Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road • Hacker News Board

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#21

Post by shrikant » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:08 PM UTC

fizzbar wrote: post #8

shrikant wrote: post #7

The name "Dread Pirate Roberts" is (quite cleverly, IMHO) picked up from the character from The Princess Bride [ aside : go watch the film -- it's great fun!]. It is possible that this "person" is much like Satoshi Nakamoto, given that in The Princess Bride, the pirate is not actually one person, but a series of individuals who periodically pass the name and reputation to a chosen successor. http://en.wikipedia.org/w…

The article states that exactly.

Oh dear, you're right -- the article has two pages! I was a little puzzled to see no mention of the origin of the name at first.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#22

Post by jnbiche » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:08 PM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #16

javert wrote: post #10

> Bitcoin-like digital currency system called Liberty Reserve No, it's really not. That's about analogous to "absinthe-like drink called Coca-Cola." Can the Bitcoin Foundation sue for defamation?

How isn't it? They're both drinks, and slightly poisonous... they're both digital currency, and as far as any laymen could tell, used exclusively by criminals. Oh sure, you can tell me about "mining" and crypto, but that's not relevant right now. What, if anything, actually sets Bitcoin apart from LIberty Reserve?

Do you really believe that the CEO of Paypal[1] and Western Union[2] would contemplate in public the possibility of using Bitcoin as a funding mechanism if it were used exclusively by criminals?

1. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/04/30/could-paypal-be-on-ho... 2. http://mashable.com/2013/04/02/western-union-bitcoin/

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#23

Post by jnbiche » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:10 PM UTC

junto wrote: post #20

If he setup silkroadlink.com, isn't that a money trail? WHOIS information for silkroadlink.com: * [Querying whois.verisign-grs.com] [Redirected to whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] [Querying whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] [whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] Registration Service Provided By: BITDOMAIN.BIZ Domain Name: SILKROADLINK.COM Registration Date: 04-Jul-2013 Expiration Date: 04-Jul-2014 Status:LOCKED Note: This Dom…

No, there's likely no money trail, because he almost certainly used Bitcoins to register the domain. I mean, look at the registrar.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#24

Post by bitteralmond » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:12 PM UTC

junto wrote: post #20

If he setup silkroadlink.com, isn't that a money trail? WHOIS information for silkroadlink.com: * [Querying whois.verisign-grs.com] [Redirected to whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] [Querying whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] [whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] Registration Service Provided By: BITDOMAIN.BIZ Domain Name: SILKROADLINK.COM Registration Date: 04-Jul-2013 Expiration Date: 04-Jul-2014 Status:LOCKED Note: This Dom…

Looks like a bogus address with only a real email in Tor-land. Domain is paid with Bitcoin through bitdomain.biz, so that's a dead end too.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#25

Post by dwaltrip » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:20 PM UTC

Might silk road be the largest working example of agorism to date? Fascinating how they create a network where buyers can comfortably evaluate their options with the help of hundreds of reviews, and then order from the safety of their home.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#26

Post by chrissnell » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:22 PM UTC

The Dread Pirate's curse is that he'll never be able really spend much of this pile of currency that he's accumulated, at least not without drawing attention to himself and getting busted.

History has shown that these guys eventually get busted but rarely for drug dealing; it's usually the IRS that busts them for tax evasion. If you're buying fancy cars, big houses, yachts, or businesses, eventually someone is going to catch on and follow the money trail.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#27

Post by victorhn » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:25 PM UTC

bitteralmond wrote: post #24

junto wrote: post #20

If he setup silkroadlink.com, isn't that a money trail? WHOIS information for silkroadlink.com: * [Querying whois.verisign-grs.com] [Redirected to whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] [Querying whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] [whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com] Registration Service Provided By: BITDOMAIN.BIZ Domain Name: SILKROADLINK.COM Registration Date: 04-Jul-2013 Expiration Date: 04-Jul-2014 Status:LOCKED Note: This Dom…

Looks like a bogus address with only a real email in Tor-land. Domain is paid with Bitcoin through bitdomain.biz, so that's a dead end too.

If i bought a domain trough bitdomain.biz and somehow i have problems with it (like getting stolen the password, somebody else claiming it), how can they verify that i am the person that bought originally the domain.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#28

Post by sspiff » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:26 PM UTC

chrissnell wrote: post #26

The Dread Pirate's curse is that he'll never be able really spend much of this pile of currency that he's accumulated, at least not without drawing attention to himself and getting busted. History has shown that these guys eventually get busted but rarely for drug dealing; it's usually the IRS that busts them for tax evasion. If you're buying fancy cars, big houses, yachts, or businesses, eventually someone is going…

Depends on the country you live in, and whether you're willing to relocate to spend your money. A lot of countries will look the other way if you invest a reasonable amount of money into developing their economy or people.

There are also many, many ways of laundering your money.

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#29

Post by arcadeparade » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:29 PM UTC

dwaltrip wrote: post #25

Might silk road be the largest working example of agorism to date? Fascinating how they create a network where buyers can comfortably evaluate their options with the help of hundreds of reviews, and then order from the safety of their home.

Would Wikipedia or Craigslist qualify?

Re: Meet the Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road

#30

Post by samstave » Wed, Aug 14, 2013, 7:34 PM UTC

victorhn wrote: post #27

bitteralmond wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like a bogus address with only a real email in Tor-land. Domain is paid with Bitcoin through bitdomain.biz, so that's a dead end too.

If i bought a domain trough bitdomain.biz and somehow i have problems with it (like getting stolen the password, somebody else claiming it), how can they verify that i am the person that bought originally the domain.

A hash of the bitcoin used?