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As an aside, is there anyone else extremely disappointed with the quality of discussion over at /r/cryptocurrency? This conflict over IOTA has been unfolding fo

by boreas 9y ago

As an aside, is there anyone else extremely disappointed with the quality of discussion over at /r/cryptocurrency? This conflict over IOTA has been unfolding for a long time and the guys on that subreddit defend it fanatically, accusing DCI of "FUD"ing IOTA. I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. As someone fascinated by the technology in the crypto space but very skeptical about the real-world usefulness of many of these projects, I wish I had a better forum to read beside the odd HN post.

tlrobinson 9y ago
I agree. It feels impossible to find a cryptocurrency forum that's not filled with shills. Someone should train an AI to detect shilling and use it in the comment ranking algorithm of a forum. Of course they'd probably release a whitepaper and do an ICO.
logicfiction 9y ago
> I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. Both of those are highly representative of the demographic that want to discuss such things on reddit. Others are often even moderated against from some of what I've seen and thus discouraged from discussion. I don't know about that specific sub-reddit, but it certainly happens in some. It's an important echo chamber for exuberant hype so people have a vested interest in protecting that in the mostly unregulated market.
justboxing 9y ago
> This conflict over IOTA has been unfolding for a long time and the guys on that subreddit defend it fanatically, accusing DCI of "FUD"ing IOTA It's not just IOTA. It's more or less any of the top 10 / 20 (by MarketCap) Crypto-currencies on the respective sub-reddits. It's especially bad on r/Ripple where anything critical of Ripple / XRP is instantly deleted by the mods in the name of F.U.D (Fear, Uncertainity, Doubt), and even a small +ve news is posted several times in a day, even trials of Ripple that doesn't even use XRP for the transactions. And then there was this self-proclaimed shill who described in great detail how he made tons of money shilling various coins on reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7xkm0z/i_was_a_paid_cryptocurrency_shill_iam_here_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7xkm0z/i_wa... From what I've observed on r/Cryptocurrency and related coin subs on reddit over the past month or two, Reddit is being carefully manipulated by whales and scam coin creators to attract bag holders and manipulate the markets for a quick profit. And many of the mods engage in circle-jerk postings, maybe they are in on it too. Who knows.
- Waterluvian 9y ago
  There may be people in on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's overwhelmingly just people defending their position. I've seen the exact behaviour I see at r/cryptocurrency in video games. No Man's Sky pre and post launch was exactly the same. Sensible people casting doubt on what it is you actually do with the game, being shouted down by those who are convinced it's going to be the greatest thing ever. Then lots of defensiveness against all the post-launch signals that it's a mess.
  - jiggunjer 9y ago
    Same with Trump? South Park recently had an episode titled "Doubling Down", which I find a good descriptor for this behavior.
    - someone454 9y ago
      Same with “the Russians stole muh election”?
  - c12 9y ago
    People who have bought into something will become more entrenched in their views because doing otherwise will cause a "loss of face." It's understandable really, nobody wants to admit to being duped.
    - Donzo 9y ago
      The desire to remain consistent with one's previously established positions is one of the great psychological motivators: https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Business-Essentials-ebook/dp/B002BD2UUC https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Busin... People will often act against their own best interests to do so.
  - tarken 9y ago
    you have a severe case of hindsight bias. nms has perhaps the most outspoken hatred of any game launch ever. heck how long ago did it come out? Year+? and you're still whining about it.
josephagoss 9y ago
I think that if half of their ideas could actually work and be secure, it would be a good thing. If IOTA was a real thing for example I would happily be apart of that community. Unfortunately it's a total waste of time. I remember avoiding IOTA early on due to the arrogance of the founders, I really didn't like their tune. I know most of Hackernews hates Ethereum, but I really like Ethereum and their ideals, although I am mostly anti ICO. I'd prefer most of these DAPP ideas to be using ETH and not yet another token.
- mbgaxyz 9y ago
  What is a "real thing"? Like Bosch using IOTA to build smart cities in China? https://twitter.com/BoschPresse/status/968479596868980737 https://twitter.com/BoschPresse/status/968479596868980737
  - tialaramex 9y ago
    Name say, four of these smart cities they've built with IOTA, those would be real things. In contrast, even though the city council is a real thing, and candidates for city councillor are real people, and the leaflets through my door are real pieces of paper, the pictures of a would-be councillor "Yogic flying" do not mean that it's actually possible to levitate using the power of your mind. Yogic Flying is not a real thing in the sense we mean.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    Link does not reference IOTA?
    - mbgaxyz 9y ago
      It references @iotatoken which is the official twitter feed for IOTA.
      - espadrine 9y ago
        Did they retract the tweet? The link now 404s.
loxias 9y ago
I certainly am disappointed. I'm not entirely sure why I expected more from reddit, I mean, comeon, it's not twitter! ;-) My guess is that it's a mixture of illiteracy (innumeracy?) and invested interest. The quality of discourse on /r/iota takes the cake though: https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/80p3lg/cryptographers_urge_people_to_abandon_iota_after/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/80p3lg/cryptographers... The comments keep going... boy, those iota people really hate zcash! Also, I completely agree with your fascination and skepticism, but have nothing to add but that agreement.
arkh 9y ago
> I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. Why not both? Most of those crypto currencies smell like MLM schemes for people who scoff at housewives doing the same with physical products. Get rich fast at the expense of the late comers, you can do it! Start by getting your family and friends in it. The old goals of making a decentralized money to fuel revolutions disappeared fast once the only users ended being pure criminals.
stef25 9y ago
Big fan of Reddit here and I find almost all crypto related discussion there is abysmal.
phil21 9y ago
The only thing any crypto subreddit is good for is laughing at the silly memes for 15 minutes before your morning coffee. They are utterly useless echo chambers filled with trolls otherwise.
908087 9y ago
> I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. As with basically every cryptocurrency (or technology, for that matter) related sub on reddit, the answer is both.

by boreas 9y ago

tlrobinson 9y ago

I agree. It feels impossible to find a cryptocurrency forum that's not filled with shills. Someone should train an AI to detect shilling and use it in the comment ranking algorithm of a forum. Of course they'd probably release a whitepaper and do an ICO.

logicfiction 9y ago

> I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. Both of those are highly representative of the demographic that want to discuss such things on reddit. Others are often even moderated against from some of what I've seen and thus discouraged from discussion. I don't know about that specific sub-reddit, but it certainly happens in some. It's an important echo chamber for exuberant hype so people have a vested interest in protecting that in the mostly unregulated market.

justboxing 9y ago

> This conflict over IOTA has been unfolding for a long time and the guys on that subreddit defend it fanatically, accusing DCI of "FUD"ing IOTA It's not just IOTA. It's more or less any of the top 10 / 20 (by MarketCap) Crypto-currencies on the respective sub-reddits. It's especially bad on r/Ripple where anything critical of Ripple / XRP is instantly deleted by the mods in the name of F.U.D (Fear, Uncertainity, Doubt), and even a small +ve news is posted several times in a day, even trials of Ripple that doesn't even use XRP for the transactions. And then there was this self-proclaimed shill who described in great detail how he made tons of money shilling various coins on reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7xkm0z/i_was_a_paid_cryptocurrency_shill_iam_here_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/7xkm0z/i_wa... From what I've observed on r/Cryptocurrency and related coin subs on reddit over the past month or two, Reddit is being carefully manipulated by whales and scam coin creators to attract bag holders and manipulate the markets for a quick profit. And many of the mods engage in circle-jerk postings, maybe they are in on it too. Who knows.

Waterluvian 9y ago
There may be people in on it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's overwhelmingly just people defending their position. I've seen the exact behaviour I see at r/cryptocurrency in video games. No Man's Sky pre and post launch was exactly the same. Sensible people casting doubt on what it is you actually do with the game, being shouted down by those who are convinced it's going to be the greatest thing ever. Then lots of defensiveness against all the post-launch signals that it's a mess.
- jiggunjer 9y ago
  Same with Trump? South Park recently had an episode titled "Doubling Down", which I find a good descriptor for this behavior.
  - someone454 9y ago
    Same with “the Russians stole muh election”?
- c12 9y ago
  People who have bought into something will become more entrenched in their views because doing otherwise will cause a "loss of face." It's understandable really, nobody wants to admit to being duped.
  - Donzo 9y ago
    The desire to remain consistent with one's previously established positions is one of the great psychological motivators: https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Business-Essentials-ebook/dp/B002BD2UUC https://www.amazon.com/Influence-Psychology-Persuasion-Busin... People will often act against their own best interests to do so.
- tarken 9y ago
  you have a severe case of hindsight bias. nms has perhaps the most outspoken hatred of any game launch ever. heck how long ago did it come out? Year+? and you're still whining about it.

josephagoss 9y ago

I think that if half of their ideas could actually work and be secure, it would be a good thing. If IOTA was a real thing for example I would happily be apart of that community. Unfortunately it's a total waste of time. I remember avoiding IOTA early on due to the arrogance of the founders, I really didn't like their tune. I know most of Hackernews hates Ethereum, but I really like Ethereum and their ideals, although I am mostly anti ICO. I'd prefer most of these DAPP ideas to be using ETH and not yet another token.

mbgaxyz 9y ago
What is a "real thing"? Like Bosch using IOTA to build smart cities in China? https://twitter.com/BoschPresse/status/968479596868980737 https://twitter.com/BoschPresse/status/968479596868980737
- tialaramex 9y ago
  Name say, four of these smart cities they've built with IOTA, those would be real things. In contrast, even though the city council is a real thing, and candidates for city councillor are real people, and the leaflets through my door are real pieces of paper, the pictures of a would-be councillor "Yogic flying" do not mean that it's actually possible to levitate using the power of your mind. Yogic Flying is not a real thing in the sense we mean.
- pjc50 9y ago
  Link does not reference IOTA?
  - mbgaxyz 9y ago
    It references @iotatoken which is the official twitter feed for IOTA.
    - espadrine 9y ago
      Did they retract the tweet? The link now 404s.

loxias 9y ago

I certainly am disappointed. I'm not entirely sure why I expected more from reddit, I mean, comeon, it's not twitter! ;-) My guess is that it's a mixture of illiteracy (innumeracy?) and invested interest. The quality of discourse on /r/iota takes the cake though: https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/80p3lg/cryptographers_urge_people_to_abandon_iota_after/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Iota/comments/80p3lg/cryptographers... The comments keep going... boy, those iota people really hate zcash! Also, I completely agree with your fascination and skepticism, but have nothing to add but that agreement.

arkh 9y ago

> I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. Why not both? Most of those crypto currencies smell like MLM schemes for people who scoff at housewives doing the same with physical products. Get rich fast at the expense of the late comers, you can do it! Start by getting your family and friends in it. The old goals of making a decentralized money to fuel revolutions disappeared fast once the only users ended being pure criminals.

stef25 9y ago

Big fan of Reddit here and I find almost all crypto related discussion there is abysmal.

phil21 9y ago

The only thing any crypto subreddit is good for is laughing at the silly memes for 15 minutes before your morning coffee. They are utterly useless echo chambers filled with trolls otherwise.

908087 9y ago

> I am not sure if the subscriber base is technically illiterate or users that hold a given coin have a strong incentive to dismiss any criticism. As with basically every cryptocurrency (or technology, for that matter) related sub on reddit, the answer is both.