Attention Theymos: This is a sMerit holdup! Hands in the air!

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I keep track:
<snip>

Damn, you're good.  Thanks for that info, I appreciate it.

Skeptical Chymist

Thank you.

As for Theymos opinion on the current state of affairs, I also doubt that he will say anything, since I am almost sure that it is easier for him to update the list of merit sources than to talk about it.

He hasn't said anything in a post, but today he tapped at least one new merit source (NotATether) and upped the sMerit allocation of existing sources.  I got airdropped 1000 sMerits a few minutes ago with a PM from Theymos that was sent to other merit sources as well, so there should be a lot more merits in circulation thanks to his actions.  It's a great outcome, and as I like being a merit source and take the position seriously, I'm elated to have gotten all of those sMerits.

[1714043935]

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[LoyceV]

He hasn't said anything in a post, but today he tapped at least one new merit source (NotATether) and upped the sMerit allocation of existing sources.  I got airdropped 1000 sMerits a few minutes ago with a PM from Theymos that was sent to other merit sources as well, so there should be a lot more merits in circulation thanks to his actions.  It's a great outcome, and as I like being a merit source and take the position seriously, I'm elated to have gotten all of those sMerits.

My source sMerit wasn't adjusted, so it's not a generic increase like last time. I didn't need more, so that's fine.
There used to be 97 Merit sources, now it's:

There are 111 merit sources with a total merit generation of up to 34139 sMerit per 30 days

[icopress]

[..]

For some reason, it seemed to me that public appeals to Theymos were absolutely useless, at least due to the fact that for a very long time the number of sources and the total amount of sMerits remained unchanged, (and I have not seen anyone in their own thread say that the appeal has been heard). Anyway, congratulations ... now you have more room to maneuver when evaluating posts (without getting hung up on the sMerit meter).

My source sMerit wasn't adjusted, so it's not a generic increase like last time. I didn't need more, so that's fine.

What time stamp are we talking about? ^{[As I said earlier, apart from recent changes, over the past year and a half I have not seen the number of m'sources change]}

[LoyceV]

My source sMerit wasn't adjusted, so it's not a generic increase like last time. I didn't need more, so that's fine.

What time stamp are we talking about? ^{[As I said earlier, apart from recent changes, over the past year and a half I have not seen the number of m'sources change]}

We're talking about the same time stamp

[amishmanish]

Thanks for taking this up TP and Thanks to Theymos for upgrading the merit sources. There is quite enough to go around and the forum has not been garnering as much attention as it used to. The increased merit will allow us to encourage and help rank up the good contributors we all see but don't have enough merit to disburse to at times. So, not a problem any more. 

And besides, there are plenty of members who've just straight-up disappeared since the pandemic started--like xtraelv, TMAN, Flying Hellfish, Vod, and probably many more that either I can't remember or didn't know of at all.

Sceptical Chymist ^{[Just for reference]} ... If you have a desire, you can always contact Vod by mail (as far as I know, he is always happy to exchange a few words). As for xtraelv, I think he will not scold me if I say that everything is fine with him ... he leads a more active lifestyle than many of us, and in his free time he works to refute the lies that CSW has been telling for years, (at least that was the case a couple of weeks ago).

Its good to know about Vod and xtraelv. His signature was one of the best sources of historically interesting and important information on Bitcoin. Thanks for the update icopress. Nobody has an update on @TMAN yet. I think @Lauda would have had some idea. Then again, those two really were part of the old guard so its possible that they didn't have any idea of each other's real world identities.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

For some reason, it seemed to me that public appeals to Theymos were absolutely useless, at least due to the fact that for a very long time the number of sources and the total amount of sMerits remained unchanged, (and I have not seen anyone in their own thread say that the appeal has been heard).

I'm not taking credit for Theymos's response, but I did want to say that sometimes you just have to be a very squeaky wheel in order to get greased, know what I'm saying?  And I know damn well Theymos reads threads on the forum and in particular in Meta, so it was disheartening that all of those merit source applications were going unanswered, in addition to my plea for more sMerits. 

So yeah, I'm still happy he took heed of our posts and decided to increase the number of circulating merits.  Hopefully the new merit sources will do a good job--I know at least one of them (LeGaulois) got tapped to be a source without applying. 

[icopress]

Nobody has an update on @TMAN yet. I think @Lauda would have had some idea. Then again, those two really were part of the old guard so its possible that they didn't have any idea of each other's real world identities.

I'm not quite clear what you mean by Lauda's idea, but ... I have repeatedly seen TMAN mentioned in this context, so I think if someone with whom he traded on the forum had a connection with him, we would have known the reason for his absence long ago.

p.s. And as I understand by "old guard" you mean adherents of crypto-anarchism?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Nobody has an update on @TMAN yet. I think @Lauda would have had some idea. Then again, those two really were part of the old guard so its possible that they didn't have any idea of each other's real world identities.

I'm not quite clear what you mean by Lauda's idea

I think amishmanish thinks Lauda and TMAN knew each other's identities, but I find that unlikely.  Lauda was extremely private, and as far as I know never gave clues to his/her identity--but if anyone would know it, it would probably be Theymos. 

p.s. And as I understand by "old guard" you mean adherents of crypto-anarchism?

I don't want to speak for amishmanish again, but I'm pretty sure by "old guard" he means long-time members of bitcointalk.  Amishmanish registered in 2017, so both Lauda and TMAN probably seem like they've been around since the beginning, even though they both registered in April 2013 (4 days apart, which I never realized....hmmm).  Come to think of it, they might know each others' identities quite well. 

[suchmoon]

I don't want to speak for amishmanish again, but I'm pretty sure by "old guard" he means long-time members of bitcointalk.  Amishmanish registered in 2017, so both Lauda and TMAN probably seem like they've been around since the beginning, even though they both registered in April 2013 (4 days apart, which I never realized....hmmm).  Come to think of it, they might know each others' identities quite well. 

TMAN traded on the forum quite a lot so his identity is probably known to some folks, particularly in collectibles. Not that it matters really. If someone leaves quietly and doesn't owe anyone, why would we need to know anything about them or the circumstances of their departure.

[ShowOff]

Come to think of it, they might know each others' identities quite well. 

They seem to know each other, but only they can confirm it. I read some of TMAN's post history, it seems true that they know each other. https://ninjastic.space/search?author=TMAN&content=Lauda. Some of TMAN's post about lauda made me laugh. 

If someone leaves quietly and doesn't owe anyone, why would we need to know anything about them or the circumstances of their departure.

These two don't owe anyone anything, maybe that's true but both are worth remembering on the forum. Afaik, maybe people are still thinking about it because TMAN and Lauda are two good contributors to the forum and it make some of us very curious about what, why and how thing are out there.

[FIFA worldcup]

My source sMerit wasn't adjusted, so it's not a generic increase like last time. I didn't need more, so that's fine.
There used to be 97 Merit sources, now it's:

There are 111 merit sources with a total merit generation of up to 34139 sMerit per 30 days

Upon looking at the link, it only shows the total number of Merit sources and not the exact names of who are these 111 Merit sources. Perhaps the name is hidden so people don't flood their inbox for merits. Fair enough.

34000+ sMerits is quite a good number. Do we have a measure that these all merits are distrusted monthly before the new bag of smerit is handed over to the merit sources for next month ?

[The Sceptical Chymist]

I read some of TMAN's post history, it seems true that they know each other. https://ninjastic.space/search?author=TMAN&content=Lauda. Some of TMAN's post about lauda made me laugh. 

Yeah, they were both very colorful members to put it mildly--and honestly I'm a bit disappointed that they both disappeared, because they tended to make the forum a much more interesting place.  Lauda was a straight-up drama hound (in a way that I always found entertaining), and TMAN was just funny as hell with some of the stuff he wrote.

By the way, I might be off base in making this statement, as I haven't checked Lauda's merit history but he was pretty stingy as far as handing them out, and I'm pretty sure he was particularly ungenerous toward lower-ranked members, whom he viewed as the root cause of a lot of the forum's issues with low-value posts.  TMAN, on the other hand, would drop 50 merits at a time and I think he was a merit source.  Not sure if Lauda was one, though I'm sure someone here knows.

[icopress]

[..]

Skeptical Chymist, I will not argue about Lauda's stinginess, since I did not go into the details of his earlier smerit activity, but I can say one thing for sure ... on his last day on the forum, he was quite generous, meriting the posts of all who decided to say goodbye to him. And even though his last publication received a lot of merit, he had something to send, since it is unlikely that when assigning m'sources, Theymos could ignore such a famous name.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Wow, I thought I'd locked this thread a long time ago, but I guess I hadn't.

Anyway, I'm bumping it because once again I'm going to publicly plead with Theymos for more sMerits.  I never thought I'd run out of earned ones, as I had over 500 of them and my source sMerits kept refilling nicely and I was able to make it through each month without even coming close to using them all up.

However, since I created that thread in Meta with my rules for post history reviews (not going to link to it, lol), I've used up all of my sMerits, and the PMs keep coming in.  I hate to offer something only to put people on a waiting list for it within two days, but that's exactly what happened.

So Theymos, I humbly ask you to either give me a one-time injection of sMerits or to increase my monthly allowance.  And note that I blew through about 700 sMerits within 3 days or so.  I don't think I'm going to continue at that pace, but I definitely could use some help right now. 

I hope you see this, and I thank you whatever your decision is.

[TheBeardedBaby]

Instead of waiting, make a list with those who deserve smerit and let us know,  I'm sure there are people willing to help. I managed to collect some smerit as well and I can give a hand,  just send me the links

[philipma1957]

Wow, I thought I'd locked this thread a long time ago, but I guess I hadn't.

Anyway, I'm bumping it because once again I'm going to publicly plead with Theymos for more sMerits.  I never thought I'd run out of earned ones, as I had over 500 of them and my source sMerits kept refilling nicely and I was able to make it through each month without even coming close to using them all up.

However, since I created that thread in Meta with my rules for post history reviews (not going to link to it, lol), I've used up all of my sMerits, and the PMs keep coming in.  I hate to offer something only to put people on a waiting list for it within two days, but that's exactly what happened.

So Theymos, I humbly ask you to either give me a one-time injection of sMerits or to increase my monthly allowance.  And note that I blew through about 700 sMerits within 3 days or so.  I don't think I'm going to continue at that pace, but I definitely could use some help right now. 

I hope you see this, and I thank you whatever your decision is.

here are a few 27 to be exact.

[Timelord2o67]

I just thought I'd mention here that it is a condition of meriting in the Known Alts of any-one - A User Generated List ^{Mk IV} thread that you are attesting that you have verified that the evidence presented in the post is correct.

(It's in the fine print - (as agreed through consensus in the Mk III thread) - in a post that was last edited on the first of July, 2022)

• If you merit an investigation, you are asserting that you have verified the contents of the other person's investigation to be correct.

I only mention this because I've just noticed that you've merited one investigator five times with six merits a piece (i.e. 30 merits) while seemingly shunning other investigators whose posts are of equal quality.

Anyway, I'm bumping it because once again I'm going to publicly plead with Theymos for more sMerits.

You're not a merit source?

How interesting.

[suchmoon]

You're not a merit source?

How interesting.

Of course The Pharmacist is a merit source, otherwise why ask theymos for more sMerits.

You had time to derail the thread with unrelated garbage but didn't have time to read it (or at least the OP). How interesting (not really).

you made me a merit source

BTW setting conditions in your thread for how other users should send merits is absurd.

[LoyceV]

I've just noticed that you've merited one investigator five times with six merits a piece (i.e. 30 merits) while seemingly shunning other investigators whose posts are of equal quality.

The Pharmacist doesn't Merit "investigators", he merits users' posts. That's a difference. If you look at his sent Merit history, you'll see he Merited several users several times in a row. That means he checks their post history (see Rules for my post history review offer to the community) and doesn't necessarily read or check the rest of the topic.

BTW setting conditions in your thread for how other users should send merits is absurd.

Agreed.

[Timelord2o67]

is absurd.

Agreed.

Investigators who merit other Investigators research are giving Campaign Managers (and anyone else that requires verification of the information) an assurance that the research is sound not just that two or more UID's are Alts, but if the evidence is uncovered, we also report that they have scamed or are in breach of the terms of campaigns that participants have signed up for.

Ordinarily I would also merit their work, however I read once that the OP of a thread shouldn't necessarily merit posts as it might be seen as in some way "buying" comments.


Merit dumping sounds lazy.

... So does trying to justify it ...