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Replying to Avatar TBone

GN

What’s the circular object in the water?

I think you need more eggs!

We are all nostr:npub1mrechz2tgtmspqc9e6l30dyfy4j57g43srzcvxupzs0cpn8h9pyqwms0g5. nostr:note1rh0tntd36gktxt46ua27he8j0ptpeghmr54kr8w6nf9wa0jfa8rsf2rx4u

Mike Caldwell shut down production of Casascius coins when regulators tried to make him apply for a money transmitter licence, so I don’t think paper wallets would pass muster.

Happy pizza day, Nostr!

#pizzaday

Replying to Avatar Mandrik

Ever wonder what it was like working for a Bitcoin company in the early days? Did you know users back then were part crazy, part generous?

I started working at BitInstant late 2012, which allowed people to buy Bitcoin with cash. In the fall of 2013, I joined Blockchain(dot)info (BCI). The early days at BCI is what I want to focus on here.

BCI was the biggest non-custodial web wallet & the most used block explorer. I wore many hats as the first employee, but my main job was handling the support tickets.

My first day at BCI was chaos. I logged into Zendesk and saw THOUSANDS of tickets as old as January 2013. There was one guy, Ben Reeves, doing everything since inception. Support wasn't the highest priority.

After initially feeling overwhelmed, I decided to clean things up. I closed all tickets older than a few weeks, and included a message apologizing for the lack of response. I assured people this would no longer be the norm, and to open a new ticket if their issue was ongoing.

I had free reign over my job, and became obsessed with making sure users received help in a reasonable amount of time. It started as a goal to respond within 24 hours of a new ticket, which turned into 12 hours. Within a few months, the average response time was down to 2-4 hours, only because I had to sleep at some point! 😂

I didn't realize how little I knew about Bitcoin until I had to answer tickets about the Bitcoin network itself. After all, we weren't just a web wallet, but a block explorer! I spent many late nights digging around on BitcoinTalk, trying to learn more, so I could help users with their questions. Learning about Bitcoin back then wasn't impossible, but it wasn't easy.

Many early users were shocked to receive a response to their questions. To hear back so quickly was unheard of. There were many Bitcoin projects back then, but most didn't have dedicated support staff. If you received a response, it would be from the founder or some other developer. These guys didn't have the resources to tackle support, especially in a timely manner.

I quickly learned about the generosity of bitcoiners. Many users requested a btc address from me so they could send a tip for the help provided. Even when I told them it was unnecessary, as I was a paid employee, they insisted on tipping.

Many of these users were nuts. 😂 Here's an example that didn't happen frequently, but it happened:

A user opens a ticket during the time I'm actively watching the queue. I see it come in, respond within minutes with a solution, and he insists on tipping. I'm like, "Bro it's cool, don't sweat it," but this madlad won't leave me alone until he tips me.

I look at my tip jar - 0.5 BTC, which is worth a few hundred USD at the time. WTF, ARE YOU INSANE?! 🤯

Part of this generous attitude was about saying thank you, but I believe a bigger part was about the early proliferation of Bitcoin.

We preach the HODL mentality today, but Bitcoin wouldn't be what it is without the generosity of early adopters. So many bitcoins were given out freely so people could learn about it firsthand.

I believe many of the tips I received were from people who, at one point, also received free btc. It felt wrong to HODL these tips, so I paid it forward. I purchased work related items so I could do my job better. I tipped people on Reddit. I donated towards bitcoin-backed fundraisers, including when Andreas fundraised for Dorian Nakamoto. I did everything I could to keep that spirit of giving alive.

The landscape today has changed, but that spirit of generosity lives on. The best example is zapping on Nostr, where people are tipping each other via LN for posts and comments. It's beautiful to see!

Thank you, early adopters, for your generosity. You're a big part of why Bitcoin is what it is today. 🧡

Be kind, be generous, and be a little crazy. 😄

Nostr does have me reminiscing about the earlier days of bitcoin and how much (now) generational wealth was joyously spread about in tips and giveaways.

The scamming and shitcoinery killed it. Once blocks were full, it didn’t make sense to send small tips when the fee to do so was on the same order of magnitude as the tip. LN and Nostr are bringing that culture back., I hope. Makes it easy to tip sats again.

Replying to Avatar Ian

I want to #zap you 2,100 Sats!

Good morning #nostr! It has been about a month since I joined and I'm loving "Self-Soverign Social".

My challenge has been connecting with like minded folks, which is surprising because if we are both here on nostr we likley share at least an interest in decentralization and #bitcoin.

So I want to try a little experiment this morning. I have just under 500,000 sats or about $350 in my nostr:npub1flm9yc3vhc3dj036pn3ysl5xwd4f5gyhyjnn9rzehs5mqe9y9ynq6qrg9q account, I want you to help me empty it!

Please follow me (if you are not already) and share this post and I'll zap you 2,100 sats until I run out or have to leave the office. It's about 8:45AM EDT, and I'll be zappin' until at least 3PM (or until I'm broke).

In theory this should yield about 235 paid engaugements, which will hopefully amplify my presance here and help me connect with some like minded folks.

Lets see how it works out, I'll share my results!

Done. Not sure if I set my incoming zaps up correctly so this will be a good test.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭32‬ ‭ESV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.19.ESV