Newbies can now pay a small fee to enable images

[hilariousetc]

Theymos has mentioned he may or may not add new levels in the op of this very thread. There is nothing that I know of currently being planned but it is something I have been pushing for for quite some time because it will put a huge dent in the market for forum accounts if you can essentially just buy the privileges from us instead.

Thanks. I did read the OP it was just when I saw that under your name I initially thought that meant there had been some progress. I do hope it does happen as I agree with you that it would put a cap on account prices, even if not completely stamping out account farming, it's got to make some improvement.

I just did it as a bit of a joke because I knew it would pique people's interest and get them excited (or worried if you're an account farmer). My original suggestion was actually to remove signatures from ranks/activity entirely and the only way to get one would be to donate for one which would then put a stop to account farming almost 100% because it would be utterly pointless to do so. I'm not sure if theymos would be willing to remove them completely but having them alongside ranks should have no issues and will help drastically reduce the demand for accounts.

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[emile12]

hi,

could newbie can pay too to recover their old account,  i was away for a while and when i try to reconnect my account was suspended, i try to contact admin many time, i can prove i own the old account, but nobody answer me,
i will be happy to pay to recover it

can be a future option?

thanks

[ibminer]

Theymos, is there an updated number of how many people have purchased it so far?

45
Search by position: "Copper Member"

I really don't get the point of this rank but it doesn't bother me enough to rant about it. 

[hilariousetc]

hi,

could newbie can pay too to recover their old account,  i was away for a while and when i try to reconnect my account was suspended, i try to contact admin many time, i can prove i own the old account, but nobody answer me,
i will be happy to pay to recover it

can be a future option?

thanks

If you can prove the account is yours I can unlock it for free. I can't restore or reset passwords though. I did suggest a while back that admins could charge some sort of fee to restore accounts though.

Theymos, is there an updated number of how many people have purchased it so far?

45
Search by position: "Copper Member"

I really don't get the point of this rank but it doesn't bother me enough to rant about it. 

Ah thanks. Didn't think of that.

It's basically just a rank to automatically whitelist you and enable you to post images (which can be vital for some users).

[emile12]

hi,

could newbie can pay too to recover their old account,  i was away for a while and when i try to reconnect my account was suspended, i try to contact admin many time, i can prove i own the old account, but nobody answer me,
i will be happy to pay to recover it

can be a future option?

thanks

If you can prove the account is yours I can unlock it for free. I can't restore or reset passwords though. I did suggest a while back that admins could charge some sort of fee to restore accounts though.

yes i can but you are not and admin ?
how can i do that,   in mp?

[ibminer]

It's basically just a rank to automatically whitelist you and enable you to post images (which can be vital for some users).

I feel like it would be helpful to scammers starting up an ICO, altcoin, etc. and posting all of their re-used images. I realize there are legitimate reasons for legitimate people... maybe it's just my pessimistic perception of which group is helped more with this rank. 

[TheQuin]

I feel like it would be helpful to scammers starting up an ICO, altcoin, etc. and posting all of their re-used images. I realize there are legitimate reasons for legitimate people... maybe it's just my pessimistic perception of which group is helped more with this rank. 

A scammer is just going to buy an account anyway. As well as giving legitimate users the ability to get whitelisted without being given the choice of getting someone to post on their behalf or resorting to buying an account, this also means the revenue goes to the forum not account farmers.
Everyone can see the Newbie rank and activity alongside the Copper Member status and should be able to deduce that is a bought status.... maybe it's just my optimistic perception of which group is helped more with this rank.  

[hilariousetc]

hi,

could newbie can pay too to recover their old account,  i was away for a while and when i try to reconnect my account was suspended, i try to contact admin many time, i can prove i own the old account, but nobody answer me,
i will be happy to pay to recover it

can be a future option?

thanks

If you can prove the account is yours I can unlock it for free. I can't restore or reset passwords though. I did suggest a while back that admins could charge some sort of fee to restore accounts though.

yes i can but you are not and admin ?
how can i do that,   in mp?

Contact me on my hilariousandco account with a signed message.

It's basically just a rank to automatically whitelist you and enable you to post images (which can be vital for some users).

I feel like it would be helpful to scammers starting up an ICO, altcoin, etc. and posting all of their re-used images. I realize there are legitimate reasons for legitimate people... maybe it's just my pessimistic perception of which group is helped more with this rank.  

As above said, they usually just buy an account to make the thread anyway (and oftentimes they're hacked accounts). Images were only removed in the first place because some idiot was botting the forum with porn. I doubt allowing them to post images will suddenly make them invincible scammers but I'd rather them do it on a fresh account they just bought.

[Zackgeno96]

I fear that, scammers will be benefited with this new liberty. Newbies might misuse it to run the scam, admin should keep regular check on these accounts and if there are any suspicious activities found, then this feature should be revoked.

How is posting an image going to encourage scams in any way? Images are disabled for those annoying memes and stuff that newbies tend to post on other forums. If they do that then they will get banned pretty quickly and just wasted a little bit of money doing so.

Newbies can run a signature campaign OR can start the ICO , potential scammer will not care about the money for getting this rank. This is what I think, I may be wrong

[ibminer]

As above said, they usually just buy an account to make the thread anyway (and oftentimes they're hacked accounts). Images were only removed in the first place because some idiot was botting the forum with porn. I doubt allowing them to post images will suddenly make them invincible scammers but I'd rather them do it on a fresh account they just bought.

I may just not have enough insight into this but I feel like if I'm a scammer who currently buys accounts, it seems like it would make more sense to now buy the Copper Membership.

I would think that account sales come with their obstacles for scammers as well... if they are not using an escrow, they can easily get scammed themselves. If they are using an escrow, they're probably paying for it. They could buy an account that gets tagged 3 days later... etc.  Yes, this may ultimately reduce a piece of account sales between users, which I'm all for... but it seems like a double-edged sword which gives scammers a quicker, cleaner way to establish a new account and setup a thread for scamming via ICOs/altcoins. If I'm a scammer, sending stolen coins to theymos from my last scam, so I can get back to scamming quickly, seems like a much faster and cleaner solution for the scammer.

I'm also not sure why they need a rank of "Copper Member"... if this is just to post images, provide the access to the account and maybe list something on the profile page of the account indicating they've paid to post images, I don't think it's necessary to list them as a "Copper Member" everywhere... or that they should even get 2 coins under their name.

... Would it be considered abusive if a DT member left neutral feedback on new Copper Member accounts explaining what a copper membership is?  

[asapcoinglobal]

Dear Admin,

I transferred to bitcoin wallet of bitcointalk
Pls help me with uploading photos to forum and inserting hyperlink
Thanks for your help

[Quickseller]

As above said, they usually just buy an account to make the thread anyway (and oftentimes they're hacked accounts). Images were only removed in the first place because some idiot was botting the forum with porn. I doubt allowing them to post images will suddenly make them invincible scammers but I'd rather them do it on a fresh account they just bought.

I may just not have enough insight into this but I feel like if I'm a scammer who currently buys accounts, it seems like it would make more sense to now buy the Copper Membership.

I think the price of a copper membership would probably be more than a low level account. If memory serves me right, I was able to sell "member" accounts for the equivalent of roughly $20 worth of BTC (prices were in BTC) in 2014/2015. I paid about $38 worth of bitcoin for my copper membership plus the tx fee.

With both buying an account and buying a copper membership, there is no guarantee you will come out on top if you buy either of these with the intention of using them to scam. If you buy a member account (or a copper membership) with the intention of using this to scam, you will need to steal at least $20 (or $40) just to break even, and if you do not, the value of your investment will presumably go to zero when your scam attempt is exposed, and receive negative trust. In both cases, one can presumably make money in non-scamming ways.

[emile12]

yes i can but you are not and admin ?
how can i do that,   in mp?

Contact me on my hilariousandco account with a signed message.

thanks hilarious for your proposal i just send you a message on your other account

[ibminer]

I think the price of a copper membership would probably be more than a low level account. If memory serves me right, I was able to sell "member" accounts for the equivalent of roughly $20 worth of BTC (prices were in BTC) in 2014/2015. I paid about $38 worth of bitcoin for my copper membership plus the tx fee.

With both buying an account and buying a copper membership, there is no guarantee you will come out on top if you buy either of these with the intention of using them to scam. If you buy a member account (or a copper membership) with the intention of using this to scam, you will need to steal at least $20 (or $40) just to break even, and if you do not, the value of your investment will presumably go to zero when your scam attempt is exposed, and receive negative trust. In both cases, one can presumably make money in non-scamming ways.

If you are only comparing the price... if the title gives them a better chance of successfully scamming for more money, it could be worth the increase?... especially right now when it is a new rank and not even listed or really explained anywhere except this thread. People send coins to accounts that create a new account with a similar name to an escrows or another trusted member, now they have the option to get a new rank and allowing them to put even more spin on how their account is "trusted".

It just seems like this could be helpful to a scammer, maybe eliminating the title and coins under the name could potentially avoid this perception issue while still providing the functionality. Provide the paid option to allow lower restrictions, fine, but is there a need to add the rank to every post, PM, etc. that the account does?

I think it also creates a false perception when a legendary member buys this and gets "Copper Member". If you had clean feedback, you would inaccurately be perceived as more trusted, or at least a higher ranked account than other legendary members who do not have "Copper Member" under their name.


I'm also not sure if you are helping or hurting my argument here... since a lot of people here see you as a scammer (and a good handful seem to think you are an active scammer)... If my argument is valid, you, as a scammer, would not want to lose the copper membership option! 

[Quickseller]

I think the price of a copper membership would probably be more than a low level account. If memory serves me right, I was able to sell "member" accounts for the equivalent of roughly $20 worth of BTC (prices were in BTC) in 2014/2015. I paid about $38 worth of bitcoin for my copper membership plus the tx fee.

With both buying an account and buying a copper membership, there is no guarantee you will come out on top if you buy either of these with the intention of using them to scam. If you buy a member account (or a copper membership) with the intention of using this to scam, you will need to steal at least $20 (or $40) just to break even, and if you do not, the value of your investment will presumably go to zero when your scam attempt is exposed, and receive negative trust. In both cases, one can presumably make money in non-scamming ways.

If you are only comparing the price... if the title gives them a better chance of successfully scamming for more money, it could be worth the increase?... especially right now when it is a new rank and not even listed or really explained anywhere except this thread. People send coins to accounts that create a new account with a similar name to an escrows or another trusted member, now they have the option to get a new rank and allowing them to put even more spin on how their account is "trusted".

If you agree with this premise, then yes. I am not sure this is a good assumption though. All having "copper member" next to your name means is that you donated ~$38 to the forum, which was enough for about a month's worth of hosting in 2011, and is essentially a plaque.

The potential to scam people by creating imposter accounts has decreased due to the content of PMs being sent by new users is not sent via email anymore. Also the cost to create an account called "thermos" is free, while the cost to create an account called "thermos" with a copper member tag is around $40.

maybe eliminating the title and coins under the name could potentially avoid this perception issue while still providing the functionality. Provide the paid option to allow lower restrictions, fine, but is there a need to add the rank to every post, PM, etc. that the account does?

People like to be recognized, and the special title is essentially a recognition that a small amount of money has been donated.  

(and a good handful seem to think you are an active scammer)

I don't think anyone actually believes I am an 'active scammer' -- some people do like to make this claim in order avoid answering questions and/or addressing concerns though.

[FisherHunt]

Oh, good news. Because rank connected with activity and you must wait some time before getting next rank.
Thanks!

[SM23031997]

skip

How hilariousandco have gold membership as I can't see it there?

[TheQuin]

How hilariousandco have gold membership as I can't see it there?

I thought the same but it turns out to be a custom title. As a Global Moderator, I think he can use any title he wishes. I asked above:

I just did it as a bit of a joke because I knew it would pique people's interest and get them excited (or worried if you're an account farmer).

I think a lot of us would be interested in this. I would certainly buy it regardless of what extra perks it gives just to show support for the forum. I was going to get the Copper one but I'm holding out to see what happens. It's just a question of persuading theymos that it is a good idea and enough people want it.

[ibminer]

maybe eliminating the title and coins under the name could potentially avoid this perception issue while still providing the functionality. Provide the paid option to allow lower restrictions, fine, but is there a need to add the rank to every post, PM, etc. that the account does?

People like to be recognized, and the special title is essentially a recognition that a small amount of money has been donated.  

Well this is my issue... is this "fee" supposed to be for recognition, or like theymos stated, is it supposed to be just for enabling a newbie to post images and lift some restrictions?  theymos stated this was not supposed to be recognition of a donation.

[Mars80]

Help me, please, I’m trying to insert a signature, but links are removed.
Is there a problem in the signature or there is some limit?