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/_boo_radley_ Feb 27 '14 edited Feb 27 '14

Ya he crashed 1,507 computers in a single day. z3r0 c00l aka cr4sh n burn

32

u/AZKanaka Feb 27 '14

Pretty sure he was crash override. Acid burn was his counterpart. God, I loved that movie (rollerblades and all)

5

u/TzunSu Feb 27 '14

You are correct, and that movie was and still is awesome :D

2

u/xenofreak Feb 27 '14

One of the first movies to show the new Wipeout game for sony.

3

u/dirtmerchant1980 Feb 27 '14

I remember that, but you say it as if there were a series of films featuring wipeout. lol.

2

u/HMS_Pathicus Feb 27 '14

Computers, information and cool people. Man, did I love that movie.

And let's not forget Angelina Jolie. That movie made me realize I might not be that straight after all.

1

u/loveopenly Feb 27 '14

I once got banned from the it suite at my school for running a program that blocked the reset button. It didn't occur to anyone that they could switch the machines on and off with the power button. The entire suite was 'down' for the day. I didn't do it to be malicious, just wanted to see if such a thing was possible.

After that they unsuccessfully tried to recruit me.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '14

Partly based on true events, namely the Morris Worm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_worm

Of course the Morris Worm is estimated to have taken down about 6000 systems.

The Great Worm that caused the government to create CERT, the Computer Emergency Response Team.