Quote from: misterbigg on May 27, 2013, 03:37:09 PM

Quote from: oakpacific on May 27, 2013, 03:23:49 PM

Yeah, tell me more why should I stop using IOUs issued by at least somehow legally regulated corporations, and join the happy lawless Ripple family.

You shouldn't! Ripple users need to use the same level of care and discrimination choosing a gateway as they do in choosing an exchange (I think the wiki makes the clear, at least...I hope it does!)

There's significant overlap between gateways and exchanges. A Bitcoin exchange makes the perfect candidate for a gateway since they already perform the same functions. Ripple uses the term "gateway" as opposed to exchange because a gateway does more - it's IOUs can be traded in a decentralized fashion. Note that I'm not saying that the gateway itself is decentralized, they still represent a server where activity takes place (i.e. web interface to your Bitstamp account). But the IOUs are (there's still counterparty risk though).

Anonymous gateways are a bad thing! You want to make sure that you use a gateway which is a registered business, preferably in your jurisdiction. They should also have a good reputation.

tl;dr No need to use Ripple, just stay with banks/exchanges.