In my opinion, aside from it being incredibly obvious that all these alternative cryptocurrencies are made with the sole intention of making their creators rich (jealous of Satoshi much?), I think you guys should stick with one digital cryptocurrency, max. Given its relatively short life-span and the number of unresolved problems associated with it, we can't even call Bitcoin a success yet, although I'm sure those who have profited significantly would be quick to call Bitcoin a success. At least, it's not a success when compared to fiat currency which has its security and economy in tact.
Sometimes I wonder how often the members of this community realize how much they marginalize their selves. Everyone's clients/miners/exchanges are ridiculously difficult to use for the average person, and if these issues still exist with the Google of digital cryptocurrencies (i.e. Bitcoin), how do you expect these other silly currencies with dumb names to work (town coin? GTFO)?
I think all these cryptocurrencies give the Bitcoin community a bad name. I think it perpetuates the 'geekiness' of Bitcoin -- imagine the average joe coming on here and then reading about namecoin, solid coin, IOcoin, selfish coin, nerd coin, haven't-gotten-laid-since-2009-coin...all these currencies give the impression we're all just a bunch of greedy fucks with no long-term vision of communal success. If people put half as much time into stimulating the Bitcoin economy as they did devilishly programming their own cryptocurrency code, maybe at least one of these currencies would have a shot (again, i.e. Bitcoin).
Quit marginalizing the community. Bitcoin is the only one that has a shot at mainstream popularity, so quit marginalizing the community with all this nerd crap like alternative cryptocurrencies, the word "troll" (Jesus Christ I hate when people say troll, and grandma does too), ridiculous clients and miners, etc. People like simplicity. This complexity isn't cool. It's chilly. And chilly ain't never been cool.
You're making the very wrong assumption that people actually give a shit about Bitcoin or crypto-currency in the first place. A very large majority of the people involved in BTC, IXC, IOC, NMC and SC, like myself are here for the profit and nothing more. I will continue to hit every "Crypto- Currency of the Week" coin full force at low difficulty and then sell it like crack to idiots that buy it at Double C's ever adapting exchange!!!!
Looking forward to the next one!
BTC was doomed before it launched, just like any of the crypto-currencies it suffers from NEVER being able to have instant transactions.
Without instant transactions BTC will never become mainstream. It may very well exist as it does now to be a favorite amongst the Drug Dealers, Con Artist and "Geeks". But it a'int ever going to see use by Johnny Q. Public.
Peace,
LOL harsh, but mostly true. I agree the transaction confirmation time is one of the biggest problems with bitcoin, but if you're a merchant it's great for internet transactions. I can easily wait an hour or more before shipping something out, and I don't have to worry about fraud or other types of chargebacks, so it can have its place. It is also much easier for international transactions, as outside the US a lot of people don't use credit cards, and other forms of payments (wires, Western Union, etc) are a big hassle. I don't see walking into a store and using it though for sure, unless the merchant is selling a sandwich or something that he isn't going to lose much sleep over having stolen.