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I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

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Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#51

Post by bduerst »

gthtjtkt wrote: post #41

Edit: Turns out the headline is completely made up. This was in the comment section: > So was “Sciview” actually some sort of analytics app for Silk Road, with the “sensors” representing some other Silk Road metrics? Or was BB truly freelancing for SpaceX while administering Silk Road? > AUTHOR: Excellent question, I don’t know. So he has no idea if he was just a subcontractor or if he was doing work for Silk Road. I…

Not sure, but Silk Road obviously couldn't rely on traditional third party web analytics, even though they still needed to identify and fight spammers/fraud.

There's also a lot of open-source solutions for things like this (PiWik, AWStats) so, as you said, the author probably was involved in the outsourcing a different project for someone in L.A. But then why would they try to disguise the sample as rocket sensor data?

I also don't think you can go this long with living and working with someone, notice the major purchases/parties (with outstanding invoices from SpaceX), and not get a hint about what's going on. If there were so many parties, what did they think when none of the coworkers from SpaceX showed up to one? Or his roommate's Linkedin profile shows something else other than SpaceX?

Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#52

Post by nebulous1 »

stiva wrote: post #34

This really is an interesting story, but I wish he'd taken it to a journalist instead of writing it himself. The narrative is choppy and has a lot of holes in it. I would have loved to see this done as a feature from someone with a lot of experience writing about technology. That might also have given some extra credibility and context to things.

Ha. I was going to write a very similar comment. It's a really interesting situation, but the story as told is incomplete and lacking in really obvious parts, such throwing out "30 FBI agents kicking down the door" but not giving anything concrete. Was he there at the time? Was he even still living there? If so, it seems to go directly against his lawyer's "[you will] never hear from the FBI".

Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#53

Post by Zikes »

degenerate wrote: post #39
johansch wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a weird-ass story the writer likely concocted to save his ass.

This. If he is ever charged he will point back at this article as "proof" of accidentally complicity.

Trying to give an account of one's potential involvement in illegal activities without first consulting a lawyer is a far, far worse idea than just saying nothing at all.

Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#55

Post by mawburn »

pfarnsworth wrote: post #33

This story is completely unintelligible. I have no idea what this story is about, where does it say he was designing for Silk Road? Did he say he was talking with DPR or something?

...thank you. I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt this way. I kept backtracking thinking I missed something. It's reads like a random stream of thoughts.

Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#56

Post by johansch »

Zikes wrote: post #53
degenerate wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. If he is ever charged he will point back at this article as "proof" of accidentally complicity.

Trying to give an account of one's potential involvement in illegal activities without first consulting a lawyer is a far, far worse idea than just saying nothing at all.

In general: That's why we all love watching stupid criminals on TV.

Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#57

Post by madgar »

untog wrote: post #46
wheelerwj wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what gave you that impression? I sent the following email (below) shortly before receiving the previous one (above).

I assume you mean about the credibility? We don't know those e-mails are real. A journalist handling the story would contact the relevant parties to confirm the account given.

I assume they meant that it was seriously confusing to read an email without context, only to find the context in an earlier email after reading another full page of content.

Re: I thought I was designing for SpaceX, it may have been for the Silk Road

#59

Post by defen »

downandout wrote: post #32
sandworm101 wrote: post #3

The lawyer was correct. If you have reason to suspect the FBI is watching you, they already have what they need. The men-in-black routine is meant to alter your behavior, to cause you to do something rare like empty an account or contact a distant friend. This was federal investigation 101. Walk past the car and photograph the driver. They really love that.

Walk past the car and photograph the driver. They really love that. I assume you're being sarcastic, but they might actually "love that" if their objective at that point of the investigation is to alarm you and see what you do. It's an acknowledgment that they have indeed alarmed you.

You don't have to be the target under investigation in order to take photos of G-Men.
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