Are smear campains and character assasination OK on these forums?

[The Madhatter]

Agreed.  In my opinion, Bruce has gone from being mostly neutral for Bitcoin's image to being an enormous liability.  The community should distance itself from him and not allow him to act as a spokesperson anymore.

+1

This is the biggest problem I have as well. This will surely tarnish Bitcoin's image. I wonder if any press is going to pick up on this. Hurm.

[wolftaur]

Agreed.  In my opinion, Bruce has gone from being mostly neutral for Bitcoin's image to being an enormous liability.  The community should distance itself from him and not allow him to act as a spokesperson anymore.

+1

This is the biggest problem I have as well. This will surely tarnish Bitcoin's image. I wonder if any press is going to pick up on this. Hurm.

No reputable paper would want to print this. It's inviting one hell of a lawsuit. Internet accusations with no proof, interspersed with multiple posts from multiple people (myself included) pointing out there's no proof... A journalist would find it nearly impossible to claim in court they were convinced the accusations were from credible and informed sources.

At least Bruce would recoup the losses he had with mybitcoin if that happened though.

[Gerken]

I too believe thats the problem. All the attacks started when Bruce said publicy that he was gay.

Meh. Most of the dirt was dug up by SA forum members, and they knew or at least strongly suspected he was gay well before then. The reason you didn't hear about it was that no-one really gave a fuck. (You'll note I also actually defended Bruce in a thread that used insinuations based on the fact he was gay to try and discredit him, prior to this new information coming out.)

This bothers me a bit, I just want to make this clear.  I've been a part of the SA thread from the beginning, and we've known he's gay for a long time, and nobody cares, it's a nonissue.  I haven't seen any attacks from anyone on either forum for him being gay (minus the sporadic ignoramus who is quickly shut down).  We actually for the most part liked Bruce, he was just so adorable in a dumb puppy way, with his POSITIVE ENERGY ONLY and UP UP UP!  This whole thing with Pattaya and his fierce determination to hold a conf there, and how adamant he was about the "THERES NO CHILD SEX OR DRUGS IN THAILAND" is what did him in and started the digging into his past. 

[Littleshop]

The fact that we allow posts like:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=38916.0

without banning is just absurd to me. 

[makomk]

This bothers me a bit, I just want to make this clear.  I've been a part of the SA thread from the beginning, and we've known he's gay for a long time, and nobody cares, it's a nonissue.  I haven't seen any attacks from anyone on either forum for him being gay (minus the sporadic ignoramus who is quickly shut down).

Thanks! That's pretty much what I was trying to say, but you managed to word it a hell of a lot better than I did...

[lettucebee]

The fact that we allow posts like:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=38916.0

without banning is just absurd to me. 

I disagree. Of all the hotels Bruce could invite bitcoiners to, why must he choose the flaming gay one?  I don't want bitcoin to be associated with flaming gayness.  It has enough of a burden already.  Why should people be banned for bringing up the obvious?

[Chris Acheson]

I don't want bitcoin to be associated with flaming gayness.

Die in a fire.

[Yuusha]

I don't want bitcoin to be associated with flaming gayness.

Die in a fire.

This.

[jackjack]

Report it instead

[elggawf]

I disagree. Of all the hotels Bruce could invite bitcoiners to, why must he choose the flaming gay one?

He didn't, he chose the gay-friendly one. Who knows, maybe he's a regular there, and knows a guy? That thread is flamebait because of the language and the insinuations used. It's not even like the other accusations - Bruce's own ambiguous words, his vehement defending of Pattaya as a destination, etc - that thread 100% boils down to "He's gay, wants to go to gay hotel, and some Bitcoiners are underage == Bruce is a pedo". That's fucking bullshit and everyone who supports that asshole should die in a fire. He may be proven "right" eventually, but the accusations (nanaimogold and warweed both) made bore no proof whatsoever, and nanaimogold's idiotic response of "homophobia? i'm not scared of homos!" is retarded on a grand scale.

The other accusations are legit - Bruce has apparently posted some stuff that even if not pedo in nature are still downright creepy, and since he did arise somehow a leader of the community, the community has a right to ask him what's up. As I said, the label "pedo" is really sticky, and I hate people throwing it around lightly.

That's why I personally think it best to stick to the things that are provable, and ask them to be explained.

[greyhawk]

The fact that we allow posts like:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=38916.0

without banning is just absurd to me. 

You're calling for increased regulation while at the same time promoting a site with "Anarchy" in the name?

How does this even work?   

[Littleshop]

The fact that we allow posts like:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=38916.0

without banning is just absurd to me. 

You're calling for increased regulation while at the same time promoting a site with "Anarchy" in the name?

How does this even work?   

And this again shows the EXACT problem with the forums here.

You just attacked me and distracted from the original topic of the conversation. 

The topic is smear campaigns and character assassination.  And I pointed out one of the worst messages that has been allowed to stand.  I am indeed for admins taking action in this case of the above message. 

[greyhawk]

You're calling for increased regulation while at the same time promoting a site with "Anarchy" in the name?

How does this even work?   

And this again shows the EXACT problem with the forums here.

You just attacked me and distracted from the original topic of the conversation. 

The topic is smear campaigns and character assassination.  And I pointed out one of the worst messages that has been allowed to stand.  I am indeed for admins taking action in this case of the above message. 
[/quote]

Your insinuation of an attack is a clear attempt at character assassination. All I was doing was asking a simple question.

[FAtlas]

So, let's just pretend that Bruce insisting on Pattaya as a conference location isn't really suspicious.

What about this article claiming that Bruce was involved in mortgage fraud in Illinois?
http://mortgagefraudblog.com/perp-walk/item/10674-illinois_foreclosure_rescue_company_fined_and_shut_down

Is it really a smear campaign when you're just reposting stuff that is freely available for everyone on the internet to read if they look closely enough?

[bbit]

par for the course I would say:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=40340.0

[someotherguy]

This is a question I have to ask, I've just started going over the absolute fiasco that is the whole Bruce Wagner smear campain. I'd pm'd theymos (admin) about a post on this topic and he's OK with this.

Should we allow the bitcoin forums to become a place where someones sexuality comes under question (and is used in an attempt to smear a person)?

It's even gotten to the point where he's being accused of being a pedophile, this is the ultimate slur and character killer that, if it takes hold (which it has) is is totally destructive.

Should we as a community allow the kinds of "We'll he hasn't denied being a pedo therefor he's guilty" shit that's going on.

And it's not even direct accusations just things like "he's connected with ...", things that are technically true (he is connected because he's been accused of it).

Do we really want to let this witchunt become a part of our community?

I don't know Bruce personally, I've talked a little with him over skype about things where I am regarding bitcoin and thats it. I don't even watch his show.

I've just browsed over the threads but haven't come across any hard evidence, so unless said evidence appears should we not put an end to this line of discussion?

Nefario.

Thank you for your support and service, it did not go unnoticed.  However, I think you should reconsider.