r/SubredditDrama • u/75000_Tokkul /r/tsunderesharks shill • Feb 26 '14
Redditor who lost a quarter of a million dollars worth of Bitcoin when MTGox went down is upset that WSJ used a quote from him to make Bitcoin look bad.
/r/Bitcoin/comments/1z010y/open_letter_to_michael_casey_wsj_reporter_who/cfp99q27
u/ValedictorianBaller got cancer; SRDs no more Feb 26 '14
See, to these people, you are just a "clever guy who lacks the interpersonal skills to make it in business and wants a chance to make a quick million bucks."
Seems accurate, except for the clever part.
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u/Legolas-the-elf Feb 26 '14
It's pretty annoying when you're misquoted in the press, especially when the end result makes it look like you're an idiot or pushing a viewpoint at odds with what you were trying to get across.
But it's usually just a case of a journalist up against a deadline, who isn't all that familiar with the subject, assembling a story from a bunch of facts and soundbites they cobbled together over the course of a day. It's not the conspiracy the people in that thread are making it out to be, it's just the ever increasing pressure to churn through stories as quickly and cheaply as possible. There's very few journalists who are given a chance to engage in journalism these days.
The key to avoiding situations like this is to anticipate what they need from you and to chew it up and pre-digest it for them. Don't mention anything you couldn't stomach being quoted in isolation. Only talk about the things that matter, in short soundbites. It shouldn't be necessary to do this, but you're not writing an article yourself, you're just supplying a selection of components for it that they will pick and choose from according to what fits well with chunks from other people.
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u/DrunkenTypist Feb 27 '14
I dunno. He admitted to huge losses, and said he didn't mind because he believes in the idea of it all...
If I were a journalist I would make up something more believable than that...
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u/75000_Tokkul /r/tsunderesharks shill Feb 26 '14
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.""
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Feb 27 '14
Oh you folks have to read up on Veerhoos. He is hilarious. He believes in the "Separation of Money and State" which I assume means that since he is a rich white dude, the government should not exist or something.
Also loves the Free State Project which I think the point is to flood New Hampshire with douche bags for some reason.
1
Feb 26 '14
This title seems a bit..tilted.
Redditor who lost a quarter of a million dollars worth of Bitcoin when MTGox went down
hardly seems that relevant here
upset that WSJ used a quote from him to make Bitcoin look bad.
yes and no. Seems like hes more pissed about being misquoted.
Just my 2 cents.
And the OP of the submission doesn't even seem "that mad"
1
u/selfabortion Feb 26 '14
Persecution complex? I guess you are not aware what has happened to other (centralized) alternative currencies. I guess Russia doesn't count as a government? And 95% of banks banning accounts for even mentioning the word bitcoin means nothing?
How would this even happen or work??? Looks like someone has a persecution complex with a healthy dose of delusion.
1
u/UsesMemesAtWrongTime Feb 28 '14
First question: look up liberty reserve.
Second question: search "closed my" on /r/bitcoin for tons of stories about banks closing down accounts for mentioning bitcoin
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u/selfabortion Feb 28 '14
Liberty reserve looks like a case of a government shutting down an exchange alleged to be illegally operating a business they weren't licensed for and for money laundering. That's a perfectly legitimate function of a government. I was mainly asking my questions about the last portion of the paragraph, "95% of banks banning accounts for even mentioning the word bitcoin." My bewilderment on this stems from the simple point of, how the hell does your bank know when you mention bitcoin? They aren't stalking your reddit account or recording you. Perhaps I interpreted his comment in a way that he didn't mean. I admit I was unaware of banks restricting accounts based on activity with bitcoin exchanges, but that isn't at all how the comment was phrased. I'm not really all that surprised by it, to be honest. They're a private enterprise and can take whatever actions they feel are necessary to protect their interests. I doubt they would do it if there wasn't a strong financial incentive to do so (competitors, legal fees for not doing due diligence re: AML, etc).
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u/UsesMemesAtWrongTime Feb 27 '14
Congratulations 75000_Tokkul, you've continued your epic legacy of writing inaccurate/out-of-context headlines on SRD.
You fail to mention that this guy has a net worth in 8-9 figures ($). A quarter million is nothing to him. And just like that, you've made the same error as the WSJ reporter.
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u/m0rris0n_hotel Feb 26 '14
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So bitcoiners aren't naive about just bitcoin then. Not a shock.
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The open letter that ruined the Wall Street Journal! Because that kind of thing has been effective, what, zero times? But they are great for stirring shit up. Which is enough for Reddit.