I found it interesting that dacoinminster advised not to trust the exchanges or wallet services (
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=33835.0). The guide appears to have been written in 2011- is it safe to say that things have progressed to the point where one could trust, to a reasonable degree, the major exchanges such as Mt. Gox, and pooled mining in general?
No. In fact, I would argue that things have progressed such that you should trust them
less, because government regulation is now getting in the mix. You now need to worry that your funds could be seized by a government at any given moment, independent of the trust you have for the exchange, etc.
I just felt that such a degree of distrust seems behind the times...
No, it will be true for a very long time.
Good points, I hadn't looked at it that way. If I understand it properly, we have progressed from the intrinsic lack of trust present in a developing system to the larger systemic risk that results from recognition and potential governmental interference, meaning that the guide is correct, albeit for somewhat different reasons.