Anonymity does not necessitate a lack of moderation. Those sections of 4chan that are actually moderated are excellent places for discussion. I found out about Bitcoin from a 4chan post.
Fair point. However, the current state of this forum doesn't exactly inspire confidence that an anonymous section would be properly moderated.
I'm impressed that you see exactly what's going on, but then somehow believe that its simply a PR issue? As I really like what you have written I'd appreciate you letting me know if I'm missing something - I've spent the past month and half going from being really excited about Bitcoin as an elegant technical triumph (and something fun to follow) to realizing that participating in Bitcoin largely means having to mingle in mud with "Shut da gubment down!" armchair economists and other fringe types who've read enough to spit out libertarian platitudes, buzzwords like "fractional reserve banking" and "fiat" (in almost every damn sentence), but don't make much sense. Clearly this isn't everyone, and there are many folks on here far smarter than me, but - and this is what bothers me - there are an awful lot that don't seem to be. When I think of the face of Bitcoin I can't help but visualize an angry Uncle Jesse from the Dukes of Hazzard with an added slackjaw and lazy eye. And if, as someone who came here with earnest interest, I do, I am pretty darn sure that that the uninitiated will too.
You're right that it's not just that the "Bitcoin PR" folks aren't doing it right. Our PR department, so to speak, has suffered a hostile takeover by those who have no clue how to do PR properly, if they even care. It's not even a "too many anarchists" problem, it's a "too many tactless fools" problem.
I don't think this is an inevitable result of the nature of Bitcoin. The core developers come across as fairly reasonable people, after all. I see this forum as the focal point of the image issue. Everyone looking for more information about bitcoin goes to bitcoin.org, which directs them here, where they see all the tactless fools who have set up camp. The forum admins have made sure that this place is a welcoming environment for tactless fools, who need not fear having their nonsense censored.