Would YOU merit your own posts based on what you've just read? I expect the penny will drop when you realise what i am saying is true. Not good enough really is it?

Now not to go into too much detail here, but above all, what you should be doing is having a look at members who have a lot of merit and READ their posts! Understand why people give them praise for their posts. As soon as you see what others are getting merit for you will understand! There is one guy in particular called 1miau, have a look at his posts- outstanding! He has over 50 merit and is a NEWBIE! Learn from people like him.

Why make 20 crap posts when you could make a few GREAT posts? Put the effort in and reap the reward. You won't always get merited for it, i have made a few posts that i thought would be absolutely nailed on for merit and never got a sniff.   But don't let it get you down, just write some more.

Be consistent with your quality and it will get recognized eventually.

I am in a position now where i can give merit out, and when i see something worthy i'll give it- no hesitation. So just bear that in mind.

Ultimately, what we are trying to do here as a community is to increase the overall content quality and user experience. We can all play our part, but you have to put the effort in.

Anyway, thanks for reading, I'm thinking of writing a post with regard to how i compose my posts if anyone is interested, if so let me know and i will make it when i get some free time.

Thanks again.  

Ok ok, I know the headline is a little severe. But the points i am trying to put across here are valid in my opinion.

No matter what stage we came into crypto, whether last week, last month, 1 year ago, 8 years ago. The amount of coins that are on the market now is absolutely incredible. I mean do we really need a coin for EVERY single mortal thing on Planet Earth?

Dentacoin! Boats & Bitches coin! Christ, i even seen WANKcoin campaign on here the other day! 

Can you imagine going into the bank (IF THEY STILL EXIST!  ) in the future..."OK Mr Smith, how would you like to pay your phone bill today?" - "Erm, i'll pay from my WANKCOIN wallet if you don't mind!" 

Don't get me wrong here, i LOVE nothing more than a good laugh! But seriously, some of these coins (and i'm not particularly referring to the above mentioned coins here incase you hold them!) are a complete and utter joke and yet people still put their hard earned money into them and cry about it when it all goes belly up!

The point i am trying to make here is this: If crypto is to be universally adopted, so we all fulfill our fantasy of it going mainstream, do we really need Boats and Bitches coin, WANKcoin et al?

Do we REALLY need all these different coins that do all these different things? I just cant see non-crypto people buying into crypto if it remains as it is. As a good portion of them aren't worth a squirt of piss....which reminds me, is there such a thing as PISScoin yet? 

I'd love to know your thoughts on this? Thanks for reading this far...

[Winners]

I've seen a lot of posts in this section with fairly basic threads and beginners, so decided to post this here as opposed to Altcoins, but admin feel free to move it if you feel its necessary. 

This post is mainly about trading and what coins to pick that you think are (potential) winners. 

The market is obviously down at the moment, but this will help you on the way back up i am fairly certain.

When i first started out in Crypto, i wont lie, i dived right in at the proverbial deep end and bought all the wrong coins at all the wrong prices, and pretty much got 'REKT' (wrecked/lost money) as some say in crypto. Totally out of character for me really as I generally like to learn my trade and research on anything before i make my move. However, i did what i did, and in truth it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as i managed to turn it around...eventually!

So, i decided to post this as a heads-up, rather than a guide or advice per se. As i am no financial adviser, and my experiences shouldn't be classed as financial advice either.

It's irrelevant to tell you which coins I bought when i first got 'REKT' as the same principles apply today, just there's a LOT more of them now. Its split into 4 categories for me:

• Winners- Coins that have great fundamentals and look certain to stick around. Think BTC/ETH/LTC etc
• Good Potential- Coins that have a clear direction/use case. That look solid and are potentially disruptive. Think NEO/OMG/ICX/ADA ETC.
• Shitcoins/Boldcoins- Coins that bang their chest and think they are something, but really they are just plain old crap. Think TRX/XVG etc.
• JOKEcoins-Coins you possibly bought when you first started out thinking- "Is this the next Bitcoin", "great project" etc. Think pretty much MOST 1-100 sat coins (Sorry if you hold any by the way!) 

So, yes i have my favourites- everybody does. Everyone differs, and i respect your choices, we don't have to agree on them in order to trade.

I am only going to be using OMG as an example here. Maybe as its been around a while longer than a lot of others but mainly, because I unashamedly like the project. I think its solid, i like where they are going with it and what they are trying to accomplish, LOVE the partnerships, the potential to be listed on Coinbase, the very close links to ETH, the list goes on and on. I have done pretty well from OMG by just watching the price and going back over time and taking an average price down. WRITING- yes physically writing the opening and closing prices down in my journal, doing basic Technical Analysis will usually give you the answers on a favoured coin if you have the info with you on what it has done in the past, and what its 'normal' sort of price is.

OMG (in my opinion) its normal price is around $15-18. Back in April at the beginning of the month when we had another 'crash' it was trading around $8, needless to say I was all over it like a tramp on chips (french fries) ). Then the market recovers, and it goes back to its 'normal' price. Its moved up and down a few times, but this is still what i consider to be its price. So today (under $10) is a steal and where i am stacking more. If it goes down further? Who cares! I'll still make bank when this blows over.

This is why i STUDY certain coins. Not just the price, look at events that are upcoming, main-net or test-net launches, partnerships etc that may increase the price.

Unless you are a skilled day trader (and theres plenty of them), you are literally gambling! Going down this route on a swing trade is most likely your best bet. Study the coins to find their NORMAL price and when the BTC price tanks next time round, you can bail straight out and/or have your stop loss ready, so when it dips right down you can buy more of it back at a better price. 

Anyhow, I know this will seem basic to some of us, but if you're a beginner I think it'll definitely help you to trade smarter and avoid day trading (gambling!)

Any other tips? I'd love to hear yours! Cheers