What it boils down to is that Devcoin and all things related to it (and I would say cryptocoins in general) need to be communicated to the non-geek audience in a language we can understand without being patronizing.  People who mess around with hardware and know how to write code tend to not necessarily be all that great on making a website that looks nice.  They also tend to not be very good writers in terms of being able to communicate the concepts in writing to a larger audience.

I'm working on a more developed article about this, but I think the real value of the stories and questions thread is not in generating made to order fiction, but in connecting the geniuses of the cryptoworld (those who start businesses but intend to raise funding through IPOs, those working on various bounty projects, etc.) with people like me who could write about them and communicate the features/benefits to a wider audience.  I can become knowledgeable enough to write about just about any subject if the one passionate about that subject is willing to take the time to tell me about the project and answer my questions (the interview process that freelance writers go through when they are writing a story) and have the attitude that no question is a stupid question.  Those are the people who need to be putting up bounties--the ones who have great ideas and are working on amazing things but who for whatever reason are unable or unwilling to communicate in writing what they are doing to the world at large.  I know writing doesn't come easy to everyone.  Take Devda.ch, for example.  And this isn't meant to be a slam, but just something to help--the site is filled with pictures of stuff I have no idea what it is (other than it's computer related) with very little explanation, and absolutely NOTHING in the investor section.  That site needs content that average people can read and understand.  I (and other writers) can write that content as long as I'm given access to the people who are working on the projects.  And then so many more people can know what's going on and understand why it's so great and even possibly invest money in it.

I was watching the relevant files for round 25 very closely, and I noticed the number of writer shares go up and down, so I know that some content that was published got deleted or whatever other quality control measures were practiced.  And in the end, round 25 turned out to promise way more earnings for those of us who did NOT run afoul of the quality control, like 3 to 4 times more than round 24.  I am convinced the difference is that there was much less quality control in round 24 than round 25.  Good job admins!

On another note, I saw some posts about the relative value of DVC compared to BTC.  For what it's worth, here are two things that would seriously increase the value of DVC in my eyes, and I'm probably not the only one who feels this way.

1.  A web based online wallet for DVC that has everything Coinbase has including the ability to buy/sell into dollars by direct linking to your regular fiat bank account.  What Coinbase does for BTC is give it liquidity.  I can buy or sell my BTC without having to go through an exchange.  Obviously not good for making lots of trades, but for what a normal person (who isn't a currency trader) needs it's more than adequate.  That kind of liquidity adds value to a currency and would do wonders for DVC if it had a Coinbase.  Maybe those here writing letters to people should ask the good people at CoinBase to consider developing a wallet for DVC.  They are a pretty responsive lot.

2.  More solid investments for DVC.  Right now the only place I know of where I can invest my DVC is on Cryptostocks and there are a few DVC denominated securities.  I've looked into all of them.  The ASCMDVCPT one is the best place for "growing" the number of Devcoins, as the dividend payouts are generous and the company behind the stock is rock solid (last I checked anyway).  However, the stock itself is overvalued--sells for 2 to 3 times as much as it should compared to the equivalent on BTCT.co, so it's limited in terms of how much you can buy into it, and at some point it's bound to correct.  Of the other securities, there's a DVC bond which will yield about a 3.65% return per year--at least it has some interest but 3.65% is like standing still compared to other stocks which have estimated returns of 20 to 50%.  The DVB stock is interesting but I do not understand how the fundamentals work (i.e., what's being bought and sold, how profits are made, etc.) and no one seems to want to explain them to me, at least not in a language I (a non-technical, non-miner, non-programmer) can understand.  There's another stock that seems to be based on some sort of multilevel scheme involving pyramining and it finally paid its first dividend and again I just don't understand it well enough to feel confident investing in it.  That's it.  We need more.  I'd like to see some solid companies offer shares that are denominated in DVC.  When they come on the scene I will happily buy.

Someone else mentioned this but I'll reiterate--a marketplace for DVC would be helpful.  If I can buy some of what I need and pay for it with DVC, even gift cards to places I like to shop, then that would definitely make my DVC more valuable.  

Why not just stick it on the Devtome in the first place?  You can do a separate page for each chapter.  Then in a thread like this, simply post a link to the chapter you want feedback on, and people can go and read it on the Devtome.

I'm thinking earnings are calculated at block 97000, but I'm not quite sure why I think that.  I'm guessing UnthinkingBit posted that it was block 97000 on a thread I read...

There are two files which update daily that one can use to calculate earnings.  I have them bookmarked on my android, but don't have them handy on my laptop.  They are on a site that I believe belongs to Emfox.  If I find them later I'll edit and add them.  Or someone else can...

Coin URL and Coins of Midas are ad networks which accept (and give out) payment in Bitcoin.  Another one I hear about is something like Operation Fabulous.  I'm sure there are more out there.  Any particular reason to not use them?

EDIT:  Never mind.  That question got answered already.

Congratulations Ranlo!

I hope lots of people post story ideas here :-)

Wow!  I've been away from this thread for a few days.  What a nice surprise to come back to this.  Thanks!  

Off to publish my last article for this round!

I think there's something funny with the quoting script because now it looks like someone else said what I just posted--the bit about being always right and not understanding how a pump works.

How does a pump work?  I'm not quite visualizing it from the above description.  I'd like to know this so I can recognize a pump when I see one on the exchange.

Yes, I would like a more detailed explanation of how profits are made.  I see the dividend history, but I am not understanding the fundamentals.  If everything developed is open source, then what gets sold?  Thanks.

Good luck with the article 

How exactly are marketing shares allocated?  I'm thinking I may want to get in on that... eventually.

Thanks Ranlo and Stan Distortion!  That makes perfect sense  

Edit:  This brings up another question.


Would that also mean that anyone else who wants to buy DVC at 74 sat would have to wait until that entire order is filled before theirs gets filled?

So... if I really wanted to buy more DVC right now and I didn't want to wait, I'd have to put in an order to buy them at at least 75 sat?

Another opportunity to educate:  What does "creating a wall" mean?  And what do you mean by "14+ BTC sitting at 74 satoshi"?

Yeah, what he said ^^^  What I remember is that there was a choice of three places to download a client from and I didn't see any indication of one being better than another, so I just made a choice and that's what I got.  It works OK for now, but I bet the newer one is better.

A question on backing up the dat file.  Do I make backups regularly, like once a week?  Or, is the dat file going to be the same as time goes on because after all the client is really a reader of information stored somewhere else (blockchain)?

If/when I get around to downloading the new client, can I use the same dat file so that I can keep my original addresses?  If so, how would I do that?

Thank you!

File is now backed up.  I feel better already

And I will take your advice and have the old client closed before messing with the new one.

The client I'm currently using for DVC is the 0.3.24-beta version.  I'm thinking I'd like to change to the client found here (https://www.box.com/s/crfmuuhe0f32w5g4nt4i) but haven't downloaded it yet.  If I download the next client and try it out, will the old one still run just fine?  Can I have two DVC clients running on the same computer?

The reason I want to possibly switch down the road is that this beta version doesn't seem to have any way for me to back it up or access the private key or anything that would really help in the event my hard drive crashes.  So I want to play around with the next one on the same computer and see if it's a better client.  Will it be OK to do that?

Thanks!  Good to know.  I will definitely turn on my laptop more than once a week, though, as I use it for many things besides watching my Devs accumulate--writing Devtome content,  for example 

+1!

Thanks for putting that all in one place.

There is also the option to trade some (definitely not all!) DVC for BTC and buy ASICMINER shares and 1/100 shares over on BTCT.co

There are other securities to at least check out on the various exchanges in various cryptos, but as far as I can tell ASICMINER is the most solid.  Always practice due diligence, etc.

I have to admit that all the stuff about clients (with their private keys and need for backing up) and hardware and mining technology and difficulty along with all the programming behind it is something I find a bit daunting.  For example, I'm wondering if it's even safe for me to turn off my laptop now that my DVC client is getting generated DVC!  Let's just say that I'm a big fan of Coinbase.  It takes some of that off my back and I get a nice BTC wallet.

Sounds like you have a good strategy.  I'm more or less on the same page except that I would like to grow the number of cryptos I have (in the various names I choose to have them) by also investing them rather than just sitting on them.  But of course there is risk involved either way so you have to choose the risk you feel you can live with.