SilkRoad 2 Taken down by Feds

[kokojie]

OB is not blockchain based right? how does it hardfork without having a chain?

Forking doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Bitcoin or blockchain technology. It is a term used in open source code.

But to answer your question OB does indeed use Bitcoin and DHT.

A real protocol can't be forked, it would always work the same way, regardless who's developing a client for it, it's not a software.

For example, if you forked SSH, then it's no longer SSH. If you forked BitTorrent, then it's no longer BitTorrent.

If you forked OB, and it's still OB, then you just proved FBI have a case against the operator, since it's not a protocol. It behaves like a website. Pretty much like silkroad 1.0 vs 2.0

[1714692669]

1714692669

[inBitweTrust]

A real protocol can't be forked, it would always work the same way, regardless who's developing a client for it, it's not a software.

For example, if you forked SSH, then it's no longer SSH. If you forked BitTorrent, then it's no longer BitTorrent.

If you forked OB, and it's still OB, then you just proved FBI have a case against the operator, since it's not a protocol. It behaves like a website. Pretty much like silkroad 1.0 vs 2.0

What makes you believe that protocols are static? Such a strange suggestion.

No, you are very confused. Protocols are always changing and any open source protocol can be forked at anytime.

I.E.... Lets assume all the developers working on OB are co-opted and malicious code or backdoors are introduced into the code. All users have to do is not upgrade and pick up with the last version to essentially fork the protocol/software.

[grosminer]

It was bound to happen, these DNM are scary to the core.

What do you guys think BTC is going to do, up or down?

So it looks like the price went up a little bit.. not much..

[CipherAnthem]

Dude, if they were going to make a piece of software illegal they would start with tor. Since that will NEVER happen, OpenBazaar is in the clear. OB only provide a tool and it is the users that commits the (potential) crimes.

[inBitweTrust]

Dude, if they were going to make a piece of software illegal they would start with tor. Since that will NEVER happen, OpenBazaar is in the clear. OB only provide a tool and it is the users that commits the (potential) crimes.

Tor isn't the best example in all seriousness because the CIA /NSA heavily fund TOR. Tor is used by everyone, form the government to the darkmarket.

They will not and cannot attack TOR because doing so is attacking their own operatives. all they can do is try and control more exit nodes in a race to try and track illegal crime.

[theblacksquid]

OB is not blockchain based right? how does it hardfork without having a chain?

Forking doesn't necessarily have anything to do with Bitcoin or blockchain technology. It is a term used in open source code.

But to answer your question OB does indeed use Bitcoin and DHT as methods for decentralization and security.

Additionally, I plan on selling many legal items on Openbazzar to support the marketplace and specifically go out of my way to use this marketplace to distribute products and services which would be political and social suicide to shutdown or stop.

Kudos to you!!! And may your OB store be very successful!

[inBitweTrust]

Kudos to you!!! And may your OB store be very successful!

Thanks and the beauty of this is that it doesn't even need to be profitable to be successful as some see this as an ideological battle with much larger stakes involved.

Some people don't seem to get this and think that violent thugs can intimidate us into disbanding these projects. It is not going to happen, decentralized marketplaces are here to stay and will only grow in use.

[theblacksquid]

True. Once decetralized marketplaces reach a critical mass, we wont need to have to go through centralized services to buy and sell products and services again.

[CipherAnthem]

Dude, if they were going to make a piece of software illegal they would start with tor. Since that will NEVER happen, OpenBazaar is in the clear. OB only provide a tool and it is the users that commits the (potential) crimes.

Tor isn't the best example in all seriousness because the CIA /NSA heavily fund TOR. Tor is used by everyone, form the government to the darkmarket.

They will not and cannot attack TOR because doing so is attacking their own operatives. all they can do is try and control more exit nodes in a race to try and track illegal crime.

The point is that it can be used for good and evil. The same goes for Bitcoin and the same for OB. For that reason alone it will not be outlawed.

[inBitweTrust]

The point is that it can be used for good and evil. The same goes for Bitcoin and the same for OB. For that reason alone it will not be outlawed.

I partly agree with this statement but in reality its not always true. I.E. - Napster, and many other centralized torrent trackers had some legal content distributed and was forced to be shutdown regardless of it of it having negative innocent casualties. Ultimately, they justify such actions and one must create a critical mass of legal material which make any attacks more taboo and politically dangerous.

[CipherAnthem]

The point is that it can be used for good and evil. The same goes for Bitcoin and the same for OB. For that reason alone it will not be outlawed.

I partly agree with this statement but in reality its not always true. I.E. - Napster, and many other centralized torrent trackers had some legal content distributed and was forced to be shutdown regardless of it of it having negative innocent casualties. Ultimately, they justify such actions and one must create a critical mass of legal material which make any attacks more taboo and politically dangerous.

As you say, Napster was centralized. They could control what went on their servers, same as torrent trackers. But they couldnt do anything about the underlying protocol. With decentralized solutions law enforcement can only go after individuals and not the system. Tor, Bitcoin, OB and many other technologies will be forever safe.

[inBitweTrust]

As you say, Napster was centralized. They could control what went on their servers, same as torrent trackers. But they couldnt do anything about the underlying protocol. With decentralized solutions law enforcement can only go after individuals and not the system. Tor, Bitcoin, OB and many other technologies will be forever safe.

Agreed , but this doesn't necessarily have to do with being socially taboo by shutting down a neutral marketplace as these ruthless thugs don't mind blowing up children if they can remove their target. It has more to do with the fact that attacking a decentralized network is extremely difficult.

[inBitweTrust]

Bound to happen when the founder/owner is young, unprofessional, greedy, foolish, and all around uneducated.

The alleged owner was an educated and prolific software engineer and entrepreneur who contributed to multiple repositories and also previously worked as a software engineer at Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Your comment is both slanderous and ignorant.

[darkmule]

Ever since Silk Road 1.0 went down, there's been a robust variety of darkweb markets to choose from. Such is the power of decentralization.

Even that dimbulb Schumer admits that the first Silk Road bust has actually just made the situation more difficult, by causing a proliferation of smaller sites.

It's like stomping a puffball mushroom.  You may feel as if you have defeated mushrooms in that moment, but wait until the morning.

[darkmule]

Incidentally, these busts do show one thing others would be wise to acknowledge.  Opening and operating a site overtly dedicated to selling drugs and other illegal commodities, and doing anything to further such transactions, and doing anything that remotely smacks of actually knowingly getting a cut of illegal proceeds, is going to paint a big red target on your back.

Maybe those who do this can manage to evade prosecution for a while, but if their identity is exposed, they are going to be subject to the draconian penalties any drug dealer faces, including life imprisonment or (in some jurisdictions) the death penalty.

Compare to those who currently distribute things like BitTorrent software.  This has legitimate non-copyright-infringing uses, and the current vendors of such products studiously avoid the kind of stupid rhetoric you hear out of people pimping their drug sites.

Compare to Napster, which openly participated in copyright infringement and was easily shut down.  But then compare to the P2P stuff that followed like Grokster and Limewire, which sold software with legitimate uses, but also spouted all kinds of dumb rhetoric and had internal emails showing that they too were basically encouraging copyright infringement.  They too were held liable.

The common thread in all these busts is site operators dipping their hands into the pool of tainted drug money.  Once they did that any rhetoric about freedom is basically just bullshit.  They're just drug dealers like any other at that point.

The only kind of site like this that stands any chance of withstanding legal scrutiny and/or prosecution is one that does not explicitly exist for illegal purposes, and also doesn't basically act like a bank of sorts, subjecting it to financial regulations.  If one legally provides a service with substantial legitimate uses, and it just happens to be able to be used for illegal purposes, and does not oneself participate in those activities, that is always going to be a good defense.

[darkmule]

Silk road 2.0 is not going to affect the price of bitcoin now. It will do when the seized coins are auctioned off. Do we know how many coins were seized?

This might be the last big seizure/auction of this sort, if sites now realize the necessity of adopting multi-signature transactions.

[bronco]

i was surprised it last this long

[Honeypot]

Bound to happen when the founder/owner is young, unprofessional, greedy, foolish, and all around uneducated.

The alleged owner was an educated and prolific software engineer and entrepreneur who contributed to multiple repositories and also previously worked as a software engineer at Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Your comment is both slanderous and ignorant.

Education may not always correspond to degrees or book smarts. Core of what it's supposed to teach makes education valuable.

[theblacksquid]

Incidentally, these busts do show one thing others would be wise to acknowledge.  Opening and operating a site overtly dedicated to selling drugs and other illegal commodities, and doing anything to further such transactions, and doing anything that remotely smacks of actually knowingly getting a cut of illegal proceeds, is going to paint a big red target on your back.

Maybe those who do this can manage to evade prosecution for a while, but if their identity is exposed, they are going to be subject to the draconian penalties any drug dealer faces, including life imprisonment or (in some jurisdictions) the death penalty.

Compare to those who currently distribute things like BitTorrent software.  This has legitimate non-copyright-infringing uses, and the current vendors of such products studiously avoid the kind of stupid rhetoric you hear out of people pimping their drug sites.

Compare to Napster, which openly participated in copyright infringement and was easily shut down.  But then compare to the P2P stuff that followed like Grokster and Limewire, which sold software with legitimate uses, but also spouted all kinds of dumb rhetoric and had internal emails showing that they too were basically encouraging copyright infringement.  They too were held liable.

The common thread in all these busts is site operators dipping their hands into the pool of tainted drug money.  Once they did that any rhetoric about freedom is basically just bullshit.  They're just drug dealers like any other at that point.

The only kind of site like this that stands any chance of withstanding legal scrutiny and/or prosecution is one that does not explicitly exist for illegal purposes, and also doesn't basically act like a bank of sorts, subjecting it to financial regulations.  If one legally provides a service with substantial legitimate uses, and it just happens to be able to be used for illegal purposes, and does not oneself participate in those activities, that is always going to be a good defense.

I think OpenBazaar fits the bill quite neatly. The dev team's publicly said that they dont intend for OB to be used for illicit trade, but cant stop users from doing so.

[theblacksquid]

Bound to happen when the founder/owner is young, unprofessional, greedy, foolish, and all around uneducated.

The alleged owner was an educated and prolific software engineer and entrepreneur who contributed to multiple repositories and also previously worked as a software engineer at Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Your comment is both slanderous and ignorant.

Obviously not educated enough to cover his tracks.
He may be book smart, but never street smart as where is your boy now? ...behind bars.

Your comment is both bias and untutored.

This conversation is going well, isnt it?