Open letter to Bruce Wagner

[N12]

And what does this babbling of essentially "LEAVE BRUCY ALONE! " have to do with my criticism that he shouldn’t baselessly hype things up in the manner he did? Read the postings I quoted, he basically contradicted himself.

[Bruce Wagner]

It's easy to see that there are two viewpoints...   clearly defined...

Those who attended.  

and....

Those who did not attend.

It was two completely different experiences.

If you did not attend, I'm sure it was about as lame as it gets.

If you did attend, as many will attest to, and have told me, "It was the most exciting conference I have ever attended."   ....is the typical comment I hear.

Two people looking in opposite directions... who think they are describing the same thing.

Anyway...  I think it will always be a completely different experience for those who do not attend, unfortunately.    After all, if it were the same....  There would be no benefit in getting together in person at all....   Right?

We will do better when it comes to streaming.     As it was happening even....  I was very upset that that was not happening right.    But, we did the best we could with the limited resources and help we had.

Please don't ever expect one of these conferences to be the same experience from home on tv.... as it would be attending one.

Also, I did not create the conferences for the media.   I created them for the developer and user community.    And, in that context, it was an enormous success...  as 100% of the people here who attended are attesting to.

As I said, we don't really need any more media attention at this very moment.   Those of you who think media = profit are so wrong.

We don't need media attention.   We need positive media attention.

And we will get plenty of that...   Once the developers finish all the projects they are working on right now.

The Conference was a tremendous success in aiding those developers...   by allowing them to meet, connect, and begin working closely with others... they can now work synergistically with each other more....   More.... Better... Faster.

As for the two big announcements I had....   I suppose I should have said what happened.    One of them got tabled.   I decided, after getting more and more feedback on the idea...  that I should postpone announcing it.   It's just too big....   and too risky...   for the moment.    But that idea might come back.   We'll see.

The other --- second --- big announcement was...   three more Conferences....  and a World Cruise.      Personally, I think that IS HUGE.    Don't you?   ( Please only answer if you attended this Conference.... so you have some real world frame of reference. )

Since then, I have already said that I am now working on adding 10 other cities to that list....  12 Cities Worldwide in Total.    Yes, this is going to be enormous.    But I don't need to tell you.   I'll show you.   You'll see.    I love a challenge.    

As for The Bitcoin Show...  I wasn't going to say anything...  But...  I'll have a little surprise for you....   within the next 2 days...    Stay tuned.

[BitcoinStars.com]

Bruce thank you for your contribution to the Bitcoin community

[The_Duke]

Those.... who did... not... attend, clearly... have no idea... what a real... conference is. 50... nerds.... without... any... media attention... is simply... a HUGE SUCCESS... So all... shut up... and join my... cruise to... the holy land of... PATTAYA!

[FlipPro]

The cruise is actually a great Idea Bruce.

Advantages are:

Easy conference access for many who can't afford to fly and stay at a hotel.
Free food for the entire stay we are there. Huge savings on a typical expense.
Various different meeting facilities so that we can diversify our meetings ( assuming that we will indeed be renting out these facilities )
Comfortable rooms at much cheaper prices than we would pay at traditional hotels.

The only problem I see with the cruise is Internet access. From previous cruises I have been on I can confirm that the prices for Wifi are ridiculous. Now if you can arrange a group Internet package for us and all of the above I think the cruise might be the most viable option for me and many other Bitcoiners who might be thinking about saving as their number one priority.

Thank you for the work that you do!

[The_Duke]

The cruise is actually a great Idea Bruce.

Advantages are:

Easy conference access for many who can't afford to fly and stay at a hotel.
Free food for the entire stay we are there. Huge savings on a typical expense.
Various different meeting facilities so that we can diversify our meetings ( assuming that we will indeed be renting out these facilities )
Comfortable rooms at much cheaper prices than we would pay at traditional hotels.

You missed one:
Anyone who does not agree with FlipPro can be tossed overboard!

[Piper67]

It's easy to see that there are two viewpoints...   clearly defined...

Those who attended.  

and....

Those who did not attend.

It was two completely different experiences.

If you did not attend, I'm sure it was about as lame as it gets.

If you did attend, as many will attest to, and have told me, "It was the most exciting conference I have ever attended."   ....is the typical comment I hear.

Two people looking in opposite directions... who think they are describing the same thing.

Anyway...  I think it will always be a completely different experience for those who do not attend, unfortunately.    After all, if it were the same....  There would be no benefit in getting together in person at all....   Right?

We will do better when it comes to streaming.     As it was happening even....  I was very upset that that was not happening right.    But, we did the best we could with the limited resources and help we had.

Please don't ever expect one of these conferences to be the same experience from home on tv.... as it would be attending one.

Also, I did not create the conferences for the media.   I created them for the developer and user community.    And, in that context, it was an enormous success...  as 100% of the people here who attended are attesting to.

As I said, we don't really need any more media attention at this very moment.   Those of you who think media = profit are so wrong.

We don't need media attention.   We need positive media attention.

And we will get plenty of that...   Once the developers finish all the projects they are working on right now.

The Conference was a tremendous success in aiding those developers...   by allowing them to meet, connect, and begin working closely with others... they can now work synergistically with each other more....   More.... Better... Faster.

As for the two big announcements I had....   I suppose I should have said what happened.    One of them got tabled.   I decided, after getting more and more feedback on the idea...  that I should postpone announcing it.   It's just too big....   and too risky...   for the moment.    But that idea might come back.   We'll see.

The other --- second --- big announcement was...   three more Conferences....  and a World Cruise.      Personally, I think that IS HUGE.    Don't you?   ( Please only answer if you attended this Conference.... so you have some real world frame of reference. )

Since then, I have already said that I am now working on adding 10 other cities to that list....  12 Cities Worldwide in Total.    Yes, this is going to be enormous.    But I don't need to tell you.   I'll show you.   You'll see.    I love a challenge.    

As for The Bitcoin Show...  I wasn't going to say anything...  But...  I'll have a little surprise for you....   within the next 2 days...    Stay tuned.

No no... I have a third viewpoint. I'm sure the conference was really good for those who attended, and its effects will also be really good for those who didn't. I do feel the lack of media coverage was a minus, which is why I'm hoping for some serious PR effort to get going to help bring Bitcoin to the media in a more concerted way.

My only beef with the conference was the lack of contact with the outside world during it. Think of the opportunities missed just by not having two way communication between those in attendance and those of us (hundreds, probably thousands) who were desperately trying, but were unable to watch and interact with the conference. We might have asked questions of the speakers that sparked an entirely new line of thinking. We could have offered ideas, expertise. One of us might have taken that video feed and rolled it into an article for a blog, or for a media outlet.

So, a successful conference, with lots to learn for the future. Third viewpoint.

[the founder]

I think it was a success... 

I met some good people there.    Bruce did a decent job regarding it being the ALPHA / FIRST / bitcoin conference.

For some reason people believe that the first is going to be like the second... whereas in the second you learned from the first. I know Bruce will sort out any of the bugs in the first conference and apply that knowledge to the second.

I can say that the demand was high enough to justify a second conference...   this is something worth while.   Considering what the topic is...

You guys tend to forget that bitcoins were invented in 600 days ago....  and didn't even have mainstream media attention until 200 days ago.

[The_Duke]

For some reason people believe that the first is going to be like the second...

Not at all. For the first, most people gave Bruce the benefit of the doubt and still believed his hyping was a sign of something majoy going to happen. Whereas for the second, we all know exactly what to expect and we know only to expect about 2% of what Bruce is actually claiming.

[defxor]

Can we please stop calling it a conference? It's like calling my daughter's pink tricycle a Harley.

I guess I go to slightly over a dozen conferences a year. Half as a keynote speaker, half "just" attending.

How many do you go to? I'm really interested, since you seem to be such an expert.

[bitstarter]

...all this arguing is childish and makes Bitcoin look bad .... if you are one of them complaining then WHY DON'T YOU PUT THE NEXT CONFERENCE together! 

We all live in this bitcoin community and we all bring in different skills/perspectives and ways about  making bitcoins the biggest thing since slice bread!  - we have miners, we have entrepreneurs, we investors, we have kids, moms ...ladies ... to pick on Bruce is just ridiculous. Just leave him alone! 

[Nagle]

As for the two big announcements I had....   I suppose I should have said what happened.    One of them got tabled.   I decided, after getting more and more feedback on the idea...  that I should postpone announcing it.   It's just too big....   and too risky...   for the moment.    But that idea might come back.   We'll see.

Big ideas are easy. Execution is hard. Based on this guy's track record...

The other --- second --- big announcement was...   three more Conferences....  and a World Cruise.      Personally, I think that IS HUGE.    Don't you?  

No. 

[Otoh]

...

As for the two big announcements I had....   I suppose I should have said what happened.    One of them got tabled.   I decided, after getting more and more feedback on the idea...  that I should postpone announcing it.   It's just too big....   and too risky...   for the moment.    But that idea might come back.   We'll see.

The other --- second --- big announcement was...   three more Conferences....  and a World Cruise.      Personally, I think that IS HUGE.    Don't you?   ( Please only answer if you attended this Conference.... so you have some real world frame of reference. )

...

Nope I don't think this is in the slightest bit HUGE more like totally LAME & re first para about bloody time to fes up to that pump & dump crap, btw I just sold my full holdings of BTC at a few % loss which is np as I'll buy back in when they continue to tank to mining costs or under mostly because of this fiasco

'Only peeps who were at the conference are able to comment' lol - well bollocks to that Commander BS hyper drive

[Bruce Wagner]

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

[bitstarter]

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

+1 isn't this close to defimation /slander toward you by a group of children?

[FAtlas]

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

If you posted that on somethingawful.com (a forum full of children), you'd be probated for child-like abuse of ellipses.

[JeffK]

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

If you think.... a couple of people.... posting from another forum... are causing the destruction of these forums (you're wrong)

[repentance]

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

If you posted that on somethingawful.com (a forum full of children), you'd be probated for child-like abuse of ellipses.

If he posted his hype about up-coming announcements on SomethingAwful he'd be toxx claused.

[Otoh]

I believe in free speech and I abhor censorship.

At the same time...

It so saddens me to see the degradation.... nearly to the point of destruction.... of these forums.... by the concerted efforts of 1 or 2 children (from somethingaweful.com) who think it's humorous to pretend to be adults... with the sole intent of aggravating people... and disrupting real conversation... among real adults.

It's simply vandalism of these forums by children....  and it is sad.

All we hear is radio ga ga. Radio goo goo.

my peepee go wheee!

just in case your paranoica included me, for the record my DOB is in 1955 & I'm nothing what so ever to do with SA.com, I put a lot of money in to BTC because I believe it's great, I just cashed it all out at a modest loss just from your recent goings on -  btw your bitcon '12 locs have hustler writ large all over them, gl with that ~ kiddo

[FAtlas]

Take a hint Bruce-- the somethingawful forums may go overboard in their attempts at stalking or vandalizing, and maybe for the sake of comedy they are overly judgmental (they've been less than half right about me even though I learned from it), but not everything they say could possibly all be lies.

Somethingawful also has a short memory and will totally flip back over to loving Bruce if he plays his cards right.  He should make some youtube videos showing off his sick juggling skills or something.