That's why I'm in agreement with your approach, at least in these types of scenarios. It is nice to see users putting more effort into their posts, but it is sad to see people doing things because they see it as a potential Merit-Go-Round. Being too gentle might not send the message clearly enough that we don't want disingenuous discussions and we will not be mislead by a newbie's desperation for merit.

I would be endlessly interested to hear you give one hour on the politics of the merit system.

My first red-flag was being included in the list. I have long posts and I actually try to have conversations with people, but my technical knowledge is pathetic and my forum information is equally poor. I don't know what made them include me, but I might have even merited this thread if there was real effort put into it, with real criteria and I wasn't on the list.

OP, if you want this list to be worth anything then you should probably lock this thread, spend a few hours researching the history of the forum and bitcoin development and start grabbing names of knowledgeable and informative users. I have been helped by dozens of intelligent people and this is partly how I came up with my few names.

You can easily answer this question for yourself. The search function would have worked wonders. Activity and Merit is better than Activity or merit. Activity is not simply a minimum post count, but it is a decent indication of how frequently an account has been used over a given period of time.

Nobody said that this ratio is sufficient for completely and exclusively determining a users rank. They were implying that this ratio is good enough in terms of what the merit system is attempting to accomplish and how it is realistically distributed to lower ranking members.

I'm going to be 100% honest and say that I don't think I'm in the same category as the users in this list or that I'm going to suggest. Honestly popped in to see what this thread was about and I'm flattered to be included, but can't imagine what criteria you're using if I'm lumped in.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=64507 , philipma1957
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=164822, hilariousandco
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=397737, hilariousetc
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=181801, shorena
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=459836, LoyceV
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=31288, John K.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=51173, mprep
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=38894, SaltySpitoon
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=521899, SFR10
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=169515, Ecua Mobi
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=143168, TheQuin
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1549664, Canis Majoris
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=138940, minifrij

I have a bunch more users that I will probably add as they come to mind, I'm pretty bad with names. These users have pretty solid post-quality themselves. Just felt like these were all users worth considering.

I normally don't agree with TMAN's harsh approach, but the man has a point. I put about 5-minutes into this list I just made, and it's twice as long as your list in OP (before suggestions from others). I suggest putting some effort into this quick or it is a shitpost.

You're right, that half of a single sentence wasn't needed. The single beacon of hope and optimism that I left this user with shouldn't have been included. I should have been ruthless, cut-throat and lied through omission about the potential of the situation. This is a difference in opinion, because while I believe this user has no hope of becoming a merit source now, I also want to acknowledge that if they maintain a good path then it isn't out of reach. I wouldn't say this proves your point that "most" of whatever I write is verbose. This is a very insignificant portion of my post and serves a meaningful purpose of encouraging the path that this user is on, which most users seem to not find. There is a difference between verbose and free-flowing carefully selected speech. Everything that is long or explanatory is not verbose; and everyone is, to an extent, verbose.


Nobody is requiring you to read my posts and I only write my posts the same way I would be speaking to you. I explain things fully, I like to get my point across and I try very hard not to repeat myself. It is very difficult to convey complex ideas without caveats, contingencies and clarifications. Maybe I could make a habit of writing a tl;dr for people like you, if that would help. Not all of my posts are essays, but I like to get all of my thoughts on a particular discussion out in one post and if there isn't significant input I just move on to another thread and merit whoever responded with something that resembles my thoughts in a high-quality manner.

Which part of my post was meaningless? I've encouraged many people to re-write my posts and make them shorter without losing any meaning; if I've repeated myself uselessly I'll concede it and adjust myself.

theymos' post said you must be "established" and did so without definition of what "established" means. Therefore one can only make educated guesses on what that might mean. Do you have a better answer to what established means, or are you just forcing the thread to go off-topic for no good reason?

Side-Note, explaining yourself thoroughly does not make your point any less valid (normally does the opposite) nor does it make it less relevant. It is important to be precise and careful with your words.

I'm pretty sure theymos is interested and actively accepting applications for merit sources that would be active in any particular local board. It is very helpful that you provided English posts as well, to give me some kind of reference to the quality of posts you would be willing to merit. I'm going to say that I only agree with 1/3 of your English submissions as a post potentially worth merit.

Your account was created this most recent September, which was only a few months back; I would hardly consider this established, besides you have very minimal (only 1) trust rating or marketplace feedback. Do you have any experience Patrolling/reporting posts? I know this isn't directly related, but in terms of how "established" your account is, that might be a long way as a contributing factor, especially when the rest of the factors I can think of are falling short.

The English posts seem to be within the appropriate time frame, but as I mentioned before; I wouldn't expect to become a merit source at this point. You just do not fit the bill of established, in my opinion, and I probably have much less strict criteria than theymos.

It seems like you have good intentions, and I'm sure if you continue to work hard at it you will, at some point, be a serious consideration for being a merit source and if you're lucky a DT member. It is unlikely, because almost nobody gets this responsibility/opportunity, but the biggest problem is going to be "established".

This is a small suggestion and I can't find it being discussed anywhere else as of yet (although I am horrid at search engines, somehow), but I was replying to a topic in Preview-Post, editing and writing it up as I do; then I clicked preview again to review my changes and it informed me that a new reply has been posted while writing my reply. I read the reply, made some more changes in accordance with the new reply and then clicked preview again; the new-post message disappeared so it must've, in some way, acknowledged that I had seen the new post. Before I hit post I wanted to test something so, I then decided to take a look at my Watchlist to see if this thread was still marked as unread; it was.

I'm wondering if it would be feasible to implement it so that when you are in Preview mode and view the new reply that it marks the thread as read, as if you would have viewed the reply normally. If I explained this horrible, please let me know. I'd like some reasons for why this wouldn't/shouldn't be the case. It's obviously not the end of the world, but it would seem more consistent.

Edit, this might help people see how silly this can be

https://i.gyazo.com/45f6c2b5a6bd63fd06c3eb9f671e52b1.png

Image ^ , Might load slow cause forum is goofy ; Even when I post in my own thread it is possible for it to remain unread.

Which accounts have been banned (Are you speaking of this account you are on)? What were the actual reasons that you were banned? I would be willing to bet that it was more so because of spamming off-topic nonsense than censorship. You also do not have a right to be on the forum, it is a privilege allotted to you by the community and staff. Go make your own forum if you don't like how things are done, you are not entitled to say whatever you want, however you want, whenever you want on someone else's platform. This is not censorship, even if you were banned for wrong-think (which you weren't).


Fine, believe whatever you would like. You have not provided anything other than opinion; you have not supported your claim with evidence, facts, developmental flaws, etc. You simply state "Bitcoin isn't good". Nobody will censor you for this opinion, but here on bitcointalk it is very safe to assume that almost nobody is going to agree with you or enjoy 1,000 posts about it, especially when it is off-topic.


"As a software developer" makes me instantly believe you are a high-school student that thinks they are skilled at programming. What software have you developed? Which moderators are silencing you for anything other than breaking the rules or guidelines?


So far, you have said nothing verifiable true, so the only thing you are guilty of at this point is being a spammer without a point. What is the deep Illuminati truth you are trying to bring us that the mods are keeping under a rock? Your opinion is not truth.


You will, or you are? As far as I can tell you already are spamming as much as the campaign spammers. You've given us the option that you will either :

A) Spam endlessly
B) Leave you alone

Those options contradict one another, it seems like you are saying you will stop spamming if you are left alone, yet you spam until you are banned so it is not a valid argument. How about, you start making sense, abiding by the rules/guidelines and back-up your claims?

Your account is less than a month old and you've only posted about a dozen times. You do not need to even think about signature campaigns, their potential removal or anything else regarding them. This should not be scary for you, because it does not affect you in anyway. You are not eligible for any campaign now and if I had to guess you most likely will never be eligible for any reputable campaign. Do not expect to get enrolled into a campaign. If you are not comfortable participating in discussions, because of the possibility that your potential future earnings are up for removal then you are not needed nor are you helpful in these discussions. Nobody wants you in a discussion that you must be paid to participate in. I am uncomfortable having a discussion with someone that needs to be paid to have that conversation.

theymos said if the merit system does not work, and they cannot think of anything sufficient to replace it (or improve it) then the only reasonable next step would be the removal of signature campaigns completely. We are forced into this state of affairs by users like yourself that have clearly only signed up for the forum in the first place thinking it would be income for your meaningless opinions or uninformed input.

Their first post does a pretty good job at explaining exactly what you are trying to call them out for. They blatantly come out and say that they are doing this as a more established member, specifically to see what the progression of an "informed" user might be.


Dig a little deeper and you'll find your answers are right in front of you. I do not see a problem with their experiment. They are being honest (as far as I can tell), but the experiment is supposed to resemble what are the possibilities and realities of the merit system for a low-ranking user that has good information to present.

Regardless of who it is, it helps us to see that merit is very feasibly acquired, even by lower-ranking members if they post anything of reasonable quality.

You'd think that when you are submitting posts for my review on whether or not they will receive merit you might be interested in reading the past reviews/submissions and merits. It appears this is not a thought process almost anybody has though, because I am constantly getting these mega-thread submissions. One of your posts is the 6500th+ reply in a mega-thread and offers nothing unique. Another is the 900th reply of a mega-thread that also does not provide anything creative or interesting. The last post is also just a mega-thread reply.. My biggest suggestion, stop forcing yourself to post in these horrible meaningless threads. Go learn something and challenge yourself.


Your first submission is just asking people what they do for money management, that's not high-quality, insightful or helpful by any means. I would expect there might be a high-quality answer somewhere in the thread, but it did not happen in the submission. The ICO post didn't even answer the question directly, and the question was poorly formulated to begin with. You just say nothing and contribute nothing to the thread or discussion. Another post is just rattling off which shitcoins you think are good, yet fail to provide any explanation, criteria or anything that would make someone agree with you or open their eyes to new information. The post about South Korea is riddled with typos and again, it seems like you go very far out of your way to write a couple sentences without actually saying anything. None of these are going to get merit from me.


300th+ reply in mega-thread. This thread is not having a meaningful conversation and you did not present any new information. You will not be getting any merit from that post, is my assumption. Do not post in mega-threads, and do not post unless you have something to contribute.


I have given you Merit for this thread, because as always it is thought-provoking and it is genuinely a conversation that I would like to have. I have literally clicked "Watch" on almost every single one of your submissions so that I can follow the discussion and join in if I have time to do so.  I like the thought process and I like the implications of what you're suggesting is happening. If I do apply as a merit source, I will most likely use a handful of your posts as my submissions.

Magneto made me remember a pretty good stance that I've taken awhile back and just recently became the case. I will not work with an exchange that forces me to use Tether (or any other currency) if I want to fund my account. I do not believe in Tether, it feels like an extortion attempt or a desperate way to start a coin. I have heard many horror stories about Tether,  from people sending it to addresses that can't accept it, or exchanges not processing it as quickly.

Regardless, my advice would be stay away from Tether, because if you were to fund with USD at least you would have some type of recourse. This leaves you 100% at the mercy of exchanges; Tether as far as I can tell is just a currency made for and by exchanges. Do not fall victim to their predatory manipulation of the market, refuse to abide by their silly rules and go elsewhere.

I know you weren't, my mistake if it seemingly implied that you were, I was just trying to explain away one of the solutions that could be proposed. I guess that's a little irrelevant though, you're right.


These two paragraphs you've written go hand in hand in my opinion. There is no way of telling how active they will be in the local-board itself, regardless of their location; you cannot expect these moderators to start spending their forum time in a section they are unfamiliar or potentially uninterested in. You can measure many other things, but you cannot measure how they will perform within the local-board, until it has been created and that can be seen in action. There is no way around that, expect making moderators already in place that speak the language also moderators of these sections, but as you've pointed out this leads to inactive moderators in that local-board.

Some people may be over excited about the idea of it in the original language thread, but then the board might not turn out as they imagined and they become disinterested. It's also possible that some of them just wanted the create of having their name involved in a change on the forum; put their name in the credits, so to speak.

I cannot speak for the process of consideration, but I am sure that it begins well before the board is create and must be a continued consideration the entire life of that board, even once a good mod or two has been found.


Me too, but we're not the big boss and we don't have the responsibility of the entire forum on our shoulders. I can't imagine I would be any better at making these decisions.

The one thread is basically just a justified "Up or Down?" Price speculation thread. I appreciate you trying to add some relevant recent news, but you fail it give context, explanation, clarification or any high-quality insights about what even would be affecting the price, causing this movement on a more fundamental level, etc. There is just a lot of missed opportunity for quality conversation. The other post is information that wasn't asked for, wasn't acknowledged and probably not necessary. I don't think you taught that user anything they didn't know, and they were already in a way different conversation at that point. It was borderline off-topic. No Merit here.


It might be worth meriting, but I honestly don't know enough about mining to even consider giving this kind of post merit. I appreciate the research and sharing your findings, but until I learn more about mining I will probably have to pass on things like this. I'm sure it'll help someone that will merit you for it though. I am in the process of learning more about mining, so hopefully in the near future I can have more of an input on this sort of thing.


I'll have to be consistent, so the post about mining I'll have to pass on for you as well. The post about asian countries accepting BTC kind of just reads like a rambling rant. I can't really take much information out of it, and it honestly looks like you were just trying to make the post longer (not saying you were). At any rate, it reads more like a conversation than something I would merit. The other post mostly just agrees with what has already been said, informs them of something they probably already know and isn't a solution to the problem they're discussing. I won't be giving merit for these.


You broke multiple rules and then just threw in a link to all your recent posts, presumably because you think they are all worth merit.I'm not going to fight through your formatting nonsense, and I won't be reading through your more recent posts. Feel free to not break the rules and resubmit.

Hackers tend to try to remove this evidence, which is why we have others quote it. Now this is the kind of stuff I was talking about. At least this gives you more credibility for your claims; obviously there are more checks that need to be done. People need to make sure that even if you are the owner that you didn't sell it specifically to reclaim it in this manner, or that you didn't simply manage to snag the private key to this address and concoct such a scenario.

Anyways, This message has been verified, and quoted as me for evidence if anyone wants to reference it or whatever. I have attached a picture of the message being verified in Core for further proof.

This should catch the attention of the mods or DT at the very least now.

This "signed" message you just provided is worthless. It is almost comical, but if you are unaware of how to sign a message : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=990345.0 this is the thread for you. You did not include a bitcoin address, so it can't be verified. You would definitely need a new signed address, with today's date and 110% would want to include your new account name "NinjaMan35" so that we know who is signing it. You're going to need to link proof of stake/association with whatever address you sign a message from that proves it belonged to your original account.

The avatar is meaningless, the IP address might be helpful to a staff member, but as far as I know it does not serve our purposes. I want to help you out in anyway I can, but I can't be going through all of your posts to figure out if you have any addresses associated, etc. You have to do the leg-work as it is your account, provide better information or nothing will get done about it. I would not expect Cyrus to respond to this message, because as I already mentioned it is missing a very important part of the equation.

I have seen Poloniex more than any other exchange have exactly these kinds of issues. I am not launching any accusations, but it seems, (at least anecdotally) that this is a very regular occurence with this exchange. I have seen high ranking members having similar troubles; if I am not mistaken (please, correct me if I am), BAC has had similar issues, but once support gets involved this gets remedied. I have not seen anything like this go completely unanswered or unfixed.

They have been having a lot of issues recently with withdrawals and deposits alike, which I imagine has filled up their support queue and backlog quite nicely.
https://twitter.com/Poloniex/status/961030372967550976
Many users are complaining about their deposits going without credit into their account.
https://twitter.com/Poloniex/status/961102960011997186
They say everything is working normally on this status, but there are many users freaking out if you read the comments. The one fellow mentions that it took 6-months for him to get a response from their support, but then the problem was fixed.

If this is a systematic issue, I wouldn't be surprised if they did this purposefully to offset their own investments/trades or potential exit-scam. This kind of thing is normally a prerequisite to an exchange going AWOL, experiencing a "hack". I've just seen it happen too many times before, but hopefully they are different and do not disappear for one reason or another. It seems like you just must be patient, and I would suggest again bumping your support tickets at all, but especially with things like "I'm waiting!" as this normally resets your ticket's position in the support queue. The best advice, would just be patient and if you can try to contact them on social media as that has worked for a couple people.

Also, if I could make a suggestion, try to (if you can) move your coins into your personal wallet from the exchange before moving it to another exchange; there is sometimes weird things that occur when you do exchange>exchange withdrawals>deposit; not sure if this is intentional, maybe to thwart arbitrage, a fluke in the programming, but normally you are better off going Exchange > Personal Wallet > Exchange if you must do so at all. Exchanges inherently come with these problems all the time, there are so many ghost stories around the forum of exchanges stealing this and that, not crediting this or confirming that; I would also advise against using exchange in any capacity you can.

For Future Reference (Prevention is better than a cure):

You can easily get one associated with your account, https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=996318.0 , that is the thread that almost everyone uses to "stake" their address; which means you post an address that you and only you have the private key to with a signed message in your post for verification. Someone will then quote your post, signed message and they will make sure that your message is verifiable to prove your ownership of that address. At that point, anytime there is any question of ownership of your bitcointalk account you can easily produce a new signed message from your staked address and there will be no reasonable doubt that you are the owner. Obviously, this puts a level of pressure on keeping your private key and that particular address protected; never lose this. It would be preferable that this address be a cold-storage address that is not at risk of being key-logged or infected by a virus being on your computer for regular usage.

If you do not stake an address your bitcointalk account will have one less measure to prove that it is in fact yours; without this verification I believe it is next to impossible to ever recover your account if it is hacked, you lose your password or get locked out for any other obscure reason (security questions do this, for example). Essentially, no you will not be able to provide sufficient proof of ownership over your account without associating an address, signing a message and keeping it private.

For Now:

If your friend has not staked an address there, they must have used another address around the forum somewhere? If this is the case, it would probably be sufficient to sign an address they've used publicly around the forum.


Are they able to sign their MEW address?

I'm 99.99% sure this is incorrect. The prices remain this way purposefully. Although you're right, it says contact theymos, I'm sure a contributing factor for them providing a unique donation address is so that it can be a (potentially) publicly accessible record that 10 or 50 BTC were actually donated.


I don't understand what is so funny? It might be "Outdated" in that you feel the price is high or that it was set long ago, but it by no means is not updated. It is what it is; the "Donator" title has become pretty damn prestigious at this point, and could very feasibly be valued at $412,599.75. Rules are rules, no sense in ruining the current titles; I would see it possible that theymos adds another low-tier donation title. I think a lot of people would be happy to donate a more reasonable amount for a lower-class, would probably bring in a lot of revenue for the forum.

Those people that donated 50BTC could've just as easily HODL'd, invested or exchanged their coin for self-gain and instead it was donated to the forum. You would not be cracking up if you were someone that donated this and see people talking of cheapening your title.

It probably isn't a mandatory requirement, because in the cases where there has been demotion (I was unaware of these, just going off your OP) it would be unfair to delete the entire board; probably more work than reward, too, because the board will inevitably rise again in the future.

I can't say for sure, but it is probable that they pick moderators, in part, by how actively they participate and patrol that particular board. There would have to be a period of activity in order to determine who would fit the criteria and rise to the top, so naturally this leaves that board without a moderator until all of the criteria are able to be considered.