Quote from: psychedelicmind on August 29, 2012, 05:07 pmWow, this thread is interesting and very surprising to see how the whole thing is unfolding. My paranoia about the whole thing is getting the better of me, and I feel there is something very sinister going on. I searched the name Vlad1m1r in the clearnet today and then realised that loads of other people from here are doing the same thing. Am I wrong in thinking that it may not be a good idea to be searching for him on the clearnet at this time? I was thinking that if it was LE, that by having people search for Vlad1m1r on clearnet (1 good reason to use the same name on here as the clear net), it would give possible locations of people on here. Maybe I am over thinking the whole thing, but I am puzzled by the whole Vlad/Limetless disappearing at the same time thing.Exactly. I was going to say as much. The string "Vlad1m1r " must be relatively unique. Any keyboard warrior performing a dox on clearnet has fucked their security. This could be a LE ploy. Certainly a whole lot of fanning the flames going on in this thread.Irate people tend to be more impulsive. Impulsive people are a danger to themselves and others which is why I never work with anybody who has a habitual temper or a severe emotional issue under any circumstances. Anger is the worst, followed by histrionics and over confidence. Depression and anxiety, while negative, don't come anywhere close to those three mental afflictions because they usually dampen risk seeking behaviors. Such people remind me of dogs who bite or those dreadful yappy chihuahuas (I should make very tiny discrete muzzles for those little dogs, I'd make a fortune).--My thoughts on these events:It is too premature to say whether Vlad is a scammer, a LE agent, a busted SR vendor or a CI. It is also quite possible that Vladamir is trying to come good for those out of pocket at the moment. It could be just a matter of being patient. Perhaps he is a decent fellow that has run into some bad luck as a result of poor judgement. A seemingly remote possibility right now perhaps, but it is one nonetheless.I did make SR Staff (nomad bloodbath can confirm this) aware of some peculiarities about some of the things Vlad posted in the past and even asked him to personally answer questions about these oddities, but there was never any evidence against him to take an action. In fact it would have been inappropriate for SR Staff to take any actions regardless of how this turns out. I mean, if being mistaken about a technicality or proper procedure is a crime, then half of SR's forum would be getting the boot. You can't ask perfection of people, not when they are learning. This is not North Korea!I note that experienced trolls and others who use personas as a job or hobby are more than adept collecting 'alts' (alias shopping) based on real people online. This fosters the impression of validity, but is no guarantee of it at all. You can use a real persona and then build additional details on top of it to make the transformation convincing. This information you are finding online could be the real person, but probably it is not. Although some newbies are lax with security on SR and choose an alias they also use on clearnet, the majority of the time this is total junk. Indeed if you are LE, then manufacturing an entire personality that appears to be well documented online is simple. Things like 'join dates' and distribution of activity can all be manipulated since they are merely text strings and you never witnessed their actual inception over time. Anybody can read a script for a YouTube video. I notice that you cannot view a flash video on the Tor network without threatening your security. There is no reasonable way to view flash over Tor without it possibly compromising you. You have to undo some settings if you wanted that to work. So I expect the people who watched that video did so on clearnet. Tell me, does this video have single/double digit views? Because if so you had better lie low, remove electronics and contraband from your dwelling etc for a while.If grahamgreene is correct about the pyramid scheme (I have zero sympathy for anybody willingly involved in such things), then it could be Vlad that was scammed, forcing his hand in turn to scam other people. Disappointing, but a distinct possibility.I doubt Vlad is LE since this would make LE directly complicit in drug trafficking, but he could have been busted, last week for example, and turned into a CI to do some of their dirty work, they aren't above forcing other people to continue crimes they're prosecuting if they get to their ends.I am as shocked as kmfkewn is that any vendors would be using CIM as a method of cashing out. If you are really doing that, stop it now. CIM can be anonymous if it is implemented correctly, but never for the receiver. This is the kind of thing we would just assume everybody already knows, no 20/20 hindsight is required here. It is also inappropriate that some people in this thread are advocating dispersal of clearnet information on a possible member. Dispensing information on other forum members is also grounds for a ban even if they are a scammer. If that outrages you, you should be so lucky, since if these were RL transactions being a snitch in the black market would reduce your life expectancy. Yet another advantage of SR as a black market platform is that you are protected from coercion. Threatening peoples lives over a few hundred dollars is shortsighted and makes you look ridiculous. It is highly dubious that this so-called information has any validity though. It could be that Vlad was overconfident and lazy in his security, but it's at least just as likely that this '******' is another fall guy.Finally I have posted tutorials before on obtaining and using bitcoin. So have others. It was never a case of 'CIM or deanonymize yourself', that was just Vlad's sales pitches giving that impression even if he never quite said so outright. You might as well blame a baker or grocer for claiming the best produce in town/world/universe! It is true that CIM can be anonymous for a buyer which is why SR allowed that option to be available to buyers. It is like FE, it is an option. Similarly, if a vendor wishes to offer CIM services it is their lookout. We can wish for them to have a secure setup but this is not our business whether they do or not, anymore than Pine could turn around and mandate that everybody uses HDPP for vacuum packing. It's just none of our business. You can give advice and that is that. It is not true CIM is the only technique in the book for obtaining bitcoin anonymously. Look down below in my sig, there is an *entire tutorial* on doing it properly *without CIM*. Another example is that shannon has repeatedly posted links to an over the counter bitcoin exchange before as well, only to be told that "looks too complex" by a bunch of people in one thread. That kind of response is slightly stunning when you consider these people were using CIM. Anonymous CIM isn't simple, it is of moderate level complexity, which implies that these guys must have been simply snatching paper notes out of their wallets, throwing them into an envelope and posting it in person from their local post office, probably having licked the stamp, registered the envelope and tracked fingerprints all over their cash inside. Why don't you put a few hairs and a DNA swab from your cheek in the envelope too while you're at it, you might as well cover all the bases to deanonymize yourself here. And don't forget to put a return address on the envelope while you're attempting your best impression yet of: "Im 12 and wat is this".I can forgive ignorance. Ignorance is just fine. Everybody is ignorant about something. It has an effective cure. I cannot overlook laziness. In myself, in you, in anybody. Sloth really is a sin. It doesn't hurt other people, but it's still the cognitive equivalent of cutting yourself.tldr; You guys need to move on, there is nothing you can/should do, but you can learn from this. Don't trust people merely because they have a high post count, not even pine the platypus :) Libertarians traditionally respect self determination and independent thinking (this doesn't mean disagreeing with people all the time either, that's an 'amateur libertarian''s mistake lol), if you're looking for a new role model you need to RTFM instead. You should think for yourself instead and analyze what you're hearing against your benchmark instead of somebody else.tldr^2; Markets... especially illegal ones... have expensive fees for schooling and education! But if the lesson is learned it is well earned. (?)