Silk Road forums

Support => Feature requests => Topic started by: bp on April 23, 2012, 08:18 am

Title: A short read of actual scams as a path to account activation.
Post by: bp on April 23, 2012, 08:18 am
I usually am of the "buyer beware and shame on your mom for letting public schools not teach you that" mentality, but only in principle. While VERY wary of any rush to make newer and more complicated rules, I do care about people being burned, here and everywhere else.

I was so excited, in such a hurry, and so busy learning everything technical I had to to get on here I can't say I actually remember what the registration process was. I seem to recall it was get Tor, get bitcoins and get buying. Then get burned, then find out about PGP after sending info in clear text to people,.....oddly enough the first "vendor"/ scammer used privnote, then worry a bunch about how bad that could be, then be told it is what it is, now get a key, learn to encrypt and get back to buying.

All in all an involved process that could have easily put a person of lessor patience and less realistic expectations off. That might be better in many cases, but I had a thought and as anyone who knows me knows, I then immediately write a 10 page paper of rambling run-on sentences about it.
Sometimes I go back and develop the thought but usually I just throw it out there for others to deal with while I get high....and this is no exception.

Consider this......many places we hang out in in cyberspace have a verification process, usually an email link that must be clicked on to activate the account.
Now that would be stupid here but It seems so damn important that new people find these forums and get to reading fast and furious, for everyone's sake, except the scammers/ haters that is, that a simple suggestion to come here might be improved upon.

I know, I am coming close to suggesting a rule, but at least I am putting it in the site owners suggestion box. It's not like I'm lobbying DC or anything evil like that.

What if.....the process to activate an account brought up a link to a special thread in the forums. A concise one (I won't be allowed" with no pissing matches but just brief accounts of scams we have all fallen to.
Actual stories of vendors with 100 feedback that nobody ever received a thing from. Out of escrow nightmares. No shows that neither side believed the other on...a basket of everyday pitfalls that go on here on normal days, never mind the hate and fear that's been slug around lately....but that's real and so useful to know as well. maybe as voluntary graduate work.
The thread could be set up as pages that required reading, or at least faking it, so as to click foe the next page. The last pages could be a rundown of PGP.
The new member activates his account by, after all of this, sending a key in an encrypted message to staff or some saintly volunteer and if it works that person send back a link that activates the account.

I seems that a degree of personalization would be needed to keep cheater from doing it blindfolded, say a body of possible threads in a database, which ones and the path wandering through them chosen my an algorithm, different each time. A copy of the "test" sent to whomever is admining it at the time and maybe a contact means for the newb to ask questions. Assholery gets a newb dropped by that saintly mentor and now he needs to find a new one to finish the process, or an apology.

This seems like it would keep the halfhearted out, provide a barrier in the form of a hassle for those creating multiple accounts for no good reason...actually there would be ample opportunity for the admin to recognize the style of a known respawner and question that, maybe put it to a jury.....but thats getting ahead of myself, and do it still without costing for a buyers account. A tip for the admin might be an idea, or maybe not as it could resemble how business is done in government real quick.
Perhaps a small fee for buyers accounts (is there one now? I don't know) to pay the overhead of basic training.

I see this as an idea with potential. And because I'm never wrong it must be enacted immediately.
Or maybe some eyes not so close to my head could take a look at this and tell me what I'm obviously missing. Not to mention the sellers take and possible unintended consequences for them.

I see anything that is not force (you don't have to come here...no force) and that even if done with the effort of a 7th grader in the last week of school, it would open a lot of eyes to reality here that so many learn the hard way. And cut down on those damn fake buyers whose only purpose is to sow discord here.
If it's that important to them let them pay in time and btc for the means to fuck with decent people.


Anyone?