Ooh an old timer's thread!
I started out in crypto in May of 2013 mining LTC. After scrypt ASICs came out I started looking for somewhere else to go and ran across this article. It's an oldie but a goody:
http://www.devtome.com/doku.php?id=a_massive_investigation_of_instamines_and_fastmines_for_the_top_alt_coins It was important to me to find a fairly launched coin with a future and monero fit the bill. Been mining XMR since June 2014. I also sold my LTC for XMR. I made the mistake of going on vacation late last August with a monero sell order that I didn't think could possibly get filled. Of course it did so I lost a bit of my stash for much cheaper than I should have. I don't leave coins on the exchange anymore, but more recently I've been mining more profitable coins so I can dump them and buy monero. I've also got a few friends doing the same thing and have evangelizing a bit more. With the GUI and RingCT I feel like XMR is near-ready for prime time.
I've been reading the monero threads everyday for years. Feel like I know most of you. I was here when Fluffy Pony was just a mortal. When TacoTime was a person and not a fast food chain. When TrueCryptonaire seemed reasonable. I even googled "Barolo" to see what all the fuss was about.
This is a new handle because I forgot my old password and accidentally banned myself trying to get in today, but even with my old handle I only ever posted 2 or 3 times. I'm sure there are more like me that don't say much or anything at all.
Cashed in all my LTC for XMR (or MRO as I think it started off) it started off 'expensive' in 2014 compared to the lows of 2015, so I just averaged down by buying the hell out of it at the 25c to 50c level.
Even paid my son a few hundred in one of his wage packets instead of a couple of day's pay when he said he wanted to buy some.
I had to call him up last week and ask him round for an intensive course in handling his own wallet and how to cash out via BTC and Stamp etc since it has become a fairly decent stash of cash for him. It was just parked on MyMonero, which I didn't want to be responsible for any more, or decide for him whether to cash in. Like a boss he said: 'No - I want to hodl it'
When I look back at the sub 50c Monero he got then, it makes me smile. He had forgotten about them, he was totally bowled over.
It's been quite a ride. Shame about losing so many in my boating accident of course, but I still have a few.