Bitcoin is a PoS

[cvramen]

I do not mean to be hateful in any way, but this system just stinks. I am totally on board with the idea that government-issued currency has got to go, and I hope Bitcoin does well.

I downloaded and installed the Bitcoin program. I then looked for a way to acquire Bitcoins.

I have spent over an hour just trying find a way to acquire Bitcoins and I have given up. I get it that the Bitcoin "first-tryers" are a knowledgeable and tech-savvy demographic, but you have made this thing too hard to figure out how to use!

I live in the United States. I have a bank account consisting of US Dollars. I want to get Bitcoins with my US Dollars. I am trying to exchange the world's most popular currency for a currency that's less than five years old, and I have yet to find any website out there that wants to make it easy for me.

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence and I am an IT professional. I know how computers and the internet work. And, I sympathize with the goal of abolishing government money. If I cannot figure out how this system is supposed to work, then I have to wonder how many other people out there are not willing (or able) to get into the world of Bitcoins. If you're going to try to get people to accept something new (like the Bitcoin) you have to make it easy to use! I appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into setting Bitcoin up, but you have to make it digestible to the common person.

If I wanna go buy something on newegg.com, for example, I just go to the checkout, enter my debit card number and that's it! I don't have to do research in order to find out how to buy a flipping USB cable.

If anyone can address my concerns now that would be great, but otherwise, I'll come back in about 6 or 7 years, when someone has figured out a way to make getting Bitcoins easy.

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[theymos]

No one will accept your reversible credit card or PayPal money for non-reversible bitcoins unless you prove your trustworthiness in some way. The difficulty of trading isn't a problem with Bitcoin (mostly): all non-reversible payment methods such as wire/ACH transfers are just difficult to use, and you need to use them to get bitcoins.

Pecunix is 9 years old, but it still has this problem because it is also non-reversible. In fact, Pecunix is probably even more difficult to get. Same for Liberty Reserve, though it is younger than Pecunix.

[rebuilder]

I didn't find using a wire transfer to send funds to mt. gox difficult at all. Just log on to my bank online, send the money, wait for it to appear in my mt. gox account. It's not instant, that's about the only thing that could be better.

Of course, I don't know how difficult US banks are with transfers.

[FreeMoney]

The Bitcoin "system" doesn't have you getting coins as one of it's goals. If you can convince anyone with coins to send you some the system will do that in a snap. Your problem is finding something valuable to exchange. It turns out that you can cancel payment on Bitcoin purchases really easily and you need to find a way to overcome people's worry that you will do that. One way is sending a wire, another is handing cash to someone, another is building a reputation/meeting people/making friends/proving your trustworthy identity and then using PP or similar, another is selling or doing something valuable.

It's your problem and it's not that hard to solve if you want to.

edit: My tone might be too harsh. There are people trying to find better ways. CoinPal was great, but PP shut them down. Dwolla can be used to get money to MtGox. Either way it has nothing to do with tech savy. My parents fed-ex'd a bag of cash.

[bitcoinfrenzy]

People are selling some bitcoins on ebay now. I don't know if ebay is going to allow this to continue long term, but if it does, that could become an easy place to buy and sell bitcoins.

[sirk390]

If you are from the US then check this tutorial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvnUfHKczg

[NghtRppr]

I do not mean to be hateful in any way, but this system just stinks. I am totally on board with the idea that government-issued currency has got to go, and I hope Bitcoin does well.

I downloaded and installed the Bitcoin program. I then looked for a way to acquire Bitcoins.

I have spent over an hour just trying find a way to acquire Bitcoins and I have given up. I get it that the Bitcoin "first-tryers" are a knowledgeable and tech-savvy demographic, but you have made this thing too hard to figure out how to use!

I live in the United States. I have a bank account consisting of US Dollars. I want to get Bitcoins with my US Dollars. I am trying to exchange the world's most popular currency for a currency that's less than five years old, and I have yet to find any website out there that wants to make it easy for me.

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence and I am an IT professional. I know how computers and the internet work. And, I sympathize with the goal of abolishing government money. If I cannot figure out how this system is supposed to work, then I have to wonder how many other people out there are not willing (or able) to get into the world of Bitcoins. If you're going to try to get people to accept something new (like the Bitcoin) you have to make it easy to use! I appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into setting Bitcoin up, but you have to make it digestible to the common person.

If I wanna go buy something on newegg.com, for example, I just go to the checkout, enter my debit card number and that's it! I don't have to do research in order to find out how to buy a flipping USB cable.

If anyone can address my concerns now that would be great, but otherwise, I'll come back in about 6 or 7 years, when someone has figured out a way to make getting Bitcoins easy.

Check out my website. It's in my signature.

[WakiMiko]

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence

I bet everyone thinks that of themselves. 

[bitdragon]

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence

I bet everyone thinks that of themselves. 

Depends on the view of intelligence, and in my book, intelligence is definitely not about being above, better than others in any way- quite the opposite, and even less about saying it loud.

[Anonymous]

You can try linking your bank account to dwolla and deposit to mt gox from there. https://www.dwolla.com/default.aspx

Mt Gox also has a chase bank account and if you try Keefe on #bitcoin-otc he will also help you.

[marcus_of_augustus]

Hey, it's open source ... sounds to me like you have just found a huge market niche for yourself ... get out there and set-up the best damn way in the world to trade bucks for BitCoins! ... you'll probably get stinking rich and since

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence

it'll be easy as pie for ya, I'm shure.

[PseudoCode]

Maybe the Bitcoin client should include a prominent "Get Bitcoins" button that links to a page on a Wiki for newcomers who haven't learned the ropes yet ?

The Wiki page is only editable by trusted users and should include something like "These are just *some* ways to get started in Bitcoins"

Then Country-specific sections for "I want to buy them with Direct Deposit, Paypal, Credit Card etc" - with an explanation of what issues might be faced by a newbie wanting to use PP or other charge-back able payment.

or an "I want to work for them" section with links to current bounties, job offers etc.

Perhaps also a "Spend Bitcoins" link from that page to a similair "Services offered" page ?

Many people I have spoken with seem to have trouble with the concept of having to go to a decentralised market/exchange/network of sellers and barter for their coins.   

Making it easier for those who just decided to try Bitcoin out, installed and then go "Now what ?" could be well worthwhile.

[Isepick]

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence

I bet everyone thinks that of themselves. 

It is called the Dunning-Kruger effect and it appears to happen around here with quite some frequency. Pointing it out to someone is usually a good way to get into pointless arguments though.

Personally I am far too intelligent for that to happen 

[marcus_of_augustus]

Personally I am far too intelligent for that to happen.

me too, but it is easier to play the dumb-ass, ask all kinds of noob questions, be the devil's advocates and catch the smart-asses out when the opportunity presents itself. 

But putting up a title like "BitCoin is a PoS" for a topic thread in your first post is asking for permanent banishment surely .... not matter how syrupy the blather surrounding it ...?

[proudhon]

I do not mean to be hateful in any way, but this system just stinks. I am totally on board with the idea that government-issued currency has got to go, and I hope Bitcoin does well.

I downloaded and installed the Bitcoin program. I then looked for a way to acquire Bitcoins.

I have spent over an hour just trying find a way to acquire Bitcoins and I have given up. I get it that the Bitcoin "first-tryers" are a knowledgeable and tech-savvy demographic, but you have made this thing too hard to figure out how to use!

I live in the United States. I have a bank account consisting of US Dollars. I want to get Bitcoins with my US Dollars. I am trying to exchange the world's most popular currency for a currency that's less than five years old, and I have yet to find any website out there that wants to make it easy for me.

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence and I am an IT professional. I know how computers and the internet work. And, I sympathize with the goal of abolishing government money. If I cannot figure out how this system is supposed to work, then I have to wonder how many other people out there are not willing (or able) to get into the world of Bitcoins. If you're going to try to get people to accept something new (like the Bitcoin) you have to make it easy to use! I appreciate all of the hard work that has gone into setting Bitcoin up, but you have to make it digestible to the common person.

If I wanna go buy something on newegg.com, for example, I just go to the checkout, enter my debit card number and that's it! I don't have to do research in order to find out how to buy a flipping USB cable.

If anyone can address my concerns now that would be great, but otherwise, I'll come back in about 6 or 7 years, when someone has figured out a way to make getting Bitcoins easy.

Bank ---> Dwolla ---> MtGox ---> Bitcoins

[srb123]

I do not mean to be hateful in any way, but this system just stinks. I am totally on board with the idea that government-issued currency has got to go, and I hope Bitcoin does well.

I downloaded and installed the Bitcoin program. I then looked for a way to acquire Bitcoins.

Bitcoins aren't acquired, they are earned.

How do you earn them?
1. Mine. (Boring.)
2. Sell something useful to someone for bitcoin.
3. Exchange. (mtgox.com et al.)

Just because the internet is all about instant gratification, doen't mean bitcoin is. Unfortunately for we humans we need to earn money by participating in an economy, just is in real life.

(Dont know about you, but when I was born, some stranger didn't just walk up and hand me a fiver, it took a while.)

[sortedmush]

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence and I am an IT professional.

I am an unemployed person of lower than average intelligence.
I managed to buy bitcoins after 20ms research.

[mewantsbitcoins]

I am a person of higher-than-average intelligence and I am an IT professional.

I am an unemployed person of lower than average intelligence.
I managed to buy bitcoins after 20ms research.

Me too. I wonder what would happen if these above average intelligence people would let us run the countries 

[mmortal03]

Bank ---> Dwolla ---> MtGox ---> Bitcoins

You beat me to it! 

[Drifter]

Setting up a Dwolla account, and sending a payment to another Dwolla user is the same process as Paypal, except your bank account is your only backup funding method, and not a credit card. Using paypal online is easy because you've already went through the setup process. Using a credit card online is easy but only because you've already signed up with your credit card and went through plenty more verifications and procedures than bitcoin needs.

Yes, bitcoin can be a bit difficult to get sometimes, but blame the money in your pocket for that, not bitcoin. You can't easily send cash to someone instantly unless you use a third party and those third parties need your information and time to collect funds, time to send funds, finish the transaction and so on. CCs are easy but only because you already have an account registered.

IF the world ran on bitcoin, exchanges would be faster than ever before. No waiting for funds to be deposited into your bank account, then to your online account, then to pay someone else. No overdrafts, no fees. If I was paid with bitcoins I could send money overseas to family in need within minutes of receiving my paycheck, without having to wait for a bank transfer or an outrageous Western Union fee. You know the advantages...

Furthermore if bitcoin does come to reach further popularity, and some of your family/friends/neighbors had bitcoins, well you could just trade with them. Once we reach that level, exchange won't be a problem. If I could simply step into Walmart and hand them some cash for bitcoins, things would be easy. It's still a long path to get there, though, and the ones who are willing to go through the murky grounds now will reap the benefits later.