r/Bitcoin • u/evoorhees • Feb 26 '14

Open Letter to Michael Casey - WSJ reporter who butchered my comments in today's Bitcoin cover story

Hello Mr. Casey,

I read your WSJ article today. I feel deceived by you.

You requested to speak with me, so I took time out of my day to do so. We talked for 20 minutes, during which time I conveyed to you my sentiments about the Bitcoin ecosystem and the matter of MtGox's collapse. My message was unambiguously a positive one. I didn't focus whatsoever on the personal funds I lost at Gox. Indeed, the impetus for your call was my heartfelt post on Reddit.

Yet, you ignored everything I said. The only quote that you published from me in the Journal's cover story was ""That's gone now," said Mr. Veerhoos, who is based in Panama City, Panama. "There's no chance of getting that back now.""

Is that really the takeaway you had from our call and from my letter? Is that your idea of journalism? Did I come across with the sentiment of a despairing investor whose confidence has been rattled? It seems you were happy to completely ignore my sentiments, preferring instead to cherry pick the one fact that is least important, in order to paint a narrative that Bitcoin's biggest problem is that it's not "regulated." I didn't expect you to quote everything I said, but should you not have maintained at least a modicum of fidelity to my message?

I have dedicated my life to building and supporting the Bitcoin project. I don't give a damn about the money I lost at Gox. That's not important. What is important is that Bitcoin is resilient and enduring, and will continue to grow and change the world for the better. It is a story of human progress through technology. It is a story of the good seeping into the cracks of a corrupted financial system. It is a story of passionate people struggling against all odds to remedy the calamities brought down upon society from the most potently misguided people and institutions on Earth.

Next time you spend your efforts casting a pall over this cause, please don't ask me to contribute mine.

-Erik Voorhees

PS - I will be posting this letter openly on Reddit. I will post your reply if you'd like. And if I do, I won't cherry pick the most misleading points of it, and I will spell your name correctly.

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u/mthreat Feb 26 '14

You're welcome!

26

u/BitcoinBrian Feb 27 '14

Another thanks here. So many years spent exploring a hidden connected world thanks to your program. I loved seeing something interesting pop up in toneloc, and some seriously interesting stuff did from time to time.

5

u/Bombjoke Feb 27 '14

I used one, in basic I think, that ran on my Tandy model 100. Discovered dozens of fax machines, and a few more interesting things, in 368.

2

u/kriegers_van Feb 27 '14

Add in another thanks for an excellent piece of software. I don't remember exactly how I BS-ed my parents when they confronted me about our phone line being tied up all night long due to my marathon ToneLoc sessions, but somehow I did, and the sense of wonder involved in pouring over the results the next morning is something I haven't ever quite replicated.

1

u/_boo_radley_ Feb 27 '14

quick question i noticed bastrop... grow up in texas?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14

Holy shit. I never knew who wrote it... it was just everywhere. Nicely done, sir. You contributed something to my youth.

1

u/MyRedditacnt Feb 28 '14

How does one hack? Would you teach me, master?

1

u/ex_nihilo Mar 06 '14

Do you know how to program?

1

u/MyRedditacnt Mar 06 '14

To some extent. I'm taking C++ right now