How the hell does bitcoin-otc work?

[ruggedman_dan]

I feel kind of goofy because everyone on here refers to their "web of trust" rating on bitcoin-otc, yet I cannot even figure out how to use it.

I registered on there and I want to utilize it but I'm just freaking confused.

Is it just a chat room and open order book?

I read the wiki on it but I still dont get it. How to I contact buyers and sellers to set up transactions? I see no contact info there and that chat room sucks.

Someone explain please. I will donate 0.1 BTC to whomever helps me understand best.

[1713581287]

1713581287

[John (John K.)]

Go get a good PGP client and generate your own PGP key first. Try Kleopatra or Cryptophane (that's what I use on Windows)

Then (skip to 5 if you're using a GUI based client like Cryptophane):
(copy and pasted from an old guide I had laying around to teach newbies)

Bitcoin-otc quickstart guide
Here's how to get quickly up and trading on bitcoin-otc on Ubuntu.

1) First off, connect to the IRC channel here. Choose a username.

2) Start a private chat with the gribble bot, in the IRC window, so you don't flood the channel messing about. All future IRC commands are to be entered into this private chat with gribble.

/msg gribble ;;help

3) Generate a gpg key (if you don't already have one). See here for details. At a command prompt, type:

gpg --gen-key

4) Publish your key.

gpg --list-keys --keyid-format long

Look for something like:

pub 4096R/46ED38A2A668A578 2011-02-18

Take the 16 digits following the slash, that's the KeyID. Now push:

gpg --send-keys --keyserver pgp.surfnet.nl 46ED38A2A668A578
gpg --send-keys --keyserver pgp.mit.edu 46ED38A2A668A578


5) Register with gribble, back in the IRC chat window with gribble:

;;gpg eregister Nick KeyID

After registering, use eauth to authenticate


;;gpg eauth BobJones


6) Gribble will spit back a http:// url. Copy that and run (if you're using commandline):
wget -O - http://bitcoin-otc.com/otps/46ED38A2A668A578 | gpg --decrypt

else(using GUI):
Navigate to that site and copy the text. Paste in the 'Message' tab and decrypt it.

7) Now take the output and verify with gribble:

;;gpg everify freenode:#bitcoin-otc:6132ffd1c3c4468e40303d844f3e30661bc34617054f7cc5e3fa03c8b41c376e

You should now be authenticated! Happy trading! Some useful gribble commands:

See the current exchange rate:

;;bc,mtgox

See orders for canadian dollars:

;;book cad

Privately message someone online:

/msg BobJones

Leave a message for someone offline:

;;later tell BobJones Hey there big guy!


edit: added GUI stuff.

[John (John K.)]

Commands for use after you've registered:

http://wiki.bitcoin-otc.com/wiki/Using_bitcoin-otc#Order_book_guide
http://wiki.bitcoin-otc.com/wiki/Using_bitcoin-otc#Trading

[Atruk]

I feel kind of goofy because everyone on here refers to their "web of trust" rating on bitcoin-otc, yet I cannot even figure out how to use it.

I registered on there and I want to utilize it but I'm just freaking confused.

Is it just a chat room and open order book?

I read the wiki on it but I still dont get it. How to I contact buyers and sellers to set up transactions? I see no contact info there and that chat room sucks.

Someone explain please. I will donate 0.1 BTC to whomever helps me understand best.

It's an IRC chat channel. I know that makes it sound something like a chatroom, but it is more like a news discussion from the pre-September era of the internet. The bitcoin-otc channel isn't the big concern right now, it will take some time lurking on there to see how it really works and get the feel for the pace that transactions happen.

The important part is getting registered with an OTC web of trust rating.

• Start by getting GPG set up, this page has a good detailed guide, but if you are on Windows or Mac use one of the third party guides it links to http://wiki.bitcoin-otc.com/wiki/GPG_authentication
• This page has instructions on what you will be doing on the web of trust http://wiki.bitcoin-otc.com/wiki/OTC_Rating_System
• Here's where I found the links to those pages http://bitcoin-otc.com/trust.php

Getting this all set up is a hassle, but it is secure. It keeps people from hijacking your reputation.  The catch is that reputation takes a while to build and most people don't use OTC anyways. OTC isn't for most people though. It's for the whales and people who aspire to be whales, seeing you post history it looks like this might be awfully appropriate for you as you seem to be in that latter category.

Edit: It looks like I got beat to the punch on the mechanics of WOT as I was writing this.

[ruggedman_dan]

Ok ok.

Thanks to john for the step by step. Honestly, I was still lost after I read it.

But then...

Artuk came with the explanation for simpletons (i.e. me) and now the step by step makes a bit more sense.

Anyway, thank you to you both. I sent .1 BTC to each of you.

Thanks again. I'm gonna try my hand at this.

[John (John K.)]

Thanks, got the .1.
I'm still confused as of where you are though - are you registered yet? (via PGP in the #bitcoin-otc database)
The hardest part IMO is the registering part - you'll have to figure out the PGP stuff first. Honestly, it's easier if you use a GUI based client like Cryptophane which simplifies the PGP part. Get it here: http://code.google.com/p/cryptophane/

[Atruk]

Ok ok.

Thanks to john for the step by step. Honestly, I was still lost after I read it.

But then...

Artuk came with the explanation for simpletons (i.e. me) and now the step by step makes a bit more sense.

Anyway, thank you to you both. I sent .1 BTC to each of you.

Thanks again. I'm gonna try my hand at this.

Thank you. I'll add the caveat that I haven't taken the time to do OTC myself, but I use the same software to keep my email private that OTC uses for authentication and used some IRC before.

[Manstef]

Hi,

I'm noob

I've been following this walkthrough to register: http://wiki.bitcoin-otc.com/wiki/Bitcoin_address_authentication

Now I'm stuck halfway through....

I have a response from gribble but my client is Multibit, and it's making the following instruction impossible I think:

"On the 'Receive coins' tab of the bitcoin client, select the signing address, and click the 'Sign message' button. Copy and paste the challenge string, click "Sign message", copy the signed message with the "Copy to clipboard" button, then give the result to the bot with the 'bcverify' command, as follows:"

I can't see anything like a receive coins tab in MultiBit.

Can I finish my verification on another bit of software or is it better to start over?


Thanks in anticipation,
ManS

[TheButterZone]

You will want to generate a new address and private key you use to register/auth every time to Gribble, but not receive BTC at. Go to bitaddress.org and save what the first page shows. Then go to http://brainwallet.org/#sign - input the private key from bitaddress, paste the message from Gribble, sign it, and paste the signature back to Gribble.

[Manstef]

verification failed....

Do I not need to scrap the address I originally used and start the challenge and response again on gribble with a new private key and bitcoin address from bitaddress.org?

thanks

[TheButterZone]

So scrap the address I originally used and start the call and response again on gribble with a new private key and bitcoin address from bitaddress.org?

thanks

Yes, because
1) you'd have to export your private keys in Multibit without encryption so you can open the .key file in a text editor and get the right one out to use on brainwallet
and
2) the call and response probably expired anyway

[Manstef]

sweet, sorted.

thanks butter

[romerun]

IRC, who use that these days, jeez this is harder than mpex.

[joae1975]

I have no clue what you all are talking about.  It's so confusing to me.  Is there an instruction on how to use gribble which is in dummy language?
I went here: http://wiki.bitcoin-otc.com/wiki/Bitcoin_address_authentication#Challenge-response
and it's still very confusing.
I'm using a mac.

Thanks!

[coqui33]

I hate to put a damper on the discussion, but #bitcoin-otc may not be the best place to trade. I went through all the steps, bought some coins, and got a rating. It was lots of fun. Really! You get a real sense of accomplishment once gpg suddenly makes sense to you. Here is a great video explaining it <https://systemoverlord.com/presentations/gnupg-open-encryption-signing-and-authentication>. I still like to hang out on the irc channel now and then, just to chat.

Nevertheless, in all honesty, I have found that I can trade betwen BTC and USD faster, more safely, more profitably, and more reliably at mtgox, campbx, or bitfloor than from the great guys at otc. It may just be me, but you might not have to get into otc at all, just to trade, unless you find it to be fun like I did.

[Maria2.0]

I hate to put a damper on the discussion, but #bitcoin-otc may not be the best place to trade. I went through all the steps, bought some coins, and got a rating. It was lots of fun. Really! You get a real sense of accomplishment once gpg suddenly makes sense to you. Here is a great video explaining it <https://systemoverlord.com/presentations/gnupg-open-encryption-signing-and-authentication>. I still like to hang out on the irc channel now and then, just to chat.

Nevertheless, in all honesty, I have found that I can trade betwen BTC and USD faster, more safely, more profitably, and more reliably at mtgox, campbx, or bitfloor than from the great guys at otc. It may just be me, but you might have to get into otc at all, unless you find it to be fun like I did.

De que pueblo boricua?

Maria 2.0 De pura cepa!!!

[coqui33]

De que pueblo boricua?

Maria 2.0 De pura cepa!!!

LOL! Soy natural de Juana Diaz. Pero ahora vivo en Florida.

[Atruk]

I hate to put a damper on the discussion, but #bitcoin-otc may not be the best place to trade. I went through all the steps, bought some coins, and got a rating. It was lots of fun. Really! You get a real sense of accomplishment once gpg suddenly makes sense to you. Here is a great video explaining it <https://systemoverlord.com/presentations/gnupg-open-encryption-signing-and-authentication>. I still like to hang out on the irc channel now and then, just to chat.

Nevertheless, in all honesty, I have found that I can trade betwen BTC and USD faster, more safely, more profitably, and more reliably at mtgox, campbx, or bitfloor than from the great guys at otc. It may just be me, but you might not have to get into otc at all, just to trade, unless you find it to be fun like I did.

The web of trust is more useful than the IRC conversation that happens in OTC. Being to auth people before you trade with them is about as solid as you can get in identity verification.

[coqui33]

The web of trust is more useful than the IRC conversation that happens in OTC. Being to auth people before you trade with them is about as solid as you can get in identity verification.

I agree, the WOT is a wonderful idea.

Nevertheless, the proof is in the pudding. As I said, I have found that I can trade between BTC and USD faster, more safely, more profitably, and more reliably at mtgox, campbx, or bitfloor than OTC. YMMV.

[Maria2.0]

The web of trust is more useful than the IRC conversation that happens in OTC. Being to auth people before you trade with them is about as solid as you can get in identity verification.

I agree, the WOT is a wonderful idea.

Nevertheless, the proof is in the pudding. As I said, I have found that I can trade between BTC and USD faster, more safely, more profitably, and more reliably at mtgox, campbx, or bitfloor than OTC. YMMV.

Estos cabrones se creen que la montan y cuando Los boricuas les damos shut down, se meten la lengua en el culo. Dile ahi puñeta que solo los Nerds usan IRC y que es mas sofisticado usar CampBx coño.

Carolina en la casa! Luis Lloren Torres! Minando bitcoins con luz gratis gracias a Carmen Yulin!