Unfortunately I have to agree that you don't seem particularly qualified.
Furthermore, coin, money, and currency at least (of the terms you listed) each have distinct definitions that pre-date any US government: (emphasis mine)
Coin is just one type of money. Money is that which has currency. Currency is current value.
Frankly, your advice to avoid these well-defined terms in favor of more vague ones recently-coined by some three-letter agency is laughably bad.
I agree with most of your post, benjamin. Mea culpa.
I retract my earlier comments about not referring to it as a currency.
I could go back and edit my post, but I want to leave it there so its clear how new to bitcoin I am. I have much to learn. Thank you for the criticism. I got way ahead of myself with some of my statements about what should be said about bitcoin. Sorry about that, it is not my place.
It just seemed to me that virtual goods have received such favorable treatment in the law so far with second life and WoW gold that it would be easier for bitcoin to be defined as a virtual good.
But I see now upon further reflection and study that the bitcoin project's goal is to be recognized as a currency, a medium of exchange in direct competition with government issued currency. It is distinguished from Lindens and GP because those virtual goods are intended by their issuers to be used within the virtual world. Exchanges have been set up to convert them back and forth to govt. currency and (with Linden dollars) bitcoins. But that is secondary to those project's goals, which were to make a fun MMOG. Not so with bitcoin.
In Jeff Garzik's interview on CBSnews online June 8, he described bitcoin succinctly as:
"a decentralized electronic currency with no central bank" and "a worldwide currency". So that's what it is.
As to my motives, I'm here to discuss the project with people in the know, which is why I posted in the project development forum. I want to discussed and be criticized openly as part of a general educational effort. I hope the education flows both ways. I ask for some leeway at first while I get fully up to speed. It's clear I'm not ready to hit the ground running 100%.
What lawyer is? And hopefully this thread and other forum activity will serve to educate lawyers in the future so they don't have to suffer same slings and arrows that (it looks like) are in store for me.
As to the poster who called 90% of all law schools in the U.S. a "cesspool", I'm not going to get into a flame war with you. I can't take you seriously when you display such an unseemly lack of civility and only have 3 posts, 2 of them to sharply criticize me in a rude manner. None of them demonstrating any knowledge of bitcoin or any attempt on your part to benefit from or contribute to the discussion of the project.
Once again, thank you for the criticism. Sorry my posts get so long.