Hey guys,
Someone had asked where the weekly round-up went and I too enjoyed this quite a bit, so I'm going to attempt bringing it back. This was originally done by a community member and I'll humbly try to continue it as much as I can and if others feel there is a value to it. I figure the original creator of the weekly update (apologies, I don't know who originally started it) ran short on time and this does take a bit of time. I'll get the hang of it hopefully so please excuse the first couple of iterations and provide feedback on what you may find lacking. If I missed anything that you'd like to see, let me know and I'll update the post if its relevant!
GPG Developer Needs Help!
Many recently found out that GPG was being maintained single-handledly by German software developer Werner Koch. Since the original article was published, various organizations came forward to contribute and hopefully allow him to continue on with his good work. Obviously we all owe him a debt of gratitude and should consider donating extra coin to this worthy cause.
The original thread on our sub with the PSA: https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2uvukj/a_single_german_man_maintains_gpg_the_software/
Follow up/Update announcing Facebook's contribution: https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2uzgta/our_pgp_woes_are_over/
The Ross Trial and Verdict
Obviously the Ross Ulbricht/Silk Road trial dominated news (at least in our world). Unfortunately, poor decisions and opsec led to the jury coming back pretty damn quick with a guilty verdict.
BitBall by Grams
Grams announced a new project to help raise funds for the TOR project. Based on the US Powerball lottery, BitBall will use the first four numbers drawn with tickets costing .01BTC. A good cause, check it out.
Evo Complaints
There was a lot of community discussion on whether or not the Evolution market should appear on our Wall of Shame - the mods/admins of Evo accused of deleting negative feedback for vendors and siding with them most of the time during disputes. Opinions were strong as is expected. The requisite threads can be found:
https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2uva60/evolution_market_renamed_le_market/
https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2uwk6y/communitydiscussion_why_evolution_should_be/
https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2utmmj/why_isnt_evo_on_the_wall_of_shame/
Harm Reduction
Harm reduction can come in the form of ensuring what we purchase is actually what is advertised as well as legal concerns. The first post concerns adulterated Ecstasy tablets, resulting in the several deaths. Be careful out there!
USPS is near and dear to our hearts and when our mail is late, we tend to assume the worst. The following are good posts with links to articles (clearnet) discussing mail slowdowns and how its not in our imaginations that mail seems to be arriving at a slower clip than it has in the past. Of course, keep this in mind before assuming the worst.
https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2uzesj/analysis_of_usps_shipping_delays/
This post is just general advice on how to best handle receiving a love letter. It wasn't an enomorously popular post but thought it contained useful information and serves as a reminder as to the seriousness of what we do and it always pays to be prepared.
https://pay.reddit.com/r/DarkNetMarkets/comments/2usr9x/love_letter_how_to_proceed/
And finally, just a general reminder - please double check all links you click on, especially those to a market or tumbler. There were several posts from people losing money to scams, namely not double checking a link to a tumbler. Check the sidebar here to verify links to any market or tumbler!!!!
So this is my first attempt. I welcome any and all criticisms and suggestions! I kept commentary to a minimum mainly to get a feel for how to best proceed for future Weekly Updates. And the Weekly Updates may be bi-weekly or monthly depending on the content here and what's going on. If we have a slow week for whatever reason, I'll probably skip the update and save the material for the following week. I apologize if I missed something big and if so, please let me know and I can add it if it was indeed something big. I'm playing with the best ways to curate the content.
EDITED:
Corrected the Love Letter link under Harm Reduction.
Removed speculation as to the circumstances under which Evo is removing feedback.
Removed "lying assholes"
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