Quote from: cr1776 on March 23, 2014, 12:10:43 PM

Quote from: An amorous cow-herder on March 23, 2014, 11:11:16 AM

Quote from: cr1776 on March 23, 2014, 09:24:21 AM

Quote from: An amorous cow-herder on March 23, 2014, 08:32:18 AM

Quote from: Taras on March 22, 2014, 02:05:11 AM

Here we go again. I can see it now... That 'Bitcoin User Not Affected' meme will be making a comeback.

Mt.Gox goes bankrupt after theft. Bitcoin User Not Affected ... oh, wait.

If you don't have the private keys, you are not a bitcoin user. You are a creditor to someone else and own no bitcoins, you just own IOUs.

Yeah, right. And if you dont have all your gold and cash hidden in your room you arent a "gold or fiat user". Yeah, thats gonna be safe .. oh, wait. Wouldnt really be a difference if there had been a piece of paper with a couple of numbers on it found as well.

Just because you don't want to deal with reality does not make it untrue. You are not a bitcoin owner if you don't have your keys, you are a creditor to someone else. Period. You don't own bitcoin without the keys.

I completely agree with what you are trying to say, cr1776. But I think the Amorous Cow-Herder is confused by the word "own." What does it actually mean to "own" something?

I think it is more accurate to say:

"If you aren't the sole controller of your private keys, you don't have any bitcoins."

It is obvious to a 5 year old what it means to have something. It is still confusing to me in my 30s what it means to own something.