Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: bbhc52 on May 29, 2013, 06:21 pm

Title: LE messaging vendors
Post by: bbhc52 on May 29, 2013, 06:21 pm
I got this message today

"    Hello,

I am a French journalist working on a 52 minutes documentary about the deep web and anonymous black markets such as Silk Road. This subject is not well known in France and our main goal is to make it understandable by a large audience.
The documentary will be broadcast on the French channel “13ème rue” and is produced by the TV press agency “Elephant & Cie”. You can check our website here (there is a documentary section) :
http://www.elephant-groupe.com/
We have a serious confidentiality of sources policy and I insist on our strong ethics.

We will specially stay on the Silk Road case because we want to show that this website is more than just a drug place. The interesting aspect for us is to explain that there is an ideology behind, such as freedom, anonymity, respect and responsibility. This aspects can be the more surprising for the audience because it breaks the immediate clichés about such a black market place. We also want to put things in perspective : concerning drugs for example, it more about quality than quantity… We know that you can’t buy or sell huge amounts of drugs on Silk Road and it makes a big difference with the drug cartels.

In order to make that documentary complete and objective, it’s very important for us to have a Silk Road seller’s opinion. Of course, it would be a complete anonymous interview and we could meet you anywhere you live.
To understand how this site works and what is the ideology behind, we want to hear the people who are using it regularly…
We have plenty of questions such as :

-How do you have discovered Silk Road ?
-Why have you chosen to sell on Silk Road ?
-Is it complicated to start ?
-What about the bitcoins ?
-Is it hazardous ?
-What are the kind of customers ? Are they coming from every part of the globe ?
-Where were you selling before being on Silk Road ?
-What Silk Road has changed in your life ?
-What is the future of this kind of website for you ?

We will be mostly shooting the film during the month of June in the USA. The film maker is named Loïc Thon Tat.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Best regards.

Nancy Correia

e-mail : n.correia@elephant-cie.com
+33 (0)1 56 21 37 78"

I am very sure this is a LE attempt to catch a few vendors, so be careful!
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: tree on May 29, 2013, 07:33 pm
It definitely sounds pretty fishy. The names mentioned are all completely bogus and it's not even written properly, they use " ’ " instead of " ' "for apostrophes, and a foreign journalist would at least use an official translator I think.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: danconia on May 29, 2013, 07:42 pm
I'm not French nor am I a vendor but my gut instinct is to ignore and avoid anyone claiming to be a journalist who wants to report about the Silk Road.  Unless you already know someone personally and they are trustworthy and *happen* to be a journalist then I'd stay far away.  Even then you'd have to be vigilant to make sure that you remained anonymous.

I don't think any of us have much to gain from these journalist stories anyway.  More often than not the facts are misrepresented and cast the SR in a negative light.  Just do a quick cost vs. benefit analysis and you'll get the idea.  Plus if they're just some small-time journalist from some small TV news show then keep in mind they aren't exactly on the level of Wikileaks or National Geographic when it comes to keeping their sources anonymous (not completely sure how Wikileaks and NG are about this to be honest but you get the point).
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: hoobydoobydoo on May 29, 2013, 08:48 pm
Any seller would be absolutely crazy to meet someone on SR in person for something like this (or anything for that matter).

I suppose you could do a torchat to provide them answers to their questions - but I don't see how this would be beneficial to yourself or anyone on SR.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: kingpinirl on May 29, 2013, 09:05 pm
Vendors and buyers on this site need to use common sense.  It completely blows me away when someone comes on here and has been scammed from an email phishing attempt, or has entered into the wrong website and compromised their account.  I realize that isn't what we are talking about here, but use the below advice when dealing with any unsolicited email. 

Vendors - if you get a message from anyone that isn't about buying your product ("Do you offer larger listings?", "Do you offer express shipping?", etc) IGNORE IT and move on. 

Buyers - If you get a message from anyone that you haven't solicited IGNORE IT and move on.  Vendors and the Support staff aren't going to randomly message you about any special offers or ask you to verify information. 

I can't comprehend how someone can make it to this site and not have a little common sense.  Even people using Ebay wouldn't fall for some of the shit I've seen people fall for here.  If you got an email from "Ebay Support" saying you needed to verify your account, or you were one of a selected few allowed to buy stock in Ebay, would you even bother with a response? 
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Jack N Hoff on May 29, 2013, 09:47 pm
Quote
How do you have discovered Silk Road?

How do you have learned English?
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: tree on May 30, 2013, 12:22 am
Quote
How do you have discovered Silk Road?

How do you have learned English?
Even a foreign journalist wouldn't write crap like that if it was part of their report.. But then again, maybe if you google the names, and try to find the email of the real journalist (if she exists), you could ask for confimation. You should obviously not meet her in person but could do an interview over the silroad messaging system.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: koonta on May 30, 2013, 03:39 am
I'll make u famous............
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Jack N Hoff on May 30, 2013, 03:51 am
I want to see a DRUGS INC episode about drugs sold on the deepweb. ;D
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: motek on May 30, 2013, 04:26 am
hmmm it does sound pretty weird BUT the language used IS pretty right for a french person with ESL!  They make similar mistakes. Even if they speak good english!

Dutch people also do the same, they speak great english but make the same weird mistakes as only other nederlander's would do!


The site checks out   http://www.elephant-groupe.com/?_escaped_fragment_=/contact#!/contact   BUT  this "nancy" chick doesn't seem to be part of it! 

 I doubt someone would be  using this mobs email account without 'permission' BUT that doesn't mean they aren't LE of some sort!


Be careful folks, dont become compacent like so many folks are!


 m m m motek
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Hendrix99 on May 30, 2013, 04:29 am
Is it just me or does anyone else Not like seeing/hearing about Silk Road being in the media on some News story or Documentary or something main stream that LOTs of people from the general public see.

I get a bad feeling everytime that I hear of these storys Because the more eyes and attention on this place  the Bigger the target its going to have and makes it more dangerous for the people like us who use it. I still get worked up thinking about how long this will go on for and how/if it will come crashing down and who/how many people will get fucked in the process.

Just Some thoughts going thru my drug fueled mind tonite. What do others think about this??? Im curious on your thoughts/opinions
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: motek on May 30, 2013, 04:35 am
It's not just you bro, I think most of us feel the same way ... sadly the 'mainstream media' distort the truth for sensationalism which attracts buyers/viewers which is the main reason why.

Alas I dont think it's possible to cover the enormity of the SR's 'value' to the community ... not while there are SO many who 'believe' in the WoD's ...

The ignorance of the masses is our biggest obstacle!


m m m
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Mhaura on May 30, 2013, 04:57 am
I'd suggest vendors stay away from this with a 20 foot pole.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: P2P on May 30, 2013, 05:52 am
Even if this was really a reporter (which is not unlikely), I would suggest that you immediately delete such messages. Any vendor that answers these questions does not have the best interest of the silkroad at heart. Any attention at this point is negative attention and needs to be avoided.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Nyaruko on May 30, 2013, 06:22 am
Hilarious attempt. I hope nobody falls for that, reminds me of that Nigerian chain mail scam.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Hungry ghost on May 30, 2013, 06:25 am
Quote
How do you have discovered Silk Road?

How do you have learned English?

How do your french?

This seems legit to me, it wouldn't be the first journalist to ask these questions . However I agree that we have little to gain from another article, however sympathetic, apart from loads of newbie threads asking "what's a bit coin" and "how I do have pgp?".

          Article is getting written anyway I would imagine; there's plenty of material available just by trawling this forum. Its easy enough to quote forum posts "silk road member Johnny Big Bollocks said he has never had any problems getting Bit coin, but recently its been a real ballache" and make it sound like you did an interview.

          They all come, with " its going to be about the liberty loving freedom aspect of the online black market" but they will never be able to resist a bit of "online black market where your twelve year old daughter can buy DATE RAPE drug"
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Hungry ghost on May 30, 2013, 06:41 am
I must admit I am a little puzzled why people think that slight mistakes in otherwise very good English = LE. Have you ever spoken to a french person? That's pretty much how they sound.

       I imagine LE would use much worse English....it would be handwritten in crayon
      "What is your name and address? You been in trouble with us before? Got anything sharp in your pockets?"
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: tramonym on May 30, 2013, 07:41 am
lets keep flying below radar. in all our interest!
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: dabdiego on May 30, 2013, 08:06 am
Pretty hilarious effort on whoever sent that's part, but on a more serious note I really hope nobody ends up putting their clients in danger by filling one of these "interviews" out. Also, agree with the idea that less attention to SR would be nice. In this case all attention is not good attention. Stay safe y'all.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: albionessential on May 30, 2013, 08:12 am
I have recently had 2 people contact me posing as customers asking questions that only people with a very small idea on how the business goes, and what the scene is about. They were asking very strange and delicate questions. I am assuming it was LE.
It is lucking I'm not paranoid.....Oh wait.. :o
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: PoolPlaya on May 30, 2013, 02:27 pm
"Of course, it would be a complete anonymous interview and we could meet you anywhere you live."

My favorite line ;)
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: jackofspades on May 30, 2013, 02:52 pm
I have recently had 2 people contact me posing as customers asking questions that only people with a very small idea on how the business goes, and what the scene is about. They were asking very strange and delicate questions. I am assuming it was LE.
It is lucking I'm not paranoid.....Oh wait.. :o
What ques were they, they coulda just been noobs :P

If they are willing to meet you anywhere you live, you should send them to the middle of nowhere on a wild goose chase lol. Fuck LEO "Meet me in my palace made of Silk on the main street of Baghdad Ill know its you if you are wearing an American flag for a shirt and burning the Qur'an. Thats how il know its not a setup i will then reveal myself to answer all your questions about SR:)"

I wouldn't be surprised if legit documentary crews did want to do some honest research and not set people up but if they did any prior research before  theyd know noone would meet IRL

Do the interview via TORmail for complete anonymity.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: heatcheck on May 30, 2013, 06:10 pm
I wouldn't be surprised if legit documentary crews did want to do some honest research and not set people up but if they did any prior research before  theyd know noone would meet IRL

Do the interview via TORmail for complete anonymity.

I'm sure some legit documentary crews or reporters are trying to get information on here. It is a pretty big topic for people who are just hearing about SR or have seen it in the news a couple of times.

Some outlets, like VICE, really love to write about SR.

If the headline "Secret Online Drug Marketplace" doesn't attract your normal reader to an article then I don't know what will. Maybe something like"Mutant Sharks with Legs Planning to Invade Beaches Everywhere." As crazy as that headline seems, its probably just as crazy as the first one would sound to some people.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Jack N Hoff on May 30, 2013, 06:15 pm
If the headline "Secret Online Drug Marketplace" doesn't attract your normal reader to an article then I don't know what will.

Very deceiving title.  Actually, it's a blatant lie.  This place is far from a secret. ;D
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Andrewbud420 on May 30, 2013, 06:26 pm
I want to see a DRUGS INC episode about drugs sold on the deepweb. ;D


mois aussi s'il vous plait
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Miah on May 31, 2013, 02:00 am
I smell Interpool all over that message.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: hellwillbetoasty on May 31, 2013, 04:39 am
Journalism articles are not what we need for 'good publicity' or public awareness. They'll most likely just skew the fuck out of it and make the public scared. I don't think journalists can really be trusted because they rely so much on what people want to hear, at least a little bit anyways if they want to have a positive public response.

What we need are more scholarly case studies, like one that was posted a few weeks ago called 'a case study of a single user's experience on SR' or something like that. Academics who don't give a fuck how the public will view what they find researching the road, the public opinion of it will not really effect their career - unlike a journalist
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: oldcactushand on May 31, 2013, 04:07 pm
I don't know if this is legit, but I don't think it's LE. If the logic is "A foreign journalist would never..." then surely the logic must also be "A police sting would never..."

It seems to me that the war on drugs is increasingly being questioned in much more mainstream circles now than it was a decade or more ago. The media are going to report on the Silk Road whether people give interviews or not, and people have already and will continue to give interviews.

Some mainstream organisations (like The Guardian) are doing pretty objective and positive stuff on the silk road, even if the tone is still one of fear. It's worth remembering that "the mainstream media" is not the same in different countries, and even though it may never question some of the same things, it does represent a different set of interests and circumstances. Before deciding to give any interview, look at the work that journalist has done. Look at the publication they are writing for. What do you think of it? Do they do 'moral panic' stories, where the aim is to frighten the reader? Or do they do informative pieces designed understand something you may have previously found frightening? Ask the journalist what their opinions are, how they got interested etc. Does it sound convincing?

I don't like the idea of 'never give interviews' ever because publicity is bad. The Silk Road isn't hiding anymore. The more people using it, the harder it becomes to stop. People are beginning to know about the Silk Road. As that number increases, more people will write about it. At the moment they know of it, but they don't know about it and when it gets big enough that blank will begin to be filled in. Most people who would never use the Silk Road but have heard of it would be very pleasantly surprised by the way it functions with such success and guarantees much higher quality leading to much safer drug use, for example. On top of that, you have the complete absence of violence. "It's revolutionizing the drug deal!" etc... Basically, I think there's a lot of room in the current climate of very harsh (if overdue) mainstream criticism of the drug war for a positive narrative of SR.

Not telling anyone what to do though. If you don't want to give an interview, don't.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: SandStorm on May 31, 2013, 10:15 pm
Having nothing better to do atm I wrote an answer to this. Should I send it to her?

"I am a French journalist working on a 52 minutes documentary about the deep web and anonymous black markets such as Silk Road. This subject is not well known in France and our main goal is to make it understandable by a large audience."

Recent years the internet has become more easy to monitor, therefore to protect one self from surveillance from the state or other institutions/companies a counterculture has appeared which tries to protect ones anonymity. Tor has been a major contribution to this, the tor project has protected dissidents and journalists in China, during the Arabian spring, and also those who are dissidents from the current market economy. Your focus should rather be on how it is possible to apply counter politics on the deep web, and then maybe mention silkroad as an example in reference to this.

"We have a serious confidentiality of sources policy and I insist on our strong ethics."

Your suggestion of meeting in person shows that your "confidentiality of sources policy" isn't serious enough.

"We will specially stay on the Silk Road case because we want to show that this website is more than just a drug place."

-- It is a market place with that has an agoristic philosophy. Since drugs are a substance which is illegal in most places to sell and distribute it is natural that this becomes the dominating product of such a market place. --

"We also want to put things in perspective : concerning drugs for example, it more about quality than quantity…"

When it comes to the products of silkroad we have a free marketplace which improves the your choices as a buyer. To survive in a free market you have to be able to compete on things like service, quality and price. Service is probably the most cost efficient things to improve, therefore most sellers are very pleasant to interact with as a buyer.
If you have a product of good quality this can easily become known to customers at silkroad if you have a "vendor review-thread" on the forums or if you are mentioned in a "review of *****-vendors threads".

"We know that you can’t buy or sell huge amounts of drugs on Silk Road and it makes a big difference with the drug cartels."

You can, but I would not advice to do that. And I do not think it is the ones who distribute large amounts of drugs silkroad was created for. Its more for individual who wish to oppose the current system in a more secure way it is designed for.

And it also protects the identity of the buyers and sellers so therefore this marked do not have the violence associated with drug cartels. It is frowned upon if a seller misuses the identifying details he/she gets from a buyer and if this is done the seller will lose his account. He/she can make a new account, but the creditability the seller gained on the last account will be lost so the prize of misusing the buyers info is in most cases higher than what can be gained from misusing a customers information.

"In order to make that documentary complete and objective, it’s very important for us to have a Silk Road seller’s opinion. Of course, it would be a complete anonymous interview and we could meet you anywhere you live."

This is my address: http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion
you can come visit anytime you'd like :)

"-How do you have discovered Silk Road ?"

It was to in an attemt to protect my anonymity I stumbled upon tor and hidden services. Silkroad was the far most active forum I found and I've learned many things after my arrival.

"-More questions ?"

Not a seller, so I do not have any good answers for you here.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: mushmold on June 01, 2013, 09:22 am
Ignore, ignore and ignore!

Why would anyone who actually uses the Road want to have any converse with media and certain LEO's (hey it has been known that they monitor journalists for some time, the present Incident is just par for the coarse)? We are here for our personal and Anonymous reasons, anon being the most important! Meeting someone from the Tor realm only endangers us all in a World with less and less privacy. Keep your actions here private or you will end up meeting someone like Sabu...   

mushmold
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: tree on June 02, 2013, 11:19 am
If you plan on replying to them, I put more a bigger emphasis on "we want to show that this website is more than just a drug place.", if they write an article or make a documentary, showing them how the silkroad is a good thing could make them show silkroad on a good light. I think a TV documentary about that would cause much more LE attention in France, and then in the EU so it wouldn't be so good... Unless they convince the general population that there's nothing wrong with drugs bought from SR.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: DrChong on June 02, 2013, 12:14 pm
I like how the standard response to anything is "Must be LE!".

Everyone is LE. Everyone on SR is actually LE, and we're all just LE selling drugs to other LE. No one is not LE.

Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: madJ on June 02, 2013, 09:10 pm
Yeaaaaaaaaa...no journalists.
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: shakedown street on June 03, 2013, 03:14 am
There isn't a collective group of people who are larger assholes than the French.

Lebeau from Hogans' Heroes was the toughest person to ever come out of France.   ( Q; What's the best part of a Frenchman?  A;The part that ran down his mothers' leg...)

The biggest sissy/sellouts on the planet.

Who gives a fuck what they want or care about.

We should have let Hitler have his way with those cunts.

Eat a fat dick.  Love, SDS

BTW...FTP
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: THUMBSuP. on June 03, 2013, 05:22 pm
oh well.
no one has to meet "face to face" to answer some stupid questions..
that aren't even asked properly...



fail.


tech.


/thumbs
Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: Trappy on June 03, 2013, 07:22 pm
The Silk Road isn't a charity. If you're going to write a journalist's article for her, demand payment up front or in escrow.

Title: Re: LE messaging vendors
Post by: jameslink2 on June 04, 2013, 01:30 am
"Of course, it would be a complete anonymous interview and we could meet you anywhere you live."

My favorite line ;)

But I live on SR so why not have it right here? :>