I can't seem to find the X11/X13 parts of this site.  Is there an X11/X13 port set up yet?

My objective:
1) First off, safe investments/returns in bitcoin securities
2) Second, researching a business proposition, and trying to decide which crowdsourcing platform to pursue for funding
Ideally, both of these would occur at the same location for convenience.

The options I've found to meet both 1 and 2:
Cryptostocks - I have been using Cryptostocks for some time now, and never had a problem.  However, I recently saw this thread and was concerned:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=88036.0
I was one of the early Mt. Gox jumpers due to similar issues with their operation.  My normal rule of thumb in business is that when communication stops, it's time to go.  I just did a withdrawal and everything seems to be working fine.

Havelock - I don't know much about Havelock investments.  I just set up an account there, and I don't like the user interface as much as Cryptostocks, and there seem to be less offerings.  I also can't find the root thread for Havelock investments (the platform) on the forums here, which I always like to read in full before I go with something.

Others - I saw this thread, and note that there are several other options:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=213964.0
- Since I am a U.S. citizen, bitfunder seems to not like me, so I guess that's out.
- Looks like BTCT is in some kind of collapse, or maybe just retool, not sure, but the site didn't give me warm fuzzies
- MPEX I think can only achieve objective 1, not objective 2, so at risk of incurring the ire of MP for being a dumbass for not knowing something I should, I'll just leave it there (sorry this is more of a hobby for me presently...with the full time startup business I'm already running, can't read every thread).

As always, would appreciate any helpful commentary from the community.

Like I've said for months...companies who don't communicate, go out of business.  The death of Mt. Gox was inevitable given its horrid business practices.

The sea anchor has finally been cut loose.  Thank God.

I reached this point on October 15...many did long before that.  When a business fails to communicate with its customers, as Mt. Gox has ***ALWAYS*** failed to do, it is a sign that you should run for the hills.

They are staying silent because they are completely incapable of communicating.  This is the principle reason that I left them.  We will never understand what they are doing, because they will never tell us.

When there is no communication, there is no trust.  When there is no trust, customers leave.  When customers leave, you go out of business.

Basic shit...that they have always, and will always, fail at.  The only reason they still exist is that they were first and are coasting on momentum.

Everyone needs to pull out of Gox right now.  Yes it will suck.  Yes people will lose money, but the body will survive.  Recovery can't begin until you eliminate the infection.

JUST SAY NO to Mt. Gox.  The best decision I ever made was leaving their exchange.

Unfortunately, their power to screw me seems able to extend past even having my money there.

Mt. Gox must die...NOW.  The sooner the better so we can get on with our lives.  Karpeles is a kid and an idiot, at a minimum he should put someone in charge who knows what the hell they are doing (i.e. not him).

This isn't personal, it's a business, and they suck at it.  What happens to businesses who suck?  They go out of business.

http://i.imgur.com/W92QjLn.png

campbx seems the most viable of what you've listed, but has high fees.
coinbase is not an exchange, I use it all the time...but not for trading.
coinmkt is in beta, doesn't seem to have any volume and doesn't have an API, so doesn't seem viable for trading yet.
bitfinex is still in beta-test according to their website, so doesn't seem ready for volume or trading either.

None of these would seem to be viable high volume exchange replacements for Gox or Bitstamp.  Not that I can get my bitcoin out right now anyway because they both fail so hard...but once I can I'd like to know where to go.

Bitstamp total fail today....total total total epic massive utter failure.

So if we can't use Gox, because they GOX us...and we can't use Bitstamp...because they STAMP us...where the hell are we supposed to trade bitcoins?

And I'm not talking about some stupid localbitcoin thing, I mean an actual no kidding functional EXCHANGE...like stocks, or FOREX, or any other damn thing that's traded in the universe.

Can't log into bitstamp.

My API still works (shows connected) but shows 0 balances.

API stopped working as BTC was cruising through 450 downward and hasn't worked since.

WTF Is going on???

I love your software...I'm beginning to hate the bitstamp API.

Not your issue though.

Adding more exchanges, since both GOX and Bitstamp seem to have their own unique problems would be good...and we really need stop loss orders.

This is well understood to be because Dwolla pulled the rug out from underneath them.  Once ACH comes online in a few days, CampBX will be back in line with the "non-Gox" USD exchanges...that is, exchanges that you can actually pull USD out of.

And I trade on Bitstamp not because I'm planning to pull my USD out daily or something, but that I know at SOME POINT I will want to pull some USD out, and I would really like to have that option.

Plus, in the event Mt. Gox ever does open up USD transfers, although why bother at this point -- but if they did, then arbitrage would immediately send the Gox price down and raise up all other USD liquid exchanges to level the prices out.

But in so doing, has had zero communication with us.  It is incumbent upon businesses to communicate with their desired customers what the issues are and how they are addressing them.  Mt. Gox has never been open about communication, they instead hide behind closed doors and wait until good news before they say anything at all.  Their last post on facebook was Aug 2, their last main press release -- not discounting some silly ones that occurred in between, the last REAL news from this massive organization is Aug 2?

If any major company operated this way they would already be out of business, the only reason Mt. Gox hasn't...is that fundamentally, few of you are businesspeople and/or, they have a customer base in Japan that is happy with their communication and performance.

Trust is everything in business, and once lost nearly impossible to regain.  The only way I will ever do business with Gox again is if I have absolutely no other alternative.  I do not and can not trust people who are unwilling to communicate with me.

Obviously the Yen works great there, so unless you have a Japanese bank account, my advice would be run to the hills, take the one time hit, sell it on coinbase and get on with your life.

I've tried 3 computers from 2 IP addresses -- I keep getting this Inapsula Error Code 16 every time I log into Bitstamp.  Does anyone know why this is happening and/or how I can contact support to get this addressed?

I still don't even have my Jalepeno.  You get to screw a single customer once, then that customer will never do business with you again.  If you screw everyone once at the same time, then you best cash out your business because its over.

BFL is dead to me.

I'm trying to get a bitcoin business started in Northern Virginia, and things are going less than great.  I'm sure you guys know about tangible cryptography by now (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=224057.0).

Their solution was to move out of the area, but that's not an option for me.  Family and my first business are keeping me here, so it's either figure out bitcoin in Virginia, or just don't do it.  Anyway, I was hoping to team up with some folks locally here, see if we could form a group working together to try and lobby folks and/or share legal fees, and things like that.  I've hired a lawyer here locally to help me out, so he's already getting smart on bitcoin and you could benefit from that, and perhaps we can share ideas and take time reaching out to legislature/bureaucrats/etc.

PM me.

Actually CampBX says you can use wire/ACH now.  See their recent facebook update, or tldr: "Dwolla deposits to CampBX will end Oct 15 and Dwolla withdrawals from CampBX will end Oct 28. Please use money orders and ACH for your trading needs on CampBX."

https://www.facebook.com/CampBX?hc_location=timeline

I don't care what society you live in, they all have laws and rules, the only anarchy you can have is the one you make for yourself.  Anything that facilitates commerce, freedom, and such while obeying laws and rules is good, anything that breaks laws and rules is bad.

Now...if we don't like some of those rules, well then we need to change them.  I'm no fan of over-regulation and micromanagement of our lives, but that's not bitcoin's fault, that's our fault for losing control of our governments, and we should fight hard to get that back.  But this is about bitcoin, as a long term means to that end in my view.  If we truly want bitcoin to succeed, and I think we do, then it has to be legitimate.  For it to be legitimate, it must be crime-resistant (nothing is crime proof) and must frown on exposed illegal activity.

I'm not for anarchy, but I'm certainly for a lot less government and a lot more freedom in our lives.  But again, that's not bitcoins fault that we let our government slip into a soft tyranny.  Hopefully when bitcoin becomes a mainstream currency, we will take at least two tools of government force away permanently, namely bad fiscal and bad monetary policy.

So let's say for a moment that all your dreams come true...LTC is added to Gox...LTC price shoots up, and you sell for tons of USD on Gox...

THEN WHAT?  It will just be trapped there with all the other USD I can look at but can't touch.