sorry i disagree
First in spirit I agree with you however you can talk to people all you want and it can mean nothing.
The code on github is what I personally look for.
I make my own evaluation of it, I make my own wallets, and I don't care what promises are made for the future.
If you are not able to evaluate code yourself or test it.....well than I guess these suggestions are better than nothing
However here are a few tips if you are not used to reading code to help you in this world of alt coins......
I see a lot of , is
SELF MODERATED THRES......
I guess they don't want people saying anything negative......
Another thing to watch for is.........code vanishing from github !! Then appearing later , maybe on a different repo !!
Leaving you wondering.....what changed in between??
Finally watch out for coin gen generated coins, they keep changing stuff up but i notice a lot of them have the checkpoints.cpp disabled and the actual bitcoin checkpoints in there commented out and the genesis block is the same as bitcoin !!
Here is an example (not picking on anyone here just pulling up the last sample I remember seeing of this a day ago)
This coin here has it's source on github.....
https://github.com/OfficialTitcoin/titcoin-walletnote the genesis block in the main.cpp file line 34
https://github.com/OfficialTitcoin/titcoin-wallet/blob/master/src/main.cpp#L34is the same as bitcoin !! (bitcoin source) chainparams.cpp line 152
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/src/chainparams.cpp#L152here is an example from the checkpoints.cpp file of the same coin gen coin with checkpoints commented out
see lines 31 to 55 of the suspect coin
https://github.com/OfficialTitcoin/titcoin-wallet/blob/master/src/checkpoints.cppcompare this to lines 56 to 67 of bitcoin , looks familiar !! of course since it is the same !! (just commented out of the alt coin)
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/src/chainparams.cpp#L56The code is the key --- on github from launch --- and able to be built (compiled) by others to verify the released wallets match it.
After a coin is up a few days/weeks an abe block explorer is handy to make 100% certain that there were no hidden coins.
(meaning that someone could release clean code on github and wallets with a hidden premine) which is pretty easy to hide if you know how......
I keep my identity private for good reason. If that turns you off from any project I have worked on or launched I am sorry but that is me.
I think the code is the most important thing. Recently I heard comments of Gavin say I did not care if I could trust Satoshi I cared if I could trust the code (not an exact quote just from my memory).
My real point is knowing someones identity , credentials, reputation ect... is no guarantee you won't get burned !!
My heart is with the person who started this thread. I hate seeing people paying hundreds of bitcoin for ipo coins that drop 98% in value and the developers don't even vanish they just say 'sorry I'm working on it, or it did not work out" I don't want to give examples here, you can look around for yourself...... They used real names (i guess) and really violated no law I am aware of unless someone could prove they planned it as a scam (conspiracy or theft by deception in the United States) pretty hard to prove......
I am not a fan of going to the cops either. I think these people should be sorted out by the community.
Finally I wrote an article a while back about scam coins , maybe someone here would find it of use.
https://cryptocointalk.com/topic/14773-how-to-avoid-scam-coins-and-why-proof-of-developer-is-not-the-answer