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>The author is ignoring the fact that there are no refunds with bitcoin. The author's first point was that "the unbanked want to remain anonymous". Refunds can

by drcross 11y ago

>The author is ignoring the fact that there are no refunds with bitcoin. The author's first point was that "the unbanked want to remain anonymous". Refunds cannot happen while being anonymous. Bitcoin is a replacement for cash, not an pseudo escrow service which we have come to expect in the western world with credit cards. Transactions are built on end-user trust. Credit card companies introduce a third party into the transaction which costs money. This is not a bug of bitcoin, it's a feature. The services you are referring to can, however, be built on top of the bitcoin system.

bduerst 11y ago
> Refunds cannot happen while being anonymous. Preferring anonymity != preferring no payment disputes. Bitcoins are also only pseudo-anonymous, and every transaction is publicly available making it less anonymous than a closed payments system or cash. This rhetoric that apologizes for Bitcoins design flaws ("it's a feature not a bug") is detrimental to future blockchain implementations that could design a competitive solution to refunds.
- CyberDildonics 11y ago
  That's like saying paper money has a design flaw, or ethernet has design flaws because it doesn't account for serving web pages.
  - bduerst 11y ago
    Or its like saying an automobile has a design flaw because it can't go in reverse.
    - CyberDildonics 11y ago
      How is it at all the same thing? Bitcoin isn't a contained technology, it can be built on top of just as the internet is built on top of.
      - bduerst 11y ago
        Nope. It's even easier to mod an automobile because it doesn't require a consensus from the mechanics (miners) to make a change. See the block chain size debate if you're still unconvinced.
        CyberDildonics 11y ago
        There are many companies already building services on top of bitcoin, it doesn't take a change to the protocol and therefore it doesn't take any permission or consensus from anyone. I can't tell if you have a fundamental ignorance of crypto currencies or if this was an intentional straw man, but either way it is so far from being rational I'm not even sure how you would come up with it except for maybe learning about bitcoin through a game of gossip rather than reading or experience.
cwyers 11y ago
> The author's first point was that "the unbanked want to remain anonymous" That seems wrong, and also self-serving. I doubt the people who are cashing their checks into prepaid debit cards at Wal-Mart are doing it for anonymity.

by drcross 11y ago

bduerst 11y ago

> Refunds cannot happen while being anonymous. Preferring anonymity != preferring no payment disputes. Bitcoins are also only pseudo-anonymous, and every transaction is publicly available making it less anonymous than a closed payments system or cash. This rhetoric that apologizes for Bitcoins design flaws ("it's a feature not a bug") is detrimental to future blockchain implementations that could design a competitive solution to refunds.

CyberDildonics 11y ago
That's like saying paper money has a design flaw, or ethernet has design flaws because it doesn't account for serving web pages.
- bduerst 11y ago
  Or its like saying an automobile has a design flaw because it can't go in reverse.
  - CyberDildonics 11y ago
    How is it at all the same thing? Bitcoin isn't a contained technology, it can be built on top of just as the internet is built on top of.
    - bduerst 11y ago
      Nope. It's even easier to mod an automobile because it doesn't require a consensus from the mechanics (miners) to make a change. See the block chain size debate if you're still unconvinced.
      - CyberDildonics 11y ago
        There are many companies already building services on top of bitcoin, it doesn't take a change to the protocol and therefore it doesn't take any permission or consensus from anyone. I can't tell if you have a fundamental ignorance of crypto currencies or if this was an intentional straw man, but either way it is so far from being rational I'm not even sure how you would come up with it except for maybe learning about bitcoin through a game of gossip rather than reading or experience.

cwyers 11y ago

> The author's first point was that "the unbanked want to remain anonymous" That seems wrong, and also self-serving. I doubt the people who are cashing their checks into prepaid debit cards at Wal-Mart are doing it for anonymity.