I will also point out that I am collecting quite a bit of information on the human nature aspect as you point out. I just did not expect it to be quite so, well vocal, at the start. I am finding it very hard to keep myself separate from the experiment due to the overwhelming suspicions of being a scammer. So while it is fun and exciting to see all the different reactions, in my desire to keep the experiment on-track and reassure people enough that I can get enough participants to work with, I am also risking breaking one of the first parts of the experiment.
Okay, I do a lot of MTurking... and experimenters assure people by posting their IRL information. So if what you say it true, you should post your IRL information. No need to explain the experiment. But, for all we know, you're an 8yo kid trying to see if he can get the bitcoiners to give him/her free BTC just for the asking. Surely, you are not a part of the experiment and your IRL info will not sway the experiment.
Previously, you said you could move forward with 5 people. You have 5 donors, but now it sounds like you still can't move forward for some reason?
Also, not sure why you posted that you have $4+ in BTC when you were only asking for $1 equiv?
You have not stated if the donors will ever get their donation back or not.
All the cloak and dagger is not working in your favor. That you didn't expect back-lash for it, seems to say that you're not very familiar with online fund raising. As someone else has posted above said, go on any website looking for donations and you'll get the same scrutiny. That is not a failure of the bitcoin community. Once you've collected your data, post it and your interpretations and I'll bet you that I can match your 'experiment' tit-for-tat through pre-existing community threads where people solicit donations for anything from sick animals, to baby formula, to pizza.
I am personally amazed by the bitcoin community and I don't see anything unexpected in this thread. (Well, except for FalconFly who is wonderful and I wish them every good thing on earth!)
If you look through the posting, you can see early on I admitted to messing up by not more clearly stating I need participants more than a set amount of Bitcoin to begin. The experiment can indeed move ahead with 5 people, although it will work better with more. I have no reason to move forward simply to try and appease inpatient observers.
I am starting to get the feeling that instead of merely raising valid concerns, some people are just actively trying to sabotage this thread. Thus my original vision was to have something like 10 people each donating $0.10 worth of Bitcoin to make an even $1.00. The amount was arbitrary and intentionally meant to be kept low to avoid all this distraction. I simply needed enough to not be eaten up by fees, since there will be multiple transactions involved.
Now I have been as upfront and forward with everyone as much as I can be without disclosing too much to ruin the experiment. I have taken the time to try and respond to almost every post to address any concerns or complaints, but some seem to be never satisfied.