Alot of newbies fall under the influence of "the halving gusto" and I think it good they be forewarned/corrected. Just today I was contacted by two of my friends(total novices on bitcoin)at the University of their desire to buy bitcoins(they've heard me say one or two things about bitcoin)because they read somewhere on the internet that there's something called halving that's about to happen and bitcoin is going to rise to more than fifty thousand dollars(this friends of mine are actually planning to buy bitcoins with far more than they have, so they're going to most likely borrow/take loans)I did advice without discouraging them on bitcoin anyway.

I don't know how many newbies here on bitcointalk are planning on doing the same thing, the halving is well anticipated, and it may(or may not)have a high appreciation in the price of bitcoin; But with that said there are things you should not do.
1)You should not invest more than what you can afford to lose because of the upcoming halving.
2)Do not take loans just to invest in bitcoin(because the halving is close), you could be left with debts to pay.
3)If you do not have knowledge about bitcoin/halving(like my friends), don't just act based on what's on the internet, always verify to make sure you are making the right choice.
4)If you have never invested in bitcoin, you shouldn't just do so now because of the halving, you will be jumping the part you have to learn, and that could mean making mistakes.
5)Do not feel the pressure of investing because alot of people are, it should be your decision and choice to make.

[would it get tagged]

The support for a custom title for Bruno in this topicThanks Theymos, Bruno has VIP status and custom title was overwhelming and rightfully so, Theymos also did exactly as we requested:

In general, giving titles/badges to users who died is difficult/problematic. It's almost a sort of "KYC", since death is inextricably linked to one's physical identity. It also opens several cans of worms: for example, should the account be locked after the person died? If so, it prevents their heirs from accessing PMs or even selling the account (which is allowed). If not, then you'd have users actively posting while wearing "RIP" badges.

I'm not going to do it regularly, but I'll make an exception here and give VIP status & a custom title to Phinnaeus Gage and Gleb Gamow. However, I know that these accounts changed hands in the past, and maybe arrangements have been for this to happen again in the future; therefore, if either account ever posts in the future, I will remove this stuff from the account.

So I am curious, since there is every possibility that this users have handed down their account details to family members or others to use the forum for whatever activity they wished before they passed on; If a post should ever be made from that account, would it get tagged, as probably a hack on the account or account sale(allowed but frowned upon).
I also want to use this thread to ask: What plans do you have for your BTT account in the face of death, if faced with a life threatening illness or disease, and left with a particular period of time to live, are you going to hand over login details to family members(if so, what would you wish they use the account for)or would you "retire" the account for good?

African giant Nigeria has set up it's first Bitcoin automated teller machine in the country, citizens of Nigeria are famous for bitcoin trading and investment and they are top in that aspect in Africa. Though this is not the first BTC ATM in the continent(Africa)as countries like South Africa, Kenya, Ghana Botswana, Uganda, Djibouti and Zimbabwe all have bitcoin ATM's in their countries. Many parts of Africa still remains underdeveloped, due to bad government, but bitcoin and cryptocurrencies can help alleviate the condition and state of things over there for the individuals taking the opportunity.

A Bitcoin startup in Nigeria, Blockstale BTM, has installed the very first Bitcoin Automated Teller Machine in Nigeria.
According to the startup, the ATM was installed at Dazey Lounge and Bar in Lagos and the company is planning to install at least 30 BTC ATMs across the nation.

Source of information: https://investorsking.com/blockstale-btm-installs-bitcoin-atm-in-nigeria/

Yesterday it was reported that a group of scientists in China may have developed a nanomaterial that can combat and absorb the effect of Covid-19 on its victims, with a success rate of over 98%. I do not know how efficient it is or how true the information is, but If it's true, it's looking somewhat premeditated, like a "grand plan".

A team of Chinese scientists have reportedly developed a novel way to combat the new coronavirus COVID-19 disease which has killed over 32,000 people globally. According to a report by Global Times, the new weapon is not a drug or a compound but some nanomaterial...  
"Chinese scientists have developed a new weapon to combat the #coronavirus," the news portal tweeted on Sunday. "They say they have found a nanomaterial that can absorb and deactivate the virus with 96.5-99.9 per cent efficiency," it added.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/chinese-scientists-develop-nanomaterial-to-combat-coronavirus-covid-19-report/ar-BB11SrAN?li=AAgges1

[Do not default on loans/do not request for no collateral loan unless the loaner says so/do not request for loans when you have no means to pay back:]

There are some very obvious reasons why users get red tagged or flagged, and with the update by theymos on the trust system, we now understand that a user can only be flagged for being a proven scammer, and not for some other offences. But for the newbies who probably aren't aware of some of offences that can get them red tagged on the forum, I'll love to bring some of them to their notice.

1)Do not default on loans/do not request for no collateral loan unless the loaner says so/do not request for loans when you have no means to pay back: Many users have had their accounts tagged due to the fact that they defaulted on their loan agreement, if you know you have no means to payback a loan, do not request for one, also as a newbie you can simply get red tagged for just asking for a no collateral loan(no one will give a newbie that)
2)Avoid renting out your account/borrowing your account to friends: We have seen issues like this in the past when users after being caught with plagiarised posts on their account claim they were not the ones handling the account at the moment those posts were made. The user you give your account to, can do shady things that will get your account tagged, you account is your private property.
3)Do not advertise or market a website you aren't sure of its legitimacy: Some users brings some shady website to the notice of others, and a few times they are not even aware that those websites are shady sites, this leaves dt members with no choice than to tag those accounts. We had an issue sometime of a newbie posting websites where one can recover lost btc by paying a particular amount of money, that user was tagged for promoting a scam website.
4)Avoid account buying and selling: Going through many ratings left by dt members, I think this one tops the list: "Account buyers and sellers are not to be trusted", many users here started from the bottom to get where they are today, buying an account is fraud and will get you red tagged, the original owner could even have plagiarised posts, could later come back claiming the account was hacked, or you could even pay and not get the account in the end.
5)Spamming pm's begging for merits/adverting a product: If you want to earn merits, make good posts, it will definitely be seen by sources and other members, and even if you must pm a merit source, let it be to review your post history, do not beg them for merits. Also the services board is there for users to advertise, if a user hasn't requested for a discussion on a product in their pm, do not send one, it can get you into trouble.

Edit: you can learn more from this threads: Trust flags
LoyceV's Beginners guide to correct use of the Trust system

The thread is self moderated, though I would not be removing posts except if they are really terrible, it has nothing to do with whether you agree or disagree with me.

The other day, I read a post which the poster said:(i am not explicitly quoting the OP though)that if the altcoin market manages one good project out of the many that it produces daily, then it's a success for the altcoin market(i am not against his opinion, but I disagree)
Searching for good altcoin projects is now similar to looking for a needle in a haystack, you either get tired or exhausted and quit looking, or you find it after a terribly long, long time, this is synonymous to what altcoin investors will have to go through/and are going through, and it can only stop when the good projects are the only ones investors are attracted to.

But since the market is decentralized, and you cannot really prevent anyone from creating shitcoins, what can then be done to promote only the good projects, imo investors should avoid new projects for a while, they either are coming out with the same plan as the previous ones and will only fail just as their "predecessors" did, and focus more on the projects that are already in the market, picking out the few that are good and investing/promoting them. If new scam projects are not getting any substantial investors, I believe the good ones that are in circulation in the market already would improve and more good projects could sprout up from them.

Other valuable suggestions are welcomed, let's have a quality discussion.

Exactly just as the subject says, it's now fast becoming a hobby posting on this forum for me, well obviously you cannot post continually on this forum and not grow your knowledge on its related areas, except of course if you're a shitposter(i wouldn't want to get into that), so I'm not just posting, I'm learning. I quit facebook few years back, as well as some other social media sites, Bitcointalk in one way or the other has helped me not to miss them even at the slightest bit, rather than scrolling over pictures, risking my privacy, I'll post in here, read voraciously, comment when I feel I should and lest I forget, I also replaced the "like" button with "+merit" when I have some Smerits to give.

As a student in the university, i feel proud discussing with my peers about bitcoin, and being the one the most knowledge about it, and also telling them about bitcointalk when they inquire to know the source of my knowledge, you automatically just get the feeling you're doing good for yourself.
Once you love posting on this forum, you must succeed here, it's a working philosophy, is it even possible to succeed in an area you do not love, just because you want to earn?.

[I wouldn't use libra because its transactions can be reversed, plus it's basically a centralized coin, no different from fiat]

Facebook has a history of privacy breaches, and this is the reason I no longer use facebook app, it's either you're discussing with a friend in real life about a particular product, let's say Nike shoes, only for you to be inundated with facebook sponsored ads about Nike shoes for the next few weeks, it irks the hell out of me. I once met someone for the first time, had a chat and exchange of numbers with her, only to get home and she pops up in my notifications as people you may know. Their privacy breaches sucks.

The more reason I was a hundred percent disinterested in the news of the facebook Libra coin, cryptocurrencies are meant to forster anonymity but facebook coin would encroach all this privileges.

Last week it was confirmed facebook uses third party contractors to listen to users audio without their notice, this has cast doubts in the mind of cryptocurrency enthusiasts if Libra would act in line with the tenets of the world of digital currencies/blockchain technology, if their private information will be kept secret(anonymous),since they can give out users audio to a third party, why wouldn't they give out informations of cryptocurrency enthusiasts who use their coin and wallet.
I wouldn't use libra because its transactions can be reversed, plus it's basically a centralized coin, no different from fiat

Link/source: https://bitcoinist.com/facebook-covert-audio-sharing-casts-doubt-over-libra-privacy/

It's far from new to see a post/reply which culminates or summarizes this fact: "Trading full time or full time "bounties"(no real life job)".
Posts/replies such as the aforementioned go miles in misleading newbies, they are hence either hell bent on spamming the forum through bounties or forsaking real life skills to engage in trading. Such acts which in the long run poses an enormous threat to their financial development(situation)

What do you take the forum as?, a work place, a leisure centre, an education arena etc, every newbie needs to question him or herself on this.
If you take the forum as a job you need to change that mindset, or else you'll simply be struggling between meeting up with bounty requirements, you'll find it extremely difficult to read threads you do not wish to comment on(which is useful in garnering knowledge), you will simply make the required number of posts and off you go till next weeks task.
This sort of back and forth activity would lead to you gaining no knowledge, never ranking high up and miss out on discussions that matter.

The most appropriate thing to do is to get yourself a job in real life, and not depend totally on either earnings through the forum or trading.
Failure in trading when you have a real job that pays you isn't as fatal as it is when your do not, it's a blatant truth.
If you're on a bounty, it's not a license to spam the forum or limit yourself to only the specific boards for the campaign, explore your horizon, Join in discussions,read without always commenting, and in no time you'll see that you'll no longer struggle to meet up with your weekly post, and even if you don't, it's fine, it's not a job afterall.

If you fail to secure your bitcoin the right way, there is definitely a high chance of losing them some time now, or in the future, there have been numerous threads on the methodologies required for newbies to adopt to safeguard their coins and keep it theirs.

There are so many measures that newbies must embrace to ensure they do not fall a victim of scam.
This is a very apt link that can help newbies understand what they must do to protect their bitcoin/wallet:
https://bitcoin.org/en/secure-your-wallet#online
Don't just read, but start today to implement all you read.

Capital punishments are meted out on crimes such as murder, insurrection, drug trafficking etc, and this depends on what the constitution of a country delimit.
Corruption is one standing menace that has eaten deep into the wheels of progress, good life, development in our economy and nations today, while capital punishments are mapped out for crimes that look worse than corruption superficially, it (capital punishment)is not implemented against officials who embezzle funds that could create more employments(ending/reducing unemployment), public figures who swindle funds meant to equip the military against external aggression, funds means to develop hospitals to save lives, funds meant to build new roads and infrastructures meant to make life easier for the common man.

Using Third World countries as base point, most of all this countries are rich enough to make life better for their citizens, but those at the helm of affairs make everything theirs.
If you ask me corruption is a bad as murder, drug trafficking and whatever crime attracts capital punishments, it indirectly leads to all that.

If death penalty is mapped out as punishment for corruption, it'll to a large extent act as a deterrent and reduce its presence in our midst, public officials and those who handle public funds would think twice before trying to embezzle public funds, it may not eliminate it(which is impossible)but it'll reduce it significantly.

[forum]

The importance of communication can in no way be overemphasized, the main purpose of communication/communicating is to pass a message across and one of the most efficient and effective ways of communicating, interacting and cooperation between individuals is when language is used in such a way that all parties involved enjoy mutual understanding.
 This also is applicable on the forum, for your posts,threads,replies etc to effectively pass across a message, it must and should profer a novel(new) and vital information as well as should be presented orderly and sincerely which is what the Co-operative principle is all about.

The Co-operative principle was propounded by a philosopher named Paul Grice in the year 1975, and this principle advocates that discussions must be geared towards/follow the proper directions of that being discussed, it encourages "topic coherence',"understanding", and maintenance of the purpose of the ongoing discussion.
Many newbies(mostly)as well as member of other ranks delve into discussions which they have paltry knowledge on, and this should not be so, once you do not have sufficient knowledge of the ongoing discussion, it is pertinent you simply "read" and build your knowledge, so that when next such is discussed you'll have the requisite knowledge to contribute.
The principle for effective cooperation/communucation(co-operative principle)is hinged on four maxims which I think would be of great help to newbies and beginners, if they can adhere to it, in order to be useful on the forum as we as rank up better/easier.

1)Quantity:"Make your contribution as informative as is required, not more or less than is required"; long texts do not give merits, neither do short one's likewise, so just keep it informative whether long or short, do not in a bid to make it long, add irrelevances.This would only reduce the quality, if it's concise then let it contain all the useful information you can garner/gather
2)Quality:"Do not say that which is not true or for which you lack evidence'; If you do so you'll only be misleading others with little knowledge or those who seek to know or asked a question.if you do not know the answer to a question, ignore and allow another to answer, example:if someone asks "How can I purchase a hardware wallet",if you do not know, don't give an answer, you may end up misleading the person into getting that which is infected with malware and phshing virus.
3)Relative:"Be relevant"; always be relevant, never off topic or off-point.just as the forum says: Off-topic replies are not allowed"
4)manner:"Be clear and orderly"; coherence is vital,you may not have proper command of the English language, but as long as your replies and threads are clear and orderly then it's acceptable and you'll earn merits and rank up, adequate use of punctuation also aids clarity.

This basic principles can act as a guide to newbies as well as others, applying then can only be of good advantages as it'll brush up communication skills and Forster quality threads.

Money constraint is one big investment impediment, you come across individuals who claim they cannot invest in bitcoin simply because it's expensive and not affordable to them, instead they keep trying out with other alternatives time and again, with the same outcome, it's either no profit at all(due to scam), or little profits that count for nothing.

Such individuals fail to put into consideration the fact that you do not have to buy one bitcoin at a spot, you could sketch/map out an investment strategy(long term),and make it a mandate to buy X amount of bitcoin in X amount of time(either daily,weekly or monthly),gradually as long as such investor is aware of patience being one important rule, he/she in a few years time can accumulate one bitcoin, and now that's a wise investment plan rather than putting money in ICO's simply because they are cheaper, you'll end up realizing you're losing money that could give you a heads start in owning one bitcoin and even much more.

Draw out a plan today on how to acquire bitcoins this way, and sooner or later you'll be happy you did.

[freedom]

Liberty in simple terms means freedom,it can be freedom from oppression, government control, slavery etc.
For the purpose of this post I'll be talking about freedom from government control which I think is needed in our society today.
British philosopher,poet,utilitarian,social critic,political economist JOHN STAURT MILLS shares this view also in his epic essay on Liberty, the essay postulates that individuality be supreme and citizens be allowed freedom so long as their actions do not harm others.
Liberty(individuality)would only lead individuals to take up actions that will be beneficial to their lives and society in the long run.

Our government today tends to have control over everything, stiffling individuality in the process which affects individual liberty.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said any individual who allows the state to determine the course of his action is in no need of a faculty other than the ape like one of imitation.

Basically Individual freedom should be encouraged today as long as our actions do not harm others, and if it does then such individual should be accountable to the government.
Just as j.s mill puts it "The worth of a state in the long run is the worth of the individuals composing it and a state which dwarfs it's men that they may be more docile instruments in its hands for benefitial purposes will find out that with small men no great thing can be accomplished"

Most threads(new topics), are currently on their 12th,13th,30th etc pages and new replies keep popping up in such threads,bumbing them to the top pages of their various/respective sections..
There is actually no problem with a thread having longevity,the issue is when such threads have all come to a culminating end long ago,but some users(mostly to fulfil post count),keep commenting on such threads back and forth..
In most of those treads the OP could be long inactive or never return to them, but users keep providing answers to his/her questions

If only threads(redundant ones) could be locked as at when due(discussions come to a culminating end/basic conclusions),I think spam posts would reduce tremendously
So my postulation happens to be that when a user makes five posts(new topic), such user is restricted from beginning a new topic until the previous five have been locked...
But since not all threads with longevity are redundant as quality discussions still go on in them,such as this one's
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4799468.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3182178.0
And such threads are usually started by high rankees,we could keep the restrictions simply to newbie--Jrmember---member rank..
But since some users in the preceding reply will be of the opinion that"a shitposter is a shitposter irrespective of ranks"
We could limit it to users who haven't earned up to 50 merits(not/excluding air dropped merits)

[more]

Ostensibly most topics/threads on this section have actually been discussed multiple times and hence a sequel of the last discussion,so I thought it wise to come up with something novel..

There happens to be plethora of problems the bitcoin solves in its own way, but I think myself and 85% other bitcoiners would agree that the major issue the bitcoin puts a halt to is poverty(as it provides financial freedom)...uhm,...thats not to say that many bitcoiners weren't rich or more so comfortable before the inception of the bitcoin,but it sure does contribute it's own fair share of financial freedom and makes the rich richer and the poor,rich

Now the point of our discussion
I'm going to provide three groups
1)3rd world countries/underdeveloped countries
2)Developed countries
3)Developing countries

Each and everyone of us happens to live in one of the aforementioned groups,so with reasons let us know in your opinion which of this groups(countries)the bitcoin has had more of an impact on and why you think so(outlining at least one problem it solves for the individuals in such groups/countries)

Due to the high level of crap/shit posting and a plethora of garbage posts in the forum,most especially the BD,AD,B&H and most recently the Meta section,i think it would only be wise to come up with a new post restriction of some sort,as I think new threads are to blame for the high level of spam posts, as it also invites spammers in the comments that follow suit.

So I postulate that any time a user makes a new post and submits his/her post, this post is made unavailable to other users,but to the MODs in charge of that very section,who's gonna scrutinize the post, and if it's meaningful and not redundant would make it available for all to see.
But if it's an overflogged/over discussed topic, the OP could get a message like"sorry your post doesn't suit our criteria,and hence would be unseen to the rest of the forum,this could be due to the fact that it's meaningless or redundant.

We could start with maybe newbies/jr member ranks,considering they(we)contribute 85% of the spam posts in this forum

Let's discuss this

Proofread simply means to crosscheck a written text either for spelling/grammar/punctuation etc errors..This is a recurring problem we're currently facing on this forum and it is simply disrespectful as it disregards the forum and it's members..

This is a public forum represented duly by citizens from almost all countries of the world,when trying to pass across a message that will be read by that much people,it is only proper to scrutinize/crosscheck what you're about to post..

One major reason for this is laziness and negligence,laziness in the fact that one scribbles down points to be posted but doesn't find it necessary to go through it to correct errors made inadvertently or even wrong corrections made by our phone prediction
Negligence is also another reason for this,the feeling
that as long as the forum is anonymous and no user knows the other personally,then there is no need striving for coherence and being totally articulate.

This happens to be one of the reason why noobs do not get merited,no member/merit source will like to merit a "half baked"message or one written incoherently,that others will have to struggle to understand what's being said

Always proofread/go through your post/new thread/comment before posting it, even if you missed some corrections before posting,simply edit the post and correct them before others start viewing them
It'll only help to promote the forum and help one rank up faster

Uhm...well it wasnt such a high profile battle such as Mark Tyson Vs Trevor Berbick or Floyd moneyman Vs Manny Pacquiao,but it indeed was a battle worth fighting...

Rewind back to about a month ago,it was simply pathetic to think of crossing paths with the bitcoin section,it was an eye sore to say the least,with no less  than 70 replies per thread and the comments still flooding in,it was even more pathetic considering this forum was named after that section,it ought to be sacred and sanctified,spammers didn't care though..

  I once even bumbed into three threads all on the front page "will bitcoin die" and replies kept popping in on all of them....
But it's fair to say that for over a month or so now and that section is now back to what it was created for,and that's real bitcoin discussion,you can now ask a honest question and get replies from high ranked members in there,the section needed to breathe fresh air,and that's exactly what it's doing right now,I do hope it stays that way..


With that been said the Altcoin discussion is still writhing under a myriad of throes of ailments called spam, there is no thread less than 70 replies in there and threads started 6 months back still make it to the top..
  I think we should put on our gloves and return that section back to what it should be