Lessons We can Learn from Project Black Flag

[V]

2 days ago, Metta Dread Pirate Roberts announced that Project Black Flag was closing, and that he was taking the funds.

To most, this may have arrived as a shock. To some, this may not have caused surprise. To all however, this will have shaken the community’s faith in the Onion Black Market Culture.

To those who have lost funds, I hope you manage to recover quickly – we’ve all taken a serious beating this last month. October has not been good for our community.

But let me make this very clear: November will see a new dawn arise, when Silk Road re-launches. Does this mean you can trust Silk Road blindly? No – of course not. In my own opinion, Silk Road is the most reliable of all the marketplaces, and the staff have put thousands of hours and hard work into making it as smooth and secure as possible. But while you wait for this ship to set sail, why not read through these words of advice, written as a result of Project Black Flag’s recent closure:

1.   Never trust blindly, no matter how convincing something seems.
Silk Road might be run by the original staff, and it might be the most popular up-and-coming option. But you should never trust anything blindly – the only things that are guaranteed in life are death and taxes.

2.   Only ever play with money you can afford to lose.
When keeping money in escrow, paying vendor bonds, paying for goods… always, always remember to only ‘front’ money you can lose to afford. If you have $1,000 to your name, and you need $600 of that to live off, don’t ever keep more than $400 in escrow, spend more than $400 on an order, or pay it as a vendor’s bond anywhere – assume that the $400 you’re ‘playing’ with will be compromised. This is the only way to prevent financial disaster.

3.   Always use PGP
The deception we have seen proves that there are individuals willing to abuse our trust. In the case of Project Black Flag, this deception was the thieving of your funds. But it could have just as easily been unencrypted addresses, identifying information or more that was exposed and abused in order to turn a quick profit.

There are many more lessons we can learn from Project Black Flag’s recent closure, but in my opinion, these are the most important.

Stay safe.

V

[PerfectScans]

Amen !!

[Rastaman Vibration]

Wise words, V. Well said, +1

[Alfred]

+1 to you Master V.  Well said.

I for one had a bad feeling about PBF from the start.  It was started up too quickly and not by anyone that I knew or trusted.  Great things are created by great people and are never 'thrown together' as PBF was.  I was not surprised to see it fall although I do still feel bad for anyone that lost money in the process.

When the new marketplace launches I will have much more faith in it.  I will of course have patience and make careful decisions about whether or not to use it, as we all should. 

[V]

Thank you Alfred, Rastaman and Perfect Scans

I'm glad to hear that my words are beneficial

V

[kr-rypt]

I have the feeling that several people have been comprimised for not encrypting there address,
I also have the feeling that these people are being black mailed,
And I hope that no one has I also hope that I will have a 'safe' place to make some money soon whereas in this shutdown I only lost some money that was in escrow -not trusting the sites wallet after SR fell I am still reeling from my loses on old SR,
by the way love your name such an incredible movie/movement.

[V]

by the way love your name such an incredible movie/movement.

Thank you. Did you know I'm also a graphic novel?

V

[46andtwo]

To stay safe there are a few simple rules to follow- yet it is easy to become too complacent.. it is good to be reminded once in a while to keep our eyes, and guards, up

[kr-rypt]

by the way love your name such an incredible movie/movement.

Thank you. Did you know I'm also a graphic novel?

V

no I didn't

[BongoTheBlackGuy]

I be just aiiight I didn't lose anythang ta dem robbin bastards

[Alfred]

Thank you Alfred, Rastaman and Perfect Scans

I'm glad to hear that my words are beneficial

V

I generally find your words both direct and astute.  A rare combination indeed.

[bookittymew]

Thank you V.

Alfred, I cannot get the butler's voice out of my head when you post. Much like Edward Furlong narrating any Chuck Pahlaniuk novel I've read.

[HuckingFell]

Oh no not again. Who is V??

[kr-rypt]

Oh no not again. Who is V??

He is you and he is me he is no one and he is everyone,

[Alfred]

Oh no not again. Who is V??

Sir may I point you toward your entire four page thread on that same question?  http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=1256.0

[TheMadHatter]

Oh no not again. Who is V??

Sir may I point you toward your entire four page thread on that same question?  http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=1256.0

Alfred, may point out that the thread you are referring to was created by HuckingFell himself, thus he should know about the existence it.

V, these are good points and they cannot be emphasized enough!

TheMadHatter

[The President]

by the way love your name such an incredible movie/movement.

Thank you. Did you know I'm also a graphic novel?

V

no I didn't

The graphic novel was better then the movie

[Ziggy]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

[Agent]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

That means nothing but good news !

V has the right idea and others should follow suit and " spread the word " as the term goes.
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[Ziggy]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

That means nothing but good news !

V has the right idea and others should follow suit and " spread the word " as the term goes.
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might mean nothing to you but thats because im just an anonymous bloke off the dark net.  it means much to me.

[kr-rypt]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

I love evolving,

[ASlone2013]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

I love evolving,

are you playing Pokemon? or something man

[ProEvo]

Very nice mister V. It is a shame that this has occurred. I had personally never even checked out the site, just wasn't feeling it. October has been the worst month in history for the dark web, but as you said, November will be a month to remember.

Keep the faith guys!

[Sarge]

I hope most of us have already learned and play by these rules

But very good post. These are good rules to follow even on the most established marketplace.

Every purchase is a risk. We should never get complacent

[Ziggy]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

I love evolving,

we have not had a choice over the last month or so.

[kr-rypt]

back to the original post. wise words well written.  I have learned much in the last month or so, I continue to evolve.

I love evolving,

are you playing Pokemon? or something man

If I'm a pokemon ima charzard and your a caterpie XD oh shit my identity as a nerd has been revealed

[DOSEO]

Well guys. sad to say i lost some coinage on BFM.

+DOSEO

[kr-rypt]

Well guys. sad to say i lost some coinage on BFM.

+DOSEO

sorry doseo you always seemed lika good vendor,

[Nightcrawler]

As I said on a post on the original SR Forum:, in a thread the title of which was: Re: PROJECT BLCK FLAG? LEGIT?
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=221268.msg1599395#msg1599395

Quote from: TheJolllyRoger on October 15, 2013, 10:17 pm
    Excuse the caps but is the marketplacee above legit?? We all need to move to one new place, like a SR mk II not another site!

Anyone with more than two working brain cells will regard any new sites that pop up with extreme suspicion.

Both vendors and buyers alike should now be reflecting on their operational security (or lack thereof) as opposed to figuring out where they can continue to sell, or obtain their next fix.

If you think, for even a second, that the fallout from the bust and server seizure is over, then you're either not paying attention, stupid, or consuming too much of your own merchandise (or all 3).

Nightcrawler
4096R/BBF7433B 2012-09-22 Nightcrawler <Nightcrawler@SR>
PGP Key Fingerprint = D870 C6AC CC6E 46B0 E0C7  3955 B8F1 D88E BBF7 433B

The Jolly Roger replied rather angrily, telling me to get off my high horse. Although my language may have been somewhat intemperate, my conclusions have been proven correct.

[DOSEO]

Well guys. sad to say i lost some coinage on BFM.

+DOSEO

sorry doseo you always seemed lika good vendor,

Im sure ill recoup from my losses:)

cant wait to be vending a steady home!

+DOSEO

[simplemann]

I learnt these lessons dealing with unscrupulous  vendors.

Never spend more than you can afford!

[Thehourofchaos]

+1 V good write up thank you!

I visited the black flag project site quite a few times to observe the progress, or lack of it!
Never trusted that site from when i first saw it and all the site MDPR was getting him self
in to spamming on other forums like hell  to get people to use the site.

I think the site was set up as a scam from the very beginning otherwise he would have
asked everyone to remove there funds prior to closure. He wanted to get as many people
in as he could to get bitcoins flowing through the site, Made a bit of money off vendor accounts
and the % he got from sales through the site then would close either when it starts to slow up
or he has got the amount of money he set out to get.

Shame really as he has shattered the trust of the community so closely after the SR incident!

I my self can't wait for Silk Road to come back online! The saga continues!

Thank you to all of the Silk Road admin staff who are spending the majority of there time
doing the best they can to get this the site back online, im sure this will be the dawn of
a new Era for Silk Road!


-H

[WickedWords]

Thanks V.

I'm still trying to work out why you do all this community shizzle pro-bono ;-)

[The Rebellion]

wise words V. thanks

[MrPharmacist]

2 days ago, Metta Dread Pirate Roberts announced that Project Black Flag was closing, and that he was taking the funds.

To most, this may have arrived as a shock. To some, this may not have caused surprise. To all however, this will have shaken the community’s faith in the Onion Black Market Culture.

To those who have lost funds, I hope you manage to recover quickly – we’ve all taken a serious beating this last month. October has not been good for our community.

But let me make this very clear: November will see a new dawn arise, when Silk Road re-launches. Does this mean you can trust Silk Road blindly? No – of course not. In my own opinion, Silk Road is the most reliable of all the marketplaces, and the staff have put thousands of hours and hard work into making it as smooth and secure as possible. But while you wait for this ship to set sail, why not read through these words of advice, written as a result of Project Black Flag’s recent closure:

1.   Never trust blindly, no matter how convincing something seems.
Silk Road might be run by the original staff, and it might be the most popular up-and-coming option. But you should never trust anything blindly – the only things that are guaranteed in life are death and taxes.

2.   Only ever play with money you can afford to lose.
When keeping money in escrow, paying vendor bonds, paying for goods… always, always remember to only ‘front’ money you can lose to afford. If you have $1,000 to your name, and you need $600 of that to live off, don’t ever keep more than $400 in escrow, spend more than $400 on an order, or pay it as a vendor’s bond anywhere – assume that the $400 you’re ‘playing’ with will be compromised. This is the only way to prevent financial disaster.

3.   Always use PGP
The deception we have seen proves that there are individuals willing to abuse our trust. In the case of Project Black Flag, this deception was the thieving of your funds. But it could have just as easily been unencrypted addresses, identifying information or more that was exposed and abused in order to turn a quick profit.

There are many more lessons we can learn from Project Black Flag’s recent closure, but in my opinion, these are the most important.

Stay safe.

V

I agree!  You'd be crazy to assume that the new SR will be the safest or most trustworthy of the black-markets.  While I have high hopes that it will be the best platform and will grow to be better than the original, we don't know who is really behind it.  Damn these anonymous marketplaces.... they're just so..... anonymous!

[WickedWords]

Damn these anonymous marketplaces.... they're just so..... anonymous!

I've found that too! Crazy, right?

[Alfred]

Oh no not again. Who is V??

Sir may I point you toward your entire four page thread on that same question?  http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=1256.0

Alfred, may point out that the thread you are referring to was created by HuckingFell himself, thus he should know about the existence it.

TheMadHatter

Yes that is why I said 'your entire four page thread.....'

[TheMadHatter]

Oh no not again. Who is V??

Sir may I point you toward your entire four page thread on that same question?  http://silkroad5v7dywlc.onion/index.php?topic=1256.0

Alfred, may point out that the thread you are referring to was created by HuckingFell himself, thus he should know about the existence it.

TheMadHatter

Yes that is why I said 'your entire four page thread.....'

I'm sorry, my mistake. Should read closer before posting.

[Sir William Wonka]

Thanks V.

I'm still trying to work out why you do all this community shizzle pro-bono ;-)

because V is the man... I think im in love.  should we fuck?  +1 amigo

[Strangiato]

Metta DPR didn't really sound sorry for taking their money. He pretended like he didn't know it would be risky.

[Hiniguel]

1.   Never trust blindly, no matter how convincing something seems.
Silk Road might be run by the original staff, and it might be the most popular up-and-coming option. But you should never trust anything blindly – the only things that are guaranteed in life are death and taxes.

2.   Only ever play with money you can afford to lose.
When keeping money in escrow, paying vendor bonds, paying for goods… always, always remember to only ‘front’ money you can lose to afford. If you have $1,000 to your name, and you need $600 of that to live off, don’t ever keep more than $400 in escrow, spend more than $400 on an order, or pay it as a vendor’s bond anywhere – assume that the $400 you’re ‘playing’ with will be compromised. This is the only way to prevent financial disaster.


V

+1

Thats what I tell everyone who wants to get in to the drug game, online or offline.

[Cornelius23]

+1 to you Master V.  Well said.

I for one had a bad feeling about PBF from the start.  It was started up too quickly and not by anyone that I knew or trusted.  Great things are created by great people and are never 'thrown together' as PBF was.  I was not surprised to see it fall although I do still feel bad for anyone that lost money in the process.

When the new marketplace launches I will have much more faith in it.  I will of course have patience and make careful decisions about whether or not to use it, as we all should.

All of the above.

I never visited PBF myself but I'm disgusted at what happened. Despite not trusting it I never expected such an horrific outcome

[V]

because V is the man... I think im in love.  should we fuck?  +1 amigo

Buy me a drink and we'll talk.

[kr-rypt]

because V is the man... I think im in love.  should we fuck?  +1 amigo

Buy me a drink and we'll talk.

Oh shit V and willy wonka! ....that image will never leave my head

[ChemCat]

Buy me a drink and we'll talk.

+1 




Hugs


Chem

 

[Cornelius23]

because V is the man... I think im in love.  should we fuck?  +1 amigo

Buy me a drink and we'll talk.

Oh shit V and willy wonka! ....that image will never leave my head

Find me a slash fiction writer now!

[kr-rypt]

because V is the man... I think im in love.  should we fuck?  +1 amigo

Buy me a drink and we'll talk.

Oh shit V and willy wonka! ....that image will never leave my head

Find me a slash fiction writer now!

YOU GOT ONE!!
V:mr.wonka oompalumpa's should be afraid of there factory the factory should not be afraid of its oompalumpa's,
Wonka:Oh mr.V you dashing masked madman take me! liberate me!
V:I cannot this will be a 5th of november the chocolate mixers shall never forget!

[hoops]

lesson learned, dont trust a pirate. dont trust a dread pirate either.

[MisterSister]

I learned not to trust bookittymew.

[kr-rypt]

I learned not to trust bookittymew.

Whenever I hear bootkittymew I think of the nyan cat.

[Ziggy]

I think he means well, just misguided. I hope.

[WickedWords]

because V is the man... I think im in love.  should we fuck?  +1 amigo

Buy me a drink and we'll talk.

Oh shit V and willy wonka! ....that image will never leave my head

Find me a slash fiction writer now!

Oh I've got to give that a go!

---

“You know, Mr V” began Mr Wonka as they both sat by the chocolate river sucking their everlasting gobstoppers “I’ve always wondered what you’d look like without it on…”

V sighed, placed his everlasting gobstopper in his lap, and turned his masked face to stare Mr Wonka right in the eye. “You know I can never take this mask off” he explained “It’s who I am”.

Mr Wonka winked. “I wasn’t talking about the mask…”

[Cornelius23]

Oh I've got to give that a go!
---
“You know, Mr V” began Mr Wonka as they both sat by the chocolate river sucking their everlasting gobstoppers “I’ve always wondered what you’d look like without it on…”

V sighed, placed his everlasting gobstopper in his lap, and turned his masked face to stare Mr Wonka right in the eye. “You know I can never take this mask off” he explained “It’s who I am”.

Mr Wonka winked. “I wasn’t talking about the mask…”

Lovely