Silk Road Forums

My hat's off to you captain. You have done a mighty fine job at the helm of this ship so far. We're lucky to have you. Keep it up.

Quote from: Inigo on December 09, 2013, 08:43:00 pm

It had nothing to do with the ideals. We took it down because it was costing more than it brought in. It was strictly a business decision, so no it didn't work out. We were hoping to bring it back one day, when the market was better prepared for it, and when we could put more time and planning into it. Anyone who thinks it was because DPR was against guns has been decieved by forum FUD.

Well, that is because DPR posted about how it goes against his ideals. I guess that is why I thought that.

Again, that's just myth and FUD. He never said that. Below are quotes explaining his stance on the matter:

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On the decision to create the Armory, a Silk-Road-like site for selling weapons, in February of 2012:

“We at Silk Road have no moral objection to the sale of small-arm weaponry. We believe that an individual’s ability to defend themselves is a cornerstone of a civil society. Without this, those with weapons with eventually walk all over defenseless individuals. It could be criminals who prey on others, knowing they are helpless. It could be police brutalizing people with no fear of immediate reprisal. And as was seen too many times in the last century, it could be an organized government body committing genocide on an entire unarmed populace. Without the ability to defend them, the rest of your human rights will be eroded and stripped away as well.

That being said, there is no reason we have to force everyone into a one-size-fits-all market where one group has to compromise their beliefs for the benefit of another. That’s the kind of narrow thinking currently used by governments around the world. It’s why we are in this mess in the first place. The majority in many countries feel that drugs and guns should be illegal or heavily regulated, so the minority suffers.

Here at Silk Road, we recognize the smallest minority of all, YOU! Every person is unique, and their human rights are more important than any lofty goal, any mission, or any program. An individual’s rights ARE the goal, ARE the mission, ARE the program. If the majority wants to ban the sale of guns on Silk Road, there is no way we are going to turn our backs on the minority who needs weaponry for self defense.”


On closing “the Armory” six months later:

“As most of you have figured out, we are closing the Armory. Your first question is probably “why?” Well, it just wasn’t getting used enough. Spinning it off originally was done somewhat abruptly and while we supported it, it was a kind of “sink or swim” experiment. The volume hasn’t even been enough to cover server costs and is actually waning at this point. I had high hopes for it, but if we are going to serve an anonymous weapons market, I think it will require more careful thought and planning.”[/font]

If anyone has any suggestions of books that fall within the theme, please PM me with them.

I wish The Armory had worked out... I think it was great service to provide to our unfortunate brethren who live in oppressive countries, where the right to self defense doesn't exist.

A lot of the most useful knowledge comes from trial and error. But there are some great starting places that don't require you investing and losing capital. A friend of mine took a class at a local small business resource center. They had some affordable yet excellect classes that taught all kinds of different aspects of starting your own small business. I would check with any local places like that, or near-by community colleges.

Other than that, the best thing you can do is find a successful entrepenuer to be your mentor. There is no better way to learn the tricks of the trade than having somebody who is knowledgable in that area of expertise. Even offering to work for somebody like that, just as a part time job, is a great way to begin such a mentor-apprentice relationship. Watch them closely, ask as many questions as you can, and learn all you can.

I would recommend the above techniques instead of any book.

The idea that the neighbors of an anarchist society would also fight to protect them is a powerful one, as we know from experience that governments of any nation will expend massive resources to protect their trade interests and investments. Seeing as a free society in what Murphy describes is far and away more wealthy than a statist one and makes an excellent trading partner (with a truly free market, higher quality goods and services would rise to the top, and be in higher demand, just as is the case with Silkroad) so it therefore makes perfect sense. This is valid even if the anarchist society is smaller than its neighbors.

This book gave us some really interesting insights, enough for us to find a lot of the books in the bibliography and begin reading those too, and consider turning full Ancap!

Thanks Inigo

This makes me so happy to hear. That kind of reaction is exactly the reason I do this. Your so welcome, and I hope you continue reading, with the club and on your own. I think I'll use some books in the bibliography as selections for the book club as well.

Welcome to Inigo's Book Club!

This week we are going to finish up "Chaos Theory", which means soon we'll be voting on our next book. (If you'd like to suggest a title for inclusion on the poll, please PM me with the info)

For those just joining us, here is a link to last weeks thread, which covered the first half of the book:
http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=2444.0

I have decided to host our current reading selection on Anonfiles for now. Here is the link to Chaos Theory free for download:
https://anonfiles.com/file/7e867fd537f09626bff216f58c9b3521

Go ahead and read the second half of this book, "Private Defense" and start discussing it below.

-inigo

I have decided to leave the first weeks reading selection up for a second week. This way we can accomodate for all the new forum users who are joining this weekend in the open registration trial, and to allow everyone to get a copy of the book on hand should they so desire.

In the future I'll give some time between polls and the start of a book to allow book club users to go out and purchase it or find a source they are comfortable with.

For those who prefer to download the book online for free, I am working on some possible solutions for a safe place to host the books we read. In the mean time, I think I will upload the digital versions of the books to anonfiles or some place similar.

For those who have already read the first weeks assignment, please feel free to continue discussing the material in the thread that's open, or just take a break and come back on Friday when I start the thread for the second half of the book.

Your's in liberty,
~inigo