You know you have made it on the forum when...

[Ambatman]

There are some people I suppose who are super chill and dont pressure themselves with
being classed as high achievers and others who set high goals for themselves.

In terms of our public forum what are your goals if any and have they been realised?
would it be any of the following?

I think it would be waking up and realising I'm Satoshi
Yeah let the man dream.
Or finding a Cat woman (definitely don't mind me) or renaming Bitcointalk Gotham.

If I have to pick though I would say having the VIP badge.

[Welsh]

For me its theymos saying "Welsh, you're the greatest thing since slice bread" ...any day now.



Actually anyone saying that would be great

[Churchillvv]

There is no success in Bitcointalk.org!!! Bitcointalk forum is not your real life.

You think you’re successful here ? Then go out and screen I made it in Bitcointalk and see how many people gives a fuck about you.

So anyone believing that reaching a certain goal in this forum or level in the forum makes you successful, then you must be in the very darkness.

JayJuanGee has a high level of knowledge and a level of credit in this forum but has never been invited on a podcast to discuss his knowledge.

This should tell you that success here is not success out there, so don’t put your goal here above learning and sharing knowledge.

[TokenTikas]

In terms of our public forum what are your goals if any and have they been realised?

Important thing about the forum is that it brings together different kinds of people from different places and creates a space where everyone can share information with each other. It feels just like when you sit and spend time with friends, that same kind of vibe comes while I’m on the forum. As long as I stay here, it feels like I’m part of a circle where everyone is together, discussing and sharing ideas freely.

From this forum, I don’t really have any big expectations but I want to learn and also share what I know so we can all help each other and build a good reputation. For now, I’ve crossed 100 merit and I’m on the way to the next step. I believe that with time, I will rank up and reach a better position.

[mindrust]

Those who have 10k merits and other big stats are mostly (not saying all of them) the ones have no other serious job. The forum is probably the only source of revenue for them and that's why they are gaming it hard...
~snip~

Have you looked at the list of those with 10 000+ merits? There may be one or two members who might be in the category you describe, but I'm sure that @LoyceV, @fillippone, @theymos, @nutildah or @TryNinja and some others are not among them. The forum cannot be the main and only source of income for these members, especially if we take into account how much such a member can earn in a sig campaign today.

If we take inflation into account, $100 or $125 a week has perhaps half the purchasing power it had 5-6 years ago. Besides, these are mostly people from the EU or the US where life is quite expensive.

I don’t think they are posting for $100/week as I heard at least some of them doing custom deals with the services they are promoting. (I confirmed this at least on one occasion) Sometimes one deal for the avatar, one deal for the signature, one deal for the personal text.

It is weird that you are one of the oldies and still thinking they are getting paid at the same rate as the rest of the others.

Also, even at $500/month that’s somewhat minimum wage in Eastern Europe I believe. It is not that bad and It is probably not $500/month.

But hey, not like I am jelly or something , I got so much other work to do and I don’t understand why you replied at all besides the wrong assumptions you made. I haven’t said anything negative about them. On the contrary I said the forum needs them.

[Yablee0]

There are some people I suppose who are super chill and dont pressure themselves with
being classed as high achievers and others who set high goals for themselves.

In terms of our public forum what are your goals if any and have they been realised?
would it be any of the following?

become a moderator
become a master pumpkin carver
known as the unofficial/official coding guru or other guru
get a pm directly from theymos
get invited to a prestigious signature campaign
cross 10,000 merit
cross 100 merit

interesting to hear what peoples perceptions are....

The forum has been one amazing place I have ever been throughout my life experience and I will say it for free that I have enjoyed every single seconds spent here.  

However, the main reason I should say i have made it here in the forum is because i have learned so much from a well reputable members , things I wasn't aware of before coming on board. The forum has thought me how to be financially bouyant through Bitcoin investment and other stuffs including privacy and security, Indeed the forum is just the best place to be.

[Betwrong]

There are some people I suppose who are super chill and dont pressure themselves with
being classed as high achievers and others who set high goals for themselves.

In terms of our public forum what are your goals if any and have they been realised?
would it be any of the following?

become a moderator
become a master pumpkin carver
known as the unofficial/official coding guru or other guru
get a pm directly from theymos
get invited to a prestigious signature campaign
cross 10,000 merit
cross 100 merit

For me, it’s getting invited to a prestigious signature campaign—not just accepted, but actually invited by a manager. It’s happened to me four times already. I even turned down two invites because I was working for another prestigious signature campaign at the time. Still, I said it was an honor, and it really was. Hitting 100 merit was a big deal for me too, as far as I remember.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Ever since I joined the forum I have had one goal and one goal only.  That goal was to reach 6200 merit by April 30th of 2026.  I must admit that with only four hours to go I am extremely nervous about whether or not my time on this forum has been a complete failure.  What else is there if not the 6200 merit by April 30th of 2026 goal?  Should I just delete my account?

 
That's why I love this forum for such posts. A place where some people are so alive and real that even offline, when meeting people, it's difficult to get loud laughter and spilled coffee at once .

I admit, I came by accident, accidentally found out about the forum, and then decided to participate in the bounty, but I quickly realized that it's not worth it here.

A lot has happened to me in eight years, including the ban and the offer of a position that many people dream of, but for me it was not the goal, as well as merits and so on.

Nevertheless, I love the forum because I get to know people here; I get to know them by their habits, behavior, personalities, and everything related to psychology, which is also read not only in posts but also between the lines.

Before this forum, I also spent a very long time talking on another forum where the expression "benefit or contribute" was not meaningful; perhaps that's why some people live without the stress of the obligation to "contribute" but just do something selflessly.

In addition to the general topic of the forum, I am very glad that I have the opportunity to communicate with people who are far from me but very close to my worldview.

[AVE5]

As much as I can give commendations to myself, I can proudly boost about my level of knowledge in bitcoin, crypto currencies and the blockchain technologies to be added credits to me because, I've been able to exploit the blockchain horizons with all that knowledges acquired.
Kudos to the bitcointalk forum because it has really illuminated my paths from the scratch as a NEWBIE member up to the SENIOR member ranked. And with my anticipations and focus, I also long to reach the LEGENDARY member which is the highest rank of users in the community but before then, getting to the HERO member at the moment is what I'm pursuing and so on I'm exploring with some basic techniques about the blockchain.

[Rikafip]

Those who have 10k merits and other big stats are mostly (not saying all of them) the ones have no other serious job. The forum is probably the only source of revenue for them and that's why they are gaming it hard...

Every forum (meaning those where you can't earn anything too) has its own power users who spend an unhealthy amount of time on it, and bitcointalk is no different in that regard.

Also, if bitcointalk is someone's only source of income, it makes much more sense to create an alt account farm than to focus all your time on a single account.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

I don’t think anything really confirms ‘you’ve made it on the forum’

It’s just a great place to learn and interact with likeminded individuals. It’s still fairly early in Bitcoin’s lifespan so just to be here after not even 20 years since the first block was mined is quite incredible.

[mindrust]

Those who have 10k merits and other big stats are mostly (not saying all of them) the ones have no other serious job. The forum is probably the only source of revenue for them and that's why they are gaming it hard...

Every forum (meaning those where you can't earn anything too) has its own power users who spend an unhealthy amount of time on it, and bitcointalk is no different in that regard.

Also, if bitcointalk is someone's only source of income, it makes much more sense to create an alt account farm than to focus all your time on a single account.

You probably mean to create an anonymous alt farm to cheat campaigns. If that so, The reality is the exact opposite what people think...

First option:

One can create an alt farm of 2-3 accounts, or maybe even 5 if he is willing to put time in it, declare all of his alts publicly and join multiple campaigns at the same time and output 200 posts a week...

And he will be fine. It is the smart way if you are not time constrained.

Second option:

No alts. Create one mega account and make custom deals.

The original and cleanest way of making fat stacks.

Third option:

Going full pirate. Creating multiple alt accs... Lies, deceits, trying to join the same campaign with multiple accs, cheating promos, outright scamming people with loan offers... "Gimme 0.5 btc I'll return it a week later 1 btc, no collaterals my moma is sick"

Totally unsustainable, huge risk for mediocre returns. The retarded way.

[Rikafip]

First option:
One can create an alt farm of 2-3 accounts, or maybe even 5 if he is willing to put time in it, declare all of his alts publicly and join multiple campaigns at the same time and output 200 posts a week...[/u]

Yet there are no farms like that are currently being active. At least that I know of. 

Second option:
No alts. Create one mega account and make custom deals.

And make what, $150-$200 per week while busting your balls? Also, not many have the capabilty to do that even if they have all the time in the world, while its much easier to have 3 accounts, shitpost on gambling board and make ~$100 per week with each account.

Third option:
Going full pirate. Creating multiple alt accs... Lies, deceits, trying to join the same campaign with multiple accs, cheating promos, outright scamming people with loan offers... "Gimme 0.5 btc I'll return it a week later 1 btc, no collaterals my moma is sick

It is retarded, yet that's how its been done, as it bring the most amount of money in the easiest way possible due combination of abundance of signature campaigns spots and too much merit going around.

[Lucius]

I don’t think they are posting for $100/week as I heard at least some of them doing custom deals with the services they are promoting. (I confirmed this at least on one occasion) Sometimes one deal for the avatar, one deal for the signature, one deal for the personal text.

It is weird that you are one of the oldies and still thinking they are getting paid at the same rate as the rest of the others.

Also, even at $500/month that’s somewhat minimum wage in Eastern Europe I believe. It is not that bad and It is probably not $500/month.

But hey, not like I am jelly or something , I got so much other work to do and I don’t understand why you replied at all besides the wrong assumptions you made. I haven’t said anything negative about them. On the contrary I said the forum needs them.

It's not that I don't know about custom deals, but even such deals don't bring in the kind of income that would allow them to be on the forum all day and do nothing else in their lives. As for minimum wages, they are still a little more than $500 per month, unless you're thinking of Ukraine, Russia, and countries outside the EU.

Considering that I know where 90% of those who have over 10k merits come from, I can tell you that they can't make a living just typing on this forum.

As for my answer, I could also ask you a question: why did you decide to write your first post in this topic if you already have so much important work to do? I guess a forum is a place for discussion, not for you to write your opinion, which no one should question.

[Cricktor]

Actually anyone saying that would be great

Hey Welsh, you're doing a better job than my bread slicing gear, or so!

My goals?
No PM from theymos or Cyrus telling me to fuck off, lol!

After some first merits received it motivated me to pay more attention to my contributions. It's not easy to explain or get right. I don't think I post for merit but I see it as an indicator of valuable content for others (mostly, depends on why someone merits other posts).

So trying to contribute value for others and therefore entertaining this forum in a positive way is something of priority for me. I learned and still learn so much from good content here. This doesn't come by itself, do your own part to it!

When I joined a signature campaign, which believe it or not wasn't my primary goal here, another challenge arose, namely contributing at likely higher post counts without drifting to shitposting. You judge me!
I appreciate signature campaigns that don't require a minimum post count because I very likely won't join those, especially when the minimum post count is rather high or you have to post in sections you rarely read and contribute to.

What else? Be yourself but don't be a jerk or troll. And of course, last but not least: Bitcoin to the moon!

[Perfectbaby]

Speaking with all assurance I have been able to make it to the Next rank where I am currently. But don't you think there is a threat or topic where people do announce their achievements on the forum? Which doesn't really required people to come make post here instead they should be that active on that thread to announce their achievements on the forum.
I know is hard for people to keep talking about their achievements on forum so that they wouldn't be that vulnerable or even prone to attack from people who do not like others to grow on the forum.

[ibminer]

You know when you have made it on the forum when... you no longer see "Guest" at the top.

Actually anyone saying that would be great

that
(no need to thank me )

[Peanutswar]

It seems when I can now understand what does people talk about in a thread, before I was blank to understand what people talks about in some thread such as I need to extend my knowledge make some extra effort to research about the concern and then also seek some insights about peoples suggestion and recommendation. Now I can contribute at my own experiences and knowledge help with their problem. Well reaching legendary is quite enough for me but we are chasing knowledge rank was useless if empty minded.

[Daniel91]

Interesting question OP, thank you.
Honestly, at first, when I joined this forum, I just wanted to understand what it was all about and learn more about btc.
Later, I found my local, Croatian community here and over the years we became very good friends, I even met some of them in person and it was a really nice socializing.
As a merit source before, I'm glad that I was initially able to support local members of my community and reward their quality local posts (which others wouldn't understand and reward) so that they could progress on the forum.
I have no ambitions to become a moderator and it doesn't matter to me anymore how many merits I get, lately I mostly come to this forum to communicate with my friends and have fun by participating in sports competitions.

[aioc]

become a moderator

cross 10,000 merit

I consider these two hard to achieve; if you achieve either, you are something special. It takes a special qualification to become a moderator, and 10k merits demonstrate that you are an excellent, knowledgeable poster.
But being consistent and active here on Bitcointalk is an achievement for me; it's a privilege to be in this forum and to participate in various discussions.