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Using Silk Road

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Re: Using Silk Road

#141

Post by jacoblyles »

FeepingCreature wrote: post #138
jacoblyles wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prevailing ideas (AKA Eliezer's ideas) do change. They used to be for AI research before they were against it. I am too bothered by the groupthink to hang around for long periods of time. I get enough of it IRL.

I'm pretty sure he's still for AI research, he just realized he'd been irresponsible about it. I'd much rather people change their mind as they gain greater understanding, as long as they document the reasoning.

It's just that it gives me the heebee-jeebees to see everybody change their mind together.

Eliezer often cites a theorem from a mathematician that says that ideal rational agents can't disagree and applies it to normal conversation. In the LW circle this is used to bully people into conformity. No allowance is given for the time that it takes humans to think things through or negotiate on a set of priors based on their joint life experience. In practice at LW, it means that if you haven't conformed to a result that disturbs you within the course of a single conversation then you must be irrational. Because by Aumann's theorem rational agents will not remain in an undecided state.

They really are a bunch of borg.

Re: Using Silk Road

#142

Post by thornofmight »

powertower wrote: post #57
sruser wrote: post #17

(throwaway account) I've spent over $50,000 USD on SR in the past year, and I'm happy to answer any questions people have about the site or community.

What opiates are you mostly buying? Unless you are ordering Heroin, which is very expensive on SR, at that spending rate you are probably buying Oxys or Opanas. This might surprise some, but there are much simpler and better-priced places to get those online than SR / with 24h turn-around, overnight UPS - that won't involve an eventual FBI/DEA reverse sting - which is were SR is heading with all this attention.

Yes?

Re: Using Silk Road

#143

Post by tomjen3 »

Cushman wrote: post #82
A1kmm wrote: post #74

I think the easiest attack on SR would not be one of the attacks mentioned in the article (although similar to their second attack, but focused on legal implications instead of fraud), but rather: a. Law enforcement creates a large number of vendor and customer accounts. Due to the pseudonymity, they can create as many as they like and they can't be linked (they may need to create them over time to avoid making the p…

That's a pretty nice playbook, but it fails for the reason every attack against SR fails: It doesn't get you the vendors, and they're the only big fish there to catch. At best, you can spend time and money just treading water to keep them in check, but it will never shut them down.

No it removes the incentives to buy there -- the idea that SR is safe -- kills the customer base and so the sellers will leave.

Re: Using Silk Road

#144

Post by adamnemecek »

celticninja wrote: post #121
adamnemecek wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SR would have to be brain dead not to realize that this is an issue. As maxwellhansen, one has to purchase a token to become a seller which are quite expensive. Furthermore, there is a limited number of tokens and the only way to get a token is to buy it from someone (who will then lose said token). Therefore it is pretty hard to become a seller.

this is incorrect, the site does require you purchase a vendor account but this is from the site admin and not from another user. to become a seller/vendor on the site you just need money, about $500 USD I believe.

But the number of tokens is still limited correct?

Re: Using Silk Road

#145

Post by henrikschroder »

Tichy wrote: post #103
alsothat wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good example of LW going off the deep end is "Roko's basilisk" and Yudkowsky's response http://kruel.co/2013/01/12/rokos-basilisk-everything-you-nee... http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk

That sounds scary, but not crazy?

The basilisk argument, in a nutshell, is this: At some point in the future, a near omniscient and omnipotent being, whose existence is not a certainty, will judge you and may punish you if it finds that the actions you take today are not pleasing, according to its undiscoverable morals, and the fact that you know about this increases the risk of you being punished.

The parallells to religion should be obvious to anyone with the ability to see the bigger picture, but it's somehow reassuring that even the most rational of humans can transform into a religious nutjob and not realize it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, etc. :-)

Re: Using Silk Road

#146

Post by CamperBob2 »

jacoblyles wrote: post #89
tekromancr wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lesswrong is a weird place. I can read an awesome, insightful article one moment, then something completely bat-shit insane the next.

The problem with LW is that the old-timer's confidence is pegged at 100% for non-controversial stuff (like Bayes' Theorem) and highly controversial stuff (like the inevitability of unfriendly AI). It's essentially a cult of personality around Eliezer Yudkowsky, with little dissent. They use the non-controversial value-add stuff to draw new members into the cult. Eliezer has stated in interviews that the most importan…

So it's a highbrow version of Scientology, then?

Re: Using Silk Road

#147

Post by jacoblyles »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #146
jacoblyles wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with LW is that the old-timer's confidence is pegged at 100% for non-controversial stuff (like Bayes' Theorem) and highly controversial stuff (like the inevitability of unfriendly AI). It's essentially a cult of personality around Eliezer Yudkowsky, with little dissent. They use the non-controversial value-add stuff to draw new members into the cult. Eliezer has stated in interviews that the most importan…

So it's a highbrow version of Scientology, then?

It reminds me very strongly of the Objectivist cult. Similar personalities and faults.

Re: Using Silk Road

#148

Post by malandrew »

Jabbles wrote: post #110
A1kmm wrote: post #74

I think the easiest attack on SR would not be one of the attacks mentioned in the article (although similar to their second attack, but focused on legal implications instead of fraud), but rather: a. Law enforcement creates a large number of vendor and customer accounts. Due to the pseudonymity, they can create as many as they like and they can't be linked (they may need to create them over time to avoid making the p…

I think some pretty basic clustering algorithms would reveal this self-serving subset of participants in SR. The fake vendors and fake buyers would have to interact with the real ones (and positively, with real drugs) in order to go unnoticed.

Is the data available to perform this clustering? Like with BitCoin, are all SR transactions recorded for posterity and accessible to every market participant?

Re: Using Silk Road

#149

Post by malandrew »

celticninja wrote: post #121
adamnemecek wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SR would have to be brain dead not to realize that this is an issue. As maxwellhansen, one has to purchase a token to become a seller which are quite expensive. Furthermore, there is a limited number of tokens and the only way to get a token is to buy it from someone (who will then lose said token). Therefore it is pretty hard to become a seller.

this is incorrect, the site does require you purchase a vendor account but this is from the site admin and not from another user. to become a seller/vendor on the site you just need money, about $500 USD I believe.

There is no requirement besides money? Seems like there should be some other act which law enforcement would not want to perform, but which a legitimate seller would.

Re: Using Silk Road

#150

Post by revelation »

jacques_chester wrote: post #105
revelation wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems that SR doesn't solve the major problem for buyers: you have to name a postal address and that address will be printed on a package containing illicit goods. Any bad experiences with customs or have you been using in-country sellers exclusively? Any tricks to obscure your real address? (Since these have mostly been answered below already: do you stick to a fixed group of sellers or go by price?)

In countries where the incrimination standard is reasonable doubt, that you received a package addressed to you is not really a slam dunk proof that you ordered the contents. Furthermore, in countries where you enjoy a right to refuse to say anything that may incriminate you, you may simply refuse to explain how or why the package was sent to you. The prosecution will need to positively prove that you ordered it, whi…

Nobody will ever be convicted for some package, so much is clear. But thats not the point. That package is enough to get a judge to sign off on a search warrant. And in my country, there is no "fruit of the poisonous tree" principle - even if the search is found to be unlawful afterwards, the majority of findings are admissible.
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