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I'm not sure what you mean. I browse on HN a lot and post fairly frequently. I was surprised to see our project as the topic of the first comment on this articl

I'm not sure what you mean. I browse on HN a lot and post fairly frequently. I was surprised to see our project as the topic of the first comment on this article. It's not like I was seeking it out to pounce on a PR attempt. Feel free to start your own project and compete; that would be great. We have a number of competitors and we're all driving the ecosystem forward. "Your stated goal is to never turn a profit, ever." I don't know where you got that idea. The company I work for, OB1, does certainly intend to make a profit at some point. "You've also foregone any ICO attempt, which is free money. Why? Because you can't" We could probably raise a lot of money an ICO, but we'd prefer not to. We even wrote about the reasons why: https://blog.openbazaar.org/why-openbazaar-token-doesnt-exist/ https://blog.openbazaar.org/why-openbazaar-token-doesnt-exis... "because if people start using your project with your new Tor support, you'll be a co-conspirator in a drug distribution network." No more so than Bram Cohen is a conspirator in a piracy network. And this kind of potential limitation in getting funding is exactly why ICOs exist. "But you don't just come out and say this. You're not straightforward. It's fake idealism, and that quality more than any other is what motivates me to compete." I don't understand what you think I'm not being straightforward about, but feel free to compete. I don't understand why you would want to given that you clearly think the idea is not very good for good luck.

sillysaurus3 9y ago
A better analogy would be the founders of TPB. They went to jail for getting money from pirated content (ads). What do you think will happen to you when you try to extract any money at all from a network that people are using for darknet purposes? And you're adding Tor support and testing Tails for them. Except wait, you're insulated from these ill effects because your founders are former spooks. You have ties to protect you. I wonder why anyone would want to create a Tor equivalent for a marketplace for physical goods? Especially the government? It's interesting how you're deflecting at the end -- I do think this is a terrible idea, and has the potential to unlock the gates of hell onto the world in the form of addicts having an endless supply of their addiction at the push of a button. But if you're determined to build your business on the backs of these people, then I am determined to beat you. If this technology is inevitable, then I think it's best not to let you come out on top. We'll see if anyone agrees.
- tylersmith 9y ago
  I don't know what you think I'm trying to deflect from but if you spell it out for me I'm more than happy to be candid. "A better analogy would be the founders of TPB. They went to jail for getting money from pirated content (ads). What do you think will happen to you when you try to extract any money at all from a network that people are using for darknet purposes?" TPB is a search engine for pirated content. OB1 search, duosear.ch, and mubiz.com (the main 3 OB search engines) do not show illicit content. If anybody happens across some please notify us immediately. "Except wait, you're insulated from these ill effects because your founders are former spooks. You have ties to protect you." Brian used to work for Booz Allen. That's it. I don't know which others you're referring to. I highly doubt Brian has government protection. "Especially the government?" The government has no involvement in OpenBazaar but even if they did, so does Tor. What do you think the Tor project is trying to hide?! "But if you're determined to build your business on the backs of these people, then I am determined to beat you." If you truly believe it's such a horrible project (the scariest you've ever heard of you said), then trying to out compete us seems extremely hypocritical.
  - sillysaurus3 9y ago
    No more hypocritical than extending an offer to the person who offered to help me, then trying to point out it's hypocritical to compete with you. :) When it's possible for a new technology to be created and fundamentally shape society, it will inevitably be created. There is a chance that you're right about OB. If you are, then the first entity to make this technology work will have a massive advantage, just like Bitcoin and Tor do. People look to the Bitcoin core dev team for ideological guidance. You will have a lot of influence. Now, the fact that you plan to make money by offering a search feature changes nothing about the underlying usage of the network. You're adding Tor support. You know what that means, and what the implications are. Again, you are not being straight with us -- notify us of illegal content immediately? What marketing nonsense is this? Your Tor support will be the reason for the future illegal content. You undoubtedly know this. When people are being so shifty, it seems best not to trust them. You won't just come out and say that your idea will never work if you limit yourself to eBay type items, because we already have a perfectly good eBay. Your darknet users are your lifeline.

sillysaurus3 9y ago

A better analogy would be the founders of TPB. They went to jail for getting money from pirated content (ads). What do you think will happen to you when you try to extract any money at all from a network that people are using for darknet purposes? And you're adding Tor support and testing Tails for them. Except wait, you're insulated from these ill effects because your founders are former spooks. You have ties to protect you. I wonder why anyone would want to create a Tor equivalent for a marketplace for physical goods? Especially the government? It's interesting how you're deflecting at the end -- I do think this is a terrible idea, and has the potential to unlock the gates of hell onto the world in the form of addicts having an endless supply of their addiction at the push of a button. But if you're determined to build your business on the backs of these people, then I am determined to beat you. If this technology is inevitable, then I think it's best not to let you come out on top. We'll see if anyone agrees.

tylersmith 9y ago
I don't know what you think I'm trying to deflect from but if you spell it out for me I'm more than happy to be candid. "A better analogy would be the founders of TPB. They went to jail for getting money from pirated content (ads). What do you think will happen to you when you try to extract any money at all from a network that people are using for darknet purposes?" TPB is a search engine for pirated content. OB1 search, duosear.ch, and mubiz.com (the main 3 OB search engines) do not show illicit content. If anybody happens across some please notify us immediately. "Except wait, you're insulated from these ill effects because your founders are former spooks. You have ties to protect you." Brian used to work for Booz Allen. That's it. I don't know which others you're referring to. I highly doubt Brian has government protection. "Especially the government?" The government has no involvement in OpenBazaar but even if they did, so does Tor. What do you think the Tor project is trying to hide?! "But if you're determined to build your business on the backs of these people, then I am determined to beat you." If you truly believe it's such a horrible project (the scariest you've ever heard of you said), then trying to out compete us seems extremely hypocritical.
- sillysaurus3 9y ago
  No more hypocritical than extending an offer to the person who offered to help me, then trying to point out it's hypocritical to compete with you. :) When it's possible for a new technology to be created and fundamentally shape society, it will inevitably be created. There is a chance that you're right about OB. If you are, then the first entity to make this technology work will have a massive advantage, just like Bitcoin and Tor do. People look to the Bitcoin core dev team for ideological guidance. You will have a lot of influence. Now, the fact that you plan to make money by offering a search feature changes nothing about the underlying usage of the network. You're adding Tor support. You know what that means, and what the implications are. Again, you are not being straight with us -- notify us of illegal content immediately? What marketing nonsense is this? Your Tor support will be the reason for the future illegal content. You undoubtedly know this. When people are being so shifty, it seems best not to trust them. You won't just come out and say that your idea will never work if you limit yourself to eBay type items, because we already have a perfectly good eBay. Your darknet users are your lifeline.