Throwback to the OG SilkRoad; an old man's recollections

Reading the comments around here and /r/SilkRoad, in addition to the new usernames I see, I become very aware that the majority of the subscribers of both subreddits are somewhat new to the scene; very few were around during the time of the original SilkRoad.

I just wanted to try to illustrate the scene for you guys, along with some of my personal interjections.

The way I actually found SilkRoad was quite hilarious, to me at least. I live in a state where psychedelics are damn near impossible to find. I have decent connections but for the life of me, no one knew how to get a hold of real LSD. I tried and tried for months, to no avail. Then one day out of absolute frustration, I simply Googled "buy LSD online", not expecting anything at all but maybe just to get a laugh.

To my absolute surprise, I found a lone article that caught my eye. It was an article about this crazy site on this weird browser that was somehow supposed to keep its users anonymous. It was like the whole article was in another language. Bitcoin? TOR? Anonymity? What is all this bullshit? This was around the late fall of 2012.

After a great amount of diligent researching on my end, I finally got the picture all aligned. I understood Bitcoin. I understood TOR. I understood how the market worked. I even knew about the two other main markets that were trying (but generally failing) to run up against SilkRoad, the sites Black Market Reloaded and Atlantis. Everything was set.

The first step was downloading TOR and accessing the site. I remember very vividly my absolute shock and wonder as I access that very first homepage, where I am greeted by pictures and prices of heroin, meth, mushrooms, NBOMes, porn site rips; this place was absolute HEAVEN.

The second step was buying Bitcoins. The most popular option then was not Localbitcoins; you actually would've been hard-pressed to find anyone suggesting this site. The most popular option then was the now defunct Bitinstant, which was far and away the quickest and easiest way to get Bitcoins. Simply fill out a money order and BAM! an hour later you have your coins in your SilkRoad account.

The last step was ordering. I remember my first orders: two tabs of Nawlins' Hoffman LSD and some 25i-NBOMe because I had a little bit of money left over. Would this actually work? Or was it just a dream, a cruel trick? I almost fell over when I opened my mailbox one day to find two letters, seemingly just junk mail, that actually contained my drugs.

Those were the good old days. I feel like a nostalgic asshole mentioning this, as if I'm implying that the newer users are somehow of lesser quality than us old-timers; that's not the case at all. I appreciate anyone who does their research and knows what they are talking about when it comes to these markets.

The bottom line is that this isn't the olden days. Back then we had the false feeling of being invincible, like nothing would ever happen to destroy our perfect community. Today's DarkNet Market user knows better. Markets are seized often. Their funds are stolen, by either hackers or admin who get greedy. No one is safe. We encrypt, we use our common sense. This is how we stay safe.

But damn, I sure do miss the old days <3 <3 <3


Comments


[16 Points] stopitsideways:

First time I got my stuff I just sat down in my chair with the letter in my hand laughing at how simple it was.


[14 Points] queryox1:

Jesus, it was not that long ago haha

Though I do remember buying bitcoins on Mtgox anonymously and then the day came when they closed. Though I think bitcoins have now become easier to obtain, quicker for me anyhow.


[10 Points] Zapslap:

I really did feel invincible on SR :/ I remember believing the "The website has been seized" was a joke referencing the US government shut down. Oh how naive I was


[4 Points] None:

[deleted]


[3 Points] Liliaceae08:

Ah, I enjoyed reading this—good memories and dem nostalgia feels. I admire that you are still so receptive to new users, because I feel like they are big part of the problem.

Silk Road went live February 2011, the Gawker article was posted sometime in June 2011, and I read that article in August of 2011, while I downloaded Tor in the background, registering on SR seconds after I read the last line. The first wave of users that learned of SR from that lone article was an altogether awesome group of relatively computer savvy, intelligent, and careful users who brought meaningful contributions to the table.

After the site gathered momentum from a rash of new media attention, users flocked there in hordes; this flurry of activity brought unneeded scrutiny and put the site into law enforcement’s crosshairs. Still worse was when articles began appearing in the most common of publications and on heavily-trafficked websites; that is when the profile of the average Silk Road user changed, and not for the better.

I felt they were unappreciative, while we sort of “old-heads” remained in awe over the fact that such a service existed at all (like you mentioned in your post). Generally, we had to hold their hands and walk them through everything, when we spent months learning the ropes essentially all on our own. They were impatient and, for the most part, unintelligent, brining little to the table.

To us, the original Silk Road was Camelot, and our kingdom could have lasted forever, if it would have remained small and intimate and unassuming—less of a glaring target for its various detractors. The aforementioned horde of new users was like an invasive species, ravenously devouring and depleting the bulk of the resources meant for the community in its entirety. Because of the influx of users, SR got too big for its britches (as my dad would say).

Don’t get me wrong though, there were great, intelligent, contributive users amongst them—real gems of people, but like precious gems, they were also rare. They asked questions, sure, but they didn’t have the attitude that we owe them an answer, didn’t feel that we have to hold their tiny hand and walk them through the process like children so they can have the drugs they were so clearly entitled to—they were gracious and humble and nice about it. They too were nerds in awe of the fact that they could order drugs online and have them delivered to their door without even leaving the house, not those pests who make posts demanding to know the status of their parcel-in-transit before it’s even been two days, acting like we know but we’re just being tight-lipped for our own amusement (we’ve all been guilty of it at some point, but these users I’m talking about are “seasoned,” but they are still as impatient as they were from the time they made their very first order).

They were bringing me down, man, and I feel they’ve made me a bitter Betty. So, I admire your optimism toward them, and I wish I didn’t feel the way I do about it. /rant


[4 Points] None:

Oh man, same. I remember first reading about SR and being like, "hahah yea right! people can't buy drugs online!" after many articles and posts on forums I realized it had to be a real thing. Shout out to XXXotica those 120$ shake zips where bomb as hell and allowed me to roll as many doobies as I wanted too.


[3 Points] AmericanDi55ident:

Yea that's funny cuz I googled the same thing & found out about SR. I do miss Ross' SR


[4 Points] seriouslynowwtf:

And $3 BTC!


[3 Points] pussyole684:

Ross will go down in history once anonymous browsing and online drugs becomes more popular. what a legend


[3 Points] SilkRoadGuru:

I remember when I first heard about SR. Someone told me that it would be a cool idea if someone made a website through some sort of proxy (he didnt know what he was talking about but the "highdea" was there) where he could get a fake ID anonymously for when he went abroad so he could drink. We were just shooting shit and fired up google and typed in "Anonymous Fake IDs" and I came across a link on page ten of the Google search on some random forum post that was buried in a thread about fake IDs. He stated he got one from SR. Once I figured out what "SR" was, it was like being a child again when you would walk into a candy store.

BTC was cheap as hell (~$2-$3). If I save all the BTC I used back then, damn.....retirement would get here ~15 years early.


[3 Points] HeisenbergNigga:

I miss the days of yore. I only started last June, but I still feel like that was an imperceptibly long time ago. I still have some of JesusofRave's acid, from the good old days before the markets and my personal life destabilized.

All those moments, lost in time like tears in the rain.


[3 Points] lucyskyhigher:

Damn, this makes my heart hurt. The original SilkRoad changed my life. I remember the countless nights I spent researching everything I could and then the "HOLY FUCK" moments when the mail came... I remember when the forums weren't full of shit and it was actually fun chatting with intelligent vendors/buyers alike. Fuck, I miss it.

And then I remember the day I bought 5BTC to buy some shit, hopped on to /r/silkroad while I was waiting on my coins to come through, and saw that first terrible thread about how it had been seized. Immediately sold my coins before they dropped down to nothing and had one of my comments on the SR seized thread end up in a French newspaper. We were all so bummed that day...

It wasn't even that long ago, but it feels like a lifetime.


[2 Points] Dunavo:

Someone needs to make the Silk Road movie already, starring Ross Ulbricht.


[2 Points] MBisme:

I vividly remember going to sign in and finalize for a deadmaufive order that had come the night before. I had only been on the road for a few months and remember thinking "of course! right when I get the shit figured out".


[2 Points] InfinitelyOutThere:

Man hugs I know what you mean. Though it was only a year ago, I feel nostalgic as fuck for the old /r/silkroad and the ease with which we could order.

I remember reading gwern's old shit, posts by you, dankshit, and all the old pals and i feel freaked out by the fact it was not even that long ago


[2 Points] Meowcat14:

I remember my first few orders back in 2012. I always felt like such an OG because I knew absolutely none of my friends had any idea what it was. Now it's relatively known. meh. As long as everyone is getting their drugs.


[1 Points] tuttutturtle:

You make it sound like it was 30 years ago, lol. Although, a think of lot of users didn't find silkroad until it was seized as it was a very obvious media article so there will be many a 'new' user who doesn't know what the original SR was like... It felt secure, though looking back I can't help think it was just a completely false sense.


[1 Points] papamajama:

Good ole Bitinstant, how easy they made it. I just read that the CEO is facing 30 years for laundering money for Silkroad. I'm sure that they had nothing to do with the road, but still.


[1 Points] organic2013:

haha silkroad was not the old days! But time does fly as markets evolve and technology improves. A lot has come and gone since silk 1.0


[1 Points] sconces:

I was on the original SR as well, and all I gotta say is Agora is the same shit except faster.


[1 Points] RUPTURED_URETHRA:

My only thought after receiving my first SR 1.0 package was "Is this the future? Am I in the fucking future?"


[1 Points] UndefinedExperience:

Ok so, how are you not me again?


[1 Points] riskyquestionzzz2:

So now the new thing is to use coinbase then tumble? Do you guys use coinbase on TOR on on your normal browser before tumbling? Seems so confusing now!