Bitcoin is WAY too confusing for the average person

[DannyHamilton]

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ive seen 3 ways of using account/publickeys/address. These all mean the same thing, right ?
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No.

Bitcoin doesn't have "accounts".

Some service providers (such as MtGox or Coinbase) may provide you with an account where (like a bank account) you turn over control of your bitcoin to them and call on them to send it when you desire.  In this case they may provide you with one of their bitcoin addresses that you can use to send bitcoins to the account you have with them.

A bitcoin public key is not the same thing as a bitcoin address.

A bitcoin address is created from a public key through a process that includes 2 hashing algorithms and a 32-bit checksum.

If you know the public key, you can calculate the bitcoin address, but if all you have is the bitcoin address, then it is impossible to calculate the public key.

The checksum that is built into the bitcoin address prevents you from accidentally sending bitcoins to the wrong person if you make a typo while entering it.

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how about more standardized lingo...

The lingo is rather standardized already.  You ust happen to be unfamiliar with the standardized lingo.

[jacobpark]

Luckily 50% of the population is smarter than the average person. 

[S M I L Y]

I dont know how everything in my car works yet I can drive it and its useful.
I dont know how email servers functions yet I send email often.
I dont know how this forum functions yet I can use it easily.

(actually I do know most of these things as I am a server admin and work on my own cars but you get the point)

- S M I L Y


Noob post #3!

[barfly52]

I cannot disagree. However, I do wish I had looked at this forum (and at the very simple "fast start" instructions on bitcoin.com) before I pushed ahead and bought bitcoins for cash on one site and then for SLL on another!

I have spent a lot of time on this this week--just so I could fund an account on SWC and play poker--and I am still in an unknown (to me) waiting period waiting for my first transactions to process. And now SWC is down!!!

I have annoyed operators of at least 3 sites trying to clarify the process--and to get some idea of when my transactions should clear--and about all I have learned as that I have to wait 48 hours for one site, 4 days for another, and who knows how long for the third before 1) my cash purchase will be verified (they did relieve my bank account of the necessary funds, thanks) and 2) my poker account will receive the bitcoins I asked be sent to them (though that bitcoin wallet has been debited for the bicoins I sent, thanks).

Participants in this universe need to take some huge steps towards securing the trust of new users or bitcoins will never thrive. There are just too many reasons for sensible people to say "no"--if they rely on careless fools like me the empire will never go over the top!