If I've missed anything, please send me a PM or post on this thread.I've seen a lot of commonly asked questions be repeated over and over recently. I'm aware that mprep's rules, guidelines and FAQ thread does have an FAQ section (and it's good!), but it doesn't list the full range of questions and I'd like to run a thread more dedicated to questions alone that people can be pointed to. I'm going to try to extend this quickly to contain as many questions as possible so that it spans a much wider range than what is already out there. The contents table should help you to quickly jump between questions, too
Hey! Read this bit before you keep scrolling! I should note that right now this thread has only slightly more content than mprep's FAQ. That's because as I finish typing this it's 10pm so I won't finish it today. It'll be finished tomorrow.
I'm still fiddling around a bit with the thread, if you see some weird things change randomly.
Contents (click to jump):
Why are my images not showing up in threads?Why am I not allowed to upload an avatar?Help! My account was hacked!Is {username} an alternate account of {staff member}?!Is {username} bribing {staff member}?!Why did a moderator delete my post/thread?I got negative trust! What can I do?Okay, everyone agrees they're wrong and they're not/no longer on DefaultTrust - can a mod delete the negative trust?Why aren't the staff deleting {troll name}'s posts?!How do I get on DefaultTrust?What are units of evil? Why do you want me to pay you money to post?When will the new forum software be released?How can I gain trust?Can you lock my thread?Can you delete my thread/post?When will I rank up?So, if my ranks are based on activity, how do I gain activity?What is BBCode/How do I embed a URL/image/etc?Why do I have to wait between posts?Can I have some free Bitcoin?How can I become a Donator/VIP?Why aren't the moderators making Bitcointalk into a safe space for me!?!Can I post a referral link?Can I put an ad in my thread/post?Can I make a new account if I've been banned?Can I advertise on the forum?How do I report a post?Does this forum have security bounties?What is considered to be spam?Who runs Bitcointalk?Can I be unbanned?I don't think that this post I had deleted was breaking the rules, what can I do?Can I buy/sell Bitcointalk accounts?
The most common questions regarding Bitcointalk - An FAQQ - Why are my images not showing up in threads?A - If you are a Newbie member (that is, you have less than 30 activity), any images that you attempt to embed using BBCode will automatically be converted into their link equivalents. This is to prevent abuse, for instance by spammers. Your images will start appearing normally once you become a Jr. Member.
Q - Why am I not allowed to upload an avatar?A - If you're below the rank of Full Member, you aren't allowed to upload an avatar. As to why - the forum was previously hacked via an exploit in the avatar uploading function. I'd assume that preventing users with a rank lower than this from uploading serves as a kind of safeguard. It also helps to stave off forum spammers, as avatar ad campaigns are a thing.
Q - Help! My account was hacked!A - Refer to this thread by theymos. It may take a while, however - you need to be responsible for your own account security. This is a large forum, with limited administrators, and you need to be able to prove you own the account - for instance, with a signed message. Don't expect it to take minutes, and please do not start spamming the Meta forum with threads if it takes a while.
Q - Is {username} an alternate account of {staff member}?!A - No.
Q - Is {username} bribing {staff member}?!A - No.
Q - Why did a moderator delete my post/thread?A - It depends. Very rarely are posts deleted wrongly, in fact I only say that as a blanket term in case some have been previously as I have not seen this be the case before.
I recommend you read mprep's list of rules and familiarise yourself with them. The most common reason is that it was just a low-quality post or considered spammy. If you have a signature advertisement, the chance of you having posts deleted for that is probably higher as moderators are on the look-out for spammers with signature ads.
Q - I got negative trust! What can I do?A - Let's split this up as it's a bad question on its own, as it usually implies that the negative trust is wrong. First, what you shouldn't do is start raging, leaving false feedback and insulting the person who left you the negative feedback. Not only does this solidify your bad position in their eyes, doing things such as leaving false feedback is a great way to get other users to also leave you negative trust. If they're on DefaultTrust, it's probably for a reason. What you should do if you wish to protest the negative trust is usually just PM the person and discuss it in a civilised manner with them. If you really believe they're abusing their power and you've tried to talk to them, make a thread in Meta setting out your arguments properly after you've talked to them. If they're not on DefaultTrust, it usually isn't worth the hassle, though.
Q - Okay, everyone agrees they're wrong and they're not/no longer on DefaultTrust - can a mod delete the negative trust?A - No. The trust system is designed so that everyone is allowed to have an opinion. Mods will only delete trust if it is essentially spam (for instance, 10 repeated negative feedbacks with the same message).
Q - Why aren't the staff deleting {troll name}'s posts?!A - Again, it depends what the posts are. If they are simply spam, the staff probably are actively deleting them or even banning the troll entirely. If they aren't "spam", and are simply the "troll" expressing an opinion, no matter how much in bad taste it is or how much you disagree with it, then it's not necessarily going to be deleted. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, even if they are trying to convince you that the world ended in 2012 after a Type III civilisation on the Kardashev Scale destroyed our planet for resources and hooked us all up into Matrioshka Brain and that we are living in an alien version of the Matrix and Bitcoin is our way of resisting.
Q - How do I get on DefaultTrust?A - Leave good and valid trust ratings and eventually someone will likely notice you. That's the main way.
Q - What are units of evil? Why do you want me to pay you money to post?A - If the IP you used for registration, whether a home IP, Tor exit node or proxy, was previously used for "evil" - that is, had accounts previously banned that were linked to it - then units of evil will be associated with your account, increasing with the amount of bans and slowly decaying over time. The charge per unit of evil to be whitelisted is 4023 satoshi. If you can't pay this, then ask for manual whitelisting or, if you're using a proxy or Tor, switching to your normal IP will work too (assuming it has no units of evil!).
Q - When will the new forum software be released?A - We don't know, right now. It will be released eventually, but currently, I can't give you a good estimate. Perhaps theymos can, but not me!
Q - How can I gain trust?A - I assume that if you're talking about this you will be trading. In which case...just trade. Over time you'll accumulate trust. Never ask for it and don't get annoyed if you don't receive it. It will come, don't worry. If you try to farm trust, the only type of trust you will likely receive is negative trust, however.
Q - Can you lock my thread?A - You can lock it yourself by clicking "Lock thread" in the bottom left.
Q - Can you delete my thread/post?A - If no-one has seen a thread, you can delete it by pressing the delete button in the top right. You can do this at any time with a post except in the Auctions section to prevent abuse.
Q - When will I rank up?A - Refer to this thread.Q - So, if my ranks are based on activity, how do I gain activity?A - I'll try to explain it in my own words here. "time" is the amount of 2-week periods in which you have posted (these periods are the same for all members, not since you registered). "posts" are simply the amount of posts you have made. Your activity is calculated by taking the lowest value of either "posts", or "time" multiplied by 14. So if your "time" value is 3, and you've posted 20 times, you'll only get an activity of 20, but if your time value is "5", and you've posted 1000 times, you'll only get an activity of 5 multiplied by 14 which is equal to 70.
Q - What is BBCode/How do I embed a URL/image/etc?A - BBCode is the most common way to format text on forums, by using tags enclosed in square brackets. Here are the most common tags:
[URL={url}]text[/URL]
[IMG]{imageLink}[/IMG]
[b]text[/b] > bold
[i]text[/i] > italicisation
[u]text[/u] > underline
[s]text[/s] > strikethrough
[color={hexCode} OR {colorName}]text[/color]
In order to prevent spam from newer accounts. You start with a 360 second delay and it goes down as you gain activity. If you're curious, here's the algorithm:
waittime = 360;
if(activity >= 15)
waittime = (int)(90 - activity);
if(activity >= 60)
waittime=(int)(34.7586 - (0.0793103 * activity));
if(activity >= 100)
waittime = max((int)(14-(activity/50)), 4);
Sorry, but no. Begging isn't allowed and is annoying either way. If you want some free Bitcoin, look for some jobs to do, promotions or just Google "Bitcoin faucets", though from faucets the amount is usually insignificant compared to the cost of electricity, time and internet usage.
Q - How can I become a Donator/VIP?A - Refer to this page. Be warned - it is expensive, but this is because the price will not be changed to avoid dilution of the amount that earlier donators paid.
Q - Why aren't the moderators making Bitcointalk into a safe space for me!?!A - Because this is supposed to be a forum for actual discussion.
Q - Can I post a referral link?A - Okay, this question even confuses me sometimes. My interpretation (as in, what I believe is correct) is that making posts solely for referral links are completely disallowed. The only real exception is the same exception which applies to placing an advertisement inside of your post: If the post is extremely high quality, going to be frequently updated, etc, like dogie's threads. But this is loosely defined and generally your post does not count.
Q - Can I put an ad in my thread/post?A - In a post, no. In a thread, refer to the above, but 99.99% of the time no.
Q - Can I make a new account if I've been banned?A - Only to post in Meta about your ban. Post anywhere else and it's ban evasion, and your punishment will be made much worse along with your new account being banned.
Q - Can I advertise on the forum?A - You can, though advertisement is sold through an auction, and as there is a new thread for each auction round I can't give you a solid link. CTRL+F for "advertise" on the first few pages, if not the first page of the "Auction" section and you should find it.
Q - How do I report a post?A - If it actually breaks a forum rule, you can report it by clicking "Report to Moderator" in the bottom right hand corner of the post and giving a reason why it's against the rules.
Q - Does this forum have security bounties?A - Refer to this thread.Q - What is considered to be spam?A - Basically a rough guideline is that if contributes nothing or little to the conversation, it's spam. +1 posts and the like fall under this. It's a bit broader though, if your post is entirely off-topic it's probably going to be considered spam too.
Q - Who runs Bitcointalk?A - Theymos is the Head Administrator, though there are a large amount of other staff members such as the other administrator BadBear.
Q - Can I be unbanned?A - If you genuinely believe you were banned unfairly (check the rules PROPERLY!) then you can make an account and post in Meta, but I've never seen this actually happen before. If you were banned fairly and you're temporarily banned, it's usually just better to wait it out. If you're permanently banned, then it's unlikely you'll be unbanned if you appeal immediately. It's preferable for you to wait a few weeks or even months and then make a proper appeal. PMing the admin "BadBear" is your best bet for an appeal like this.
Q - I don't think that this post I had deleted was breaking the rules, what can I do?A - It's likely it was breaking the rules. Staff are allowed to interpret the rules as they like and different staff will have different levels for what they consider to be spam or breaking various rules. Chances are, your post was breaking the rules, so you'll likely just have to get over it.
Q - Can I buy/sell Bitcointalk accounts?A - Yes, you can. That's because the market is a) too large to moderate and b) would just occur underground anyway. You might have the account you bought marked with a neutral or negative if people realize it's been sold, however, though your main account should be safe unless you scam with the alt. (Don't do that!)
