Quote from: tor12345 on December 14, 2012, 09:58 pmWould be great to hear from DPR on this.If SR was compromised how much risk would there be for buyers and sellers? Given all addresses are encrypted and we're all using Tor it seems like it would not be a huge issue. Additionally, if SR was compromised, wouldn't the new owners keep the mods on to make sure everything stayed as normal as possible? What purpose would there be in firing all of them?[SNIP]***EDIT: I know this is long, but I appeal to everybody to PLEASE read through it. It offers a different view on the situation to that currently being bandied about. One that is based on previous reading here before many of you joined up.***People should be acting at all times as though the system is ALREADY compromised! I cannot understand why people are not acting this way from the second they get here. That is the ONLY way to stay vigilant. It's ridiculous how comfortable some people get here and the vast amounts of information some of them reveal throughout various posts without even realising it.Encrypt all sensitive information between you and your vendor, do not release any personally identifying information on the forums or to another member, and tumble your Bitcoin coming to and from Silk Road. Do not rely on the Silk Road tumbler to do that for you.As for the level of paranoia in this thread, I honestly think people need to relax a bit. The forum is complimentary to Silk Road itself - indeed it used to actually be a PART of the main site, but was moved for safety, security, and convenience purposes. As long as the main Silk Road site is up and running, even intermittently, then all is well.As far as the moderator issue goes, there are a thousand and one possibilities why the Administrators / DPR stripped mods of their privileges. We can all keep guessing and adding to the paranoia, or we can stop, relax and look at it logically.The spam problem has reigned in to a large degree by the introduction of captchas, and mods are no longer needed as badly as they once were for that purpose. For those of you whom have been here less than a year, you might want to go to Dread Pirate Roberts' profile and read his/her posts outline their views on agorism, libertarianism and freedom from oppression.I have always argued that the forum needs less moderators, not more, and here is why:When someone is chosen as a moderator they have the ability to censor member's speech here and cut discussion short. The more people chosen to be moderators, the higher the chance that you will eventually choose someone with an ulterior motive, or indeed a member of Law Enforcement. DPR previously bestowed moderator status on a member that another moderator had recommended. Such a process would be an LE 'wet dream' as they would then have two members with control of the "free speech" here on the forums, and it would enable them to direct conversation and general mood as they saw fit.There was a guide posted quite some months ago detailing processes used to gain control of online forums, and it is a guide that is currently in use by Law Enforcement Agencies when dealing with 'cybercrime'. One of the manoeuvres used to do gain that control is by working your way up to a moderator position over a year or two, and ensuring you pull your buddies up with you. This is something that DPR is fully aware of, and is likely protecting the community against. His/her suspicions may be unfounded, but what would you all prefer: a forum controlled by LE moderators masquerading as helpful community members, nipping debates and topics in the bud before they have a chance to turn into education or action, or a forum controlled by DPR and his/her Administration team (the members of which could all even be DPR him/herself)??Silk Road - and its associated forums - are more than just a place to 'score drugs'. They are an idea. They are a proof of a concept. And they harbour a community that represents the biggest threat to the status quo that has existed to date. A community with very knowledgeable, very intelligent members, all contributing to the education of their peers and debating honestly and openly without fear of retribution or government interference. We're outgrowing the womb of oppression that we've been confined to for decades; we're growing and finding our feet, and those at the top are beginning to feel the first tremors of those feet marching on in solidarity and resistance.This community, if we stick together and continue making it our goal to free ourselves from government oppression, if we stick together and continue our fight to once again make the government fear the PEOPLE, then perhaps - as a community with drive and conviction - we have a chance to free ourselves from our legislative chains once again.Don't let paranoia get the better of you! You're still here. I'm still here. DPR is still here. Silk Road is still here. Our community is still here. Our IDEA is still here. Don't trade your freedom for the false sense of security that having moderators around provides. Rely on your own security. Act as though the system IS compromised, but keep your faith in the ultimate shared goal of freedom from oppression. Every purchase made in the underground economy - the black market - weakens their economic stranglehold over us. Every purchase made with Bitcoin weakens their economic stranglehold over us. Use this place, and Bitcoin, as a TOOL to fight injustice. But do it safely.And again, do not let your paranoia get the better of you. When you control your own security there is no reason to be paranoid. The fact that there are no moderators here, no people with the power to silence discussion, means that freedom prevails.- grahamgreene