Quote from: JoelKatz on February 17, 2013, 11:12:21 PM

Ripple is a Bitcoin-like payment system for any currency. "Ripple isn't a good currency" is a great rebuttal to an argument nobody's making.

I've been willing to set aside the lack of clear technical documentation and trust that the developers have rigorous mathematical proofs for their claims.

But as I have stated over and over again, it seems people are drawing the conclusion that the "Ripple" currency unit (XRP) functions in the same role as the Bitcoin (BTC). Specifically, that it is a store of value. I've been on the Ripple forum and pointed this out to you JoelKatz. People are coming on there saying they "want to buy a lot of Ripples" and I can only conclude that it is because they think that the Ripple will rise in value like the Bitcoin.

From what you've been telling me, this is not the case. But then we have Jed coming on and saying that yes Ripple does function as a unit of currency like Bitcoin. Which one is it? If the people involved with the project cannot even present a consistent description how can we have confidence in the system?

Either Ripples are just a marginally valued, artificially scarce resource designed to make transaction spam prohibitively expensive (in which case, it is being marketed totally the wrong way) or it functions like the Bitcoin as a store of value (in which, the premine rules Ripple out as any sort of legitimate system no matter how much is being given away).

Look at what people on the Ripple forum are saying:

This guy thinks that having XRPs means he has achieved wealth (like having a bunch of Bitcoins)

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I will sadly admit I am confused on what the best play is with my new found wealth.

This one wants to "sell" his initial XRPs to "cash out"

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Hello, I'm new to the Ripple. So, where I can see the exchange rate?

This guy wants to "invest early" in XRP for nanobitcents on the Ripple, as an early bet on XRPs gaining significant value

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please contact me, large orders over 100k preferred.

Selling VPN services for XRPs. Was this really the purpose behind XRPs?

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Post subject: VPN for Ripples! Only 3,000 XRP a month!

Even people posting in this thread think that XRPs are a store of value, like Bitcoin!

Buying pizza with XRP?

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I'll pay 10,000 XRP for a couple of pizzas..

hashman refers to the XRP pre-mine:

Quote from: hashman on February 16, 2013, 10:14:59 PM

...greed of the founders drove the ideas down into irrelevancy.

Conflating XRPs with BTCs:

Quote from: jancsika on February 22, 2013, 03:53:09 AM

Bitcoin uses the coinbase stuff to hand out the initial distribution. Ripple XRP is handed out by a single corporation. A single corporation in control of 80% of the currency is a textbook definition of central authority.

Thinks Ripple is a "coin"

Quote from: tacotime on February 23, 2013, 08:38:37 PM

Ripple may be the coin for you...

And it goes on and on.

So what's up? Are XRPs coins, a store of value, like Bitcoin? Or what? Can we please get a straight answer?