Almost every thread where someone starts talking about becoming a new miner they are talked out of it by people who are currently doing it.
Let's take the ideal situation. Let's say the question started out like:
Hi guys. I have an extra $2K lying around to buy hardware. I pay $0.10 per kWh. I have a garage that is secure and stays cool. It has plenty of outlets and I already have ethernet out there connected to my broadband internet. I know my way around the command line and can troubleshoot problems fairly well. I've got a little extra time and mining would be a better use of it than watching TV. Once I get my feet wet, I might expand capacity as there is extra room and power to do so if I want.
I doubt anyone would try to dissuade this person from proceeding.
Let's take the more typical situation:
Hi guys. I got laid off and need money. I have an old Dell PC but think I can borrow a thousand dollars from my girlfiend's father who will go in on this venture 50/50. We live in California so electricity isn't cheap, unfortunately. It gets hot in the summer so I suppose I won't be able to mine year-round. I don't care about the noise or heat, but when the new baby comes I'll have to figure something better as the rig will have to share the room. I'm not really technical but I ran this virus sweeper and it fixed my mom's PC so I should be able to do mining too. The IT guy where I used to work was telling me about how he brings in a thousand dollars a month, all for free, because he already earned more than his hardware cost. What should I buy and how much money can I get from mining?
Or worse:
Hi guys. I want to build a mining farm am looking for investors. What hardware do I need?
Haha, when you put it like that it does clear things up a bit.
Im particularly fond of this one.
Hi guys. I want to build a mining farm am looking for investors. What hardware do I need?
You make some great points here. So let me phrase my question in what you have pointed out might be the correct format. I have a stable job with a steady middle class income. I can afford to lose my investment (which I consider, for me at least to be investing in a hobby and not a business). I have cheap electricity and also may be converting part of my house to solar on an unrelated project.
I want to invest in two BFL singles and see where it goes from there. I also want to buy BTC on the exchange. Im no hacker but I have higher than average skillz and will likely be able to figure out how to operate my equipment with little to no help. And to be honest a big reason I want to get into BTC mining is it gives me a reason to educate myself further on programming, and Linux skills. So having said that all that
I guess I dont a question. Ive pretty much convinced myself to give it a shot. What the hell, Ive wasted money on a lot worse ideas over the years.