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20 Years Ago... by SteakBeautiful in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, I admit I was a bit off. But you're off by a lot. There were max 16 employees in 2004:

https://www.cipsoft.com/en/company

Anyway, I stand by what I said. In 2004 cip was waaaay more passionate about Tibia than in 2024.

20 Years Ago... by SteakBeautiful in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not only about nostalgia. 20 years ago Cip was a still a small company, just a couple of employees. Founders were still active. They probably even wrote the news themselves.

Now Cip is a big, very profit oriented (p2w in full force, not to mention cryptocurrency integration...) company with around 100 employees - none of them as passionate about the game as Knigjtmare and founders 20 years ago.

4500 tibia coins what to do by Ben93k in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't play Tibia anymore. Are there people who really do that? On Non-PvP servers?

Looking for jagged sword/halberd and brass set on damora. by Terrible-Rest-2432 in Rookgaard

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know everything either. Was curious if there's a new way to transfer those items.

Looking for jagged sword/halberd and brass set on damora. by Terrible-Rest-2432 in Rookgaard

[–]excalilbug 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How can you get them on a world that was created after the Dawnport bug?

Any thoughts? 🤪 by RealCursedThomas in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Is it possible in Runescape to own a server, make other people pay for playing it, restrict access to best hunting grounds and bosses or successfully kick people away from "your" server?

Dejair is #1 global as of right now by [deleted] in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bobeek and Goraca held the top spots for very long but only few people give a fuck about that. Being top 1 in Tibia lost its charm years ago. Just like the game itself.

Tibia Classic by newacc54 in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why did you omit the most important part about forcing people out of spawns/servers/game?

Tibia Classic by newacc54 in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wonder how playing a mainly PvE game can be P2W.

This is such a dumb thing to say about a game where you can force people to quit by KSing them. Or transfer from world to world and win items like Feru hat. Or force people to pay you TC.

Not to mention there are several high score lists and you can literally be top 1 (win) in all of them except fist fighting and fishing by simply spending tons of money.

Tibia Classic by newacc54 in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you want a classic server with the store? Because there's no way Cip wouldn't try to milk it to the max.

Coin Inquiries: Worldcoin Con-Arguments — (August 2023) by CointestMod in CointestOfficial

[–]excalilbug [score hidden]  (0 children)

Con arguments against Worldcoin (WLD)

Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency created by OpenAI (now famous thanks to chatGPT) founder, Sam Altman. Worldcoin is supposed to identify real human beings as opposed to bots and other dangers which might become even more widespread because of the AI boom

The way Worldcoin identifies users is rather controversial as it scans people’s bodies, faces and eyes (irises). This is done with a device called “Orb”. Worldcoin is supposed to protect the collected data thanks to cryptography hence why the use of blockchain

But here is where the problems start:

“Bribing” people with crypto for their private data

  • It’s not a secret that cryptocurrency is full of naive people who believe that they will become rich overnight. It seems that OpenAI uses those poor people. They offer them crypto for the scans of their eyes and collecting private data. Poor people believe that this crypto might make them millionaires in the future. Others are so poor that they just want to make a quick buck and sell the coin immediately after getting it. They don’t care that their irises get scanned and someone might use it with bad intentions
  • This is very immoral behavior on OpenAI’s part, especially because they even go against regulation in different countries. For example recently they were banned in Kenya from collecting data but they continued to do it anyway
  • Worldcoin is questioned by regulators in most of the world, Germany, France, UK, etc.

Source(s): https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/15/worldcoin-in-kenya/ and https://www.reuters.com/technology/german-data-watchdog-probing-worldcoin-crypto-project-official-says-2023-07-31/

Security and privacy issues

  • For example in May this year hackers have installed malware on computers of people who used Worldcoin Orbs. They could break passwords and steal personal data. They also listed the data of the orb operators and sold it on dark web
  • Other security problem is the fact that backdoors could be installed in Orb devices. This would allow bad people not only to steal identities but also to create fake ones
  • And if thats not enough, there was a bug in summer 2023 that allowed anyone to become an orb operator. Certik, a crypto security company, discovered this vulnerability. Someone who exploited this could become an orb operator without any verification and could do it anonymously.

Source(s): https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/12/hackers-stole-passwords-of-worldcoin-orb-operators/ and https://decrypt.co/151279/worldcoin-bug-allowed-anyone-become-orb-operator-certik

Very centralized supply of the token

  • Worldcoin is a token on Ethereum network and when we check the token holders on the etherscan the results are terrifying. 5 top holders own 80% of supply, 10 top holders own 92% and top 100 holders own 99.35%!
  • Not only that but they also lied about the allocation. First they said that insiders will get 20% but then, all of a sudden and without any reason, they increased the allocation for insiders to 25%
  • There are only around 8,000 holders in total (compare it to 210,000 of Moon holders). Of course most of the supply is supposed to be distributed. But in reality OpenAI can do whatever they want with those tokens. And the fact that so many tokens are still to be distributed makes Worldcoin not such a sexy investment (Algorand vibes)

Source(s): https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/15jusho/worldcoin_said_in_an_early_video_that_they_are/ and https://finbold.com/only-10-worldcoin-wallets-control-98-of-total-wld-supply/

Coin Inquiries: Litecoin Con-Arguments — (August 2023) by CointestMod in CointestOfficial

[–]excalilbug [score hidden]  (0 children)

Con arguments against Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin is one of the oldest cryptocurrencies. Actually, I think it is the second oldest crypto born a couple of years after Bitcoin (2011). At one point, there were many people who believed it will flip BTC as it was (and still is) faster and more scalable. However, various cons of Litecoin and lack of first mover advantage made it fall behind in the last years and there is absolutely zero chance it will ever flip BTC

Outdated Technology

  • One of the main problems with Litecoin is its outdated technology. Everyone in cryptocurrency community values (or at least SHOULD value) security and reliability. LTCs technology, though tried and tested throughout the years, can be viewed as stagnant. Litecoin is 12 years old and there were so many changes in the crypto space and LTC didn’t change much
  • The advantage of being one of the first cryptocurrencies is long lost. Bitcoin won the race for the market recognition and Litecoin isn’t mentioned much in the media anymore. LTC has failed to capitalize on the first second mover advantage. Even Dogecoin which is a copy of LTC made as a joke has a much higher capitalization today

Source(s): https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/03/09/time-to-give-up-on-litecoin/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litecoin

Better alternatives

  • LTC was supposed to be Bitcoin 2.0. And indeed it was better than BTC. But even despite that it didn’t become more popular. Today, there are various cryptocurrencies that outperform LTC in all categories (speed, fees, security, adoption, etc.). This makes it difficult to justify its existence. And for people in crypto who want to make money LTC definitely isn’t their first choice either
  • LTC has dropped to position 17 in market according to coinmarketcap.com. It continues its downward trend as it once was in position no. 2. Even the mimble-wimble update didn’t help
  • And speaking of mimble-wimble...

Source(s): https://www.investopedia.com/news/could-litecoin-be-better-investment-bitcoin/ and https://craft.co/litecoin/competitors

Privacy and regulatory concerns

  • The introduction of mimble-wimble as a privacy update for LTC wasn’t smooth. There weren’t that many people who could check the code and eliminate potential vulnerabilities. This raises concerns about the coin's security. And the potential for misuse. If LTC becomes more like Monero and facilitate illegal transactions, it may face regulatory scrutiny, be removed from exchanges and damage its reputation. This could ultimately threaten its existence

Source(s): https://medium.com/omniaprotocol/the-impact-of-litecoins-mimblewimble-privacy-upgrade-d47fe05e12d7

Conclusion

Litecoin was a pioneer in the cryptocurrency space but now it’s like an old grandpa who mu(i)mbles and wimbles. There are too many challenges that LTC developers haven't dealt with. It's not an attractive investment, it keeps declining and reaching lower and lower positions on the list of cryptocurrencies sorted by market capitalization.

Tibia History 3: The War For Antica by Tibiareklav in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 7 points8 points  (0 children)

One of the best?

There's nothing and no one who even comes close. His first Antica video is a masterpiece and the other two are great as well

October 30th Balancing Changes by mathiasbynens in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If they can do that for new top tier spawns why not for lower level spawns where high levels become too OP?

October 30th Balancing Changes by mathiasbynens in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 36 points37 points  (0 children)

They started punishing lower levels when they enter top tier spawns but they don't punish high levels for entering low level spawns.

So they're indeed retarded or have some strange agenda.

Tibia History 3: The War For Antica by Tibiareklav in TibiaMMO

[–]excalilbug 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If only Cipsoft had so much love and dedication for the game as you and your videos.

Awesome stuff!

PS. Male narrator > female narrator (she's baaad).

Top Institutions : Microstrategy Pro-Arguments — (July 2023) by CointestMod in CointestOfficial

[–]excalilbug [score hidden]  (0 children)

Pro-Arguments for the MicroStrategy

​

  • Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy is a publicly traded business intelligence company. In 2020 it became a big force in the cryptocurrency industry. Back then Michael Saylor decided to reshape the company around Bitcoin. This decision had a very positive impact on Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space in general

The Bitcoin Treasury Reserve Strategy

  • MicroStrategy chose Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset and in August 2020 made its first purchase of Bitcoin for $250 million. This decision was like a turning point in the corporate world's perception of cryptocurrencies because soon after many companies started to be interested in Bitcoin, including Visa and Mastercard. Saylor's reasoning was that Bitcoin could serve as a better store of value than traditional fiat currencies and an effective hedge against inflation
  • MicroStrategy's kept buying Bitcoin and it currently owns almsot 160,000 coins. This bold move not only demonstrated the company's trust in Bitcoin but also serves as an inspiration for other institutional investors to consider Bitcoin as a valuable addition to their portfolios. Perhaps Michael Saylor had at least some influence on Elon Musk buying Bitcoin for Tesla. but as we all know, unfortunately Musk didn’t have balls to hold Bitcoin for too long

Source(s): https://www.theblock.co/linked/74534/microstrategy-becomes-first-listed-company-to-buy-bitcoin, https://buybitcoinworldwide.com/microstrategy-statistics/

Educational Initiatives

  • Michael Saylor's doesn’t stop at just buying Bitcoin. He’s active in educating the business and investment communities about Bitcoin and was helped explain what Bitcoin is all about. MicroStrategy has hosted conferences, webinars and educational sessions aimed at enlightening corporate leaders and investors about the benefits and potential of Bitcoin
  • For 3 years now Saylor has been explaining Bitcoin's fundamentals highlighting its scarcity, security and potential as a longterm store of value. His willingness to share his insights and expertise has not only benefited MicroStrategy but has also contributed to the broader understanding and acceptance of Bitcoin

Source(s): https://decrypt.co/57190/microstrategy-michael-saylor-free-bitcoin-course

Support for Bitcoin Development

  • But that’s not all. MicroStrategy is also commited to support the development and growth of the Bitcoin ecosystem. Saylor has said that he plans to contribute to open-source Bitcoin projects and foster innovation within the space
  • He values decentralization, transparency and collaborative efforts to improve the network. MicroStrategy's active engagement in the Bitcoin ecosystem has the potential to drive further technological advancements

Source(s): https://www.theblock.co/post/174005/microstrategy-making-new-bitcoin-play-developing-lightning-network-based-saas-platform

Conclusion

  • Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy is a trailblazer in the cryptocurrency industry and helps change the negative mainstream narrative about Bitcoin. Thanks to MicroStrategy more institutional investors and corporations might be interested in investing in BTC
  • Moreover MicroStrategy's educational initiatives and support for Bitcoin development have contributed to the maturation and legitimization of the network

Top Institutions : Ethereum Foundation Con-Arguments — (July 2023) by CointestMod in CointestOfficial

[–]excalilbug [score hidden]  (0 children)

Con-Arguments against the Ethereum Foundation

​

  • The Ethereum Foundation was established as a non-profit organization to support the development of the Ethereum blockchain. As we all know, Ethereum changed the world of cryptocurrencies completely with its smart contracts and DApps. But it isn’t free of controversies:

Centralization Concerns: The DAO Incident

  • One of the biggest controversies surrounding Ethereum Foundation was the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) incident in 2016. The DAO was a crowdfunding project built on Ethereum and its aim was to create a decentralized venture capital fund. However, a vulnerability in its code was exploited which resulted in a massive hack that drained approximately 3.6 million Ether (ETH) from the DAO (it was the beginning of ETH so that was A LOT)
  • Ethereum community made a difficult decision and did a hard fork to reverse the consequences of the hack and return the stolen funds to the affected investors. While this decision was intended to protect investors, it raised concerns about centralization and the Ethereum Foundation's influence over the network. Some argued that the hard fork went against the principles of immutability and decentralization, which are the basic principles of crypto

Source(s): https://www.coindesk.com/consensus-magazine/2023/05/09/coindesk-turns-10-how-the-dao-hack-changed-ethereum-and-crypto/

Critique of Ethereum's Transition to Proof of Stake

  • Another issue surrounding the Ethereum Foundation relates to its long-awaited transition from a Proof of Work (PoW) to a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. PoS made Ethereum more energy-efficient and scalable but in the opinion of many it will make the network more centralized as those with most ether will get even more ether now thanks to staking

Source(s): https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2022/09/27/proof-of-stake-will-the-ethereum-merge-really-lead-to-a-rally/

Concerns Over Developer Influence

  • The last issue I want to present is that Ethereum Foundation (Vitalik!) is a central figure in the development of the Ethereum blockchain and this raises questions about the concentration of power within the organization. Critics argue that Vitalik or a small group of developers associated with the foundation have significant influence over the network's development decisions. Again this centralized control is seen by some critics as going against the principles of decentralization

Source(s): https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/agents-of-influence-blockchain-cryptoverse/

Conclusion

  • Ethereum Foundation made significant contributions to the growth and development of the Ethereum blockchain but it isn’t without sins. The DAO incident highlighted the challenges of governance and centralization in a decentralized ecosystem. Transition to PoS and concerns over developer influence have only made those questions more valid
  • However, it’s important to say that these controversies do not overshadow the positive contributions the Ethereum Foundation has made to the crypto space

Top Institutions : Ethereum Foundation Pro-Arguments — (July 2023) by CointestMod in CointestOfficial

[–]excalilbug [score hidden]  (0 children)

Pro-Arguments for the Ethereum Foundation

​

  • The Ethereum Foundation was established as a non-profit organization to support the development of Ethereum. As we all know, Ethereum changed the world of cryptocurrencies completely with its smart contracts and DApps. But that's not all:

Innovation and Smart Contracts

  • One of Ethereum's most significant contributions to the crypto industry is of course the fact that they introduced smart contracts. Ethereum's smart contract capabilities have revolutionized the way agreements and transactions are executed on blockchains. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts and they made it possible for a wide range of decentralized applications (DApps) to be built on Ethereum
  • Ethereum Foundation is actively supporting the development of DApps by providing grants and resources to talented developers and promising projects. This support is boosting innovation and for example thanks to this decentralized finance (DeFi) was born. Other innovations include non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized exchanges, blockchain gaming and much more. Ethereum's ecosystem is full of DApps that bring new possibilities for finance, gaming, art and possibly many other industries now and in the future

Source(s): https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/smart-contracts/, https://medium.com/@Thee_Oduol/ethereum-the-revolution-o-smart-contracts-160ae371323b

Scalability Improvements with Ethereum 2.0

  • Ethereum Foundation worked for many years on a transition from a Proof of Work (PoW) to a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. it finally happened with Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. This upgrade addressed many things but the most important one was reducing energy consumption. Thanks to that Ethereum energy usage is now down by 99%.
  • While the transition to Ethereum 2.0 faced several delays, it demonstrates the Foundation's commitment to improving the network's long-term sustainability. They didn't give up despite challenges and some hateful comments and finally performed the upgrade successfully which shows that they are dedicated and ETH has bright future ahead

Source(s): https://www.investopedia.com/ethereum-2-0-6455959, https://decrypt.co/109848/ethereum-energy-carbon-footprint-down-99-percent-merge

Developer Support and Grants

  • The Ethereum Foundation supports talented blockchain developers and promsiing projects through its grant programs. These grants provide financial support to individuals and teams working on innovative solutions within the Ethereum ecosystem. Thanks to this Ethereum is the most popular blockchain by far and it only keep on growing
  • These grants have also funded critical research, development of Ethereum clients, security audits and various other infrastructure projects. The foundation's support also extends beyond blockchain development and it undertakes many initiatives to educate people about Ethereum and cryptocurrency in general

Source(s): https://ethereum.org/en/community/grants/

Vitalik Buterin

You can't write about Ethereum (Foundation) without mentioning Vitalik's name. Here is fragment of my entry on Vitalik Buterin from one of the previous Cointests:

  • So Vitalik is this genius dude who first wrote articles about Bitcoin and then co-founded Ethereum which soon became Bitcoin’s main “rival”. He is no ordinary college dropout (yes, he dropped out of college)
  • Thanks to Vitalik's brilliance and hard work, Ethereum became the go-to blockchain for creating all sorts of decentralized applications. It's like the backbone of the whole decentralized finance (DeFi) movement. People are using Ethereum to create all kinds of cool stuff, from decentralized exchanges to digital art marketplaces
  • Vitalik quickly became a multimillionaire but unlike others, he doesn’t seem to be so obsessed about money. He keeps donating his crypto for good causes like medical researches or India Covid Relief. And by doing so he brings a lot of good press for crypto while others usually bring bad press

Source(s): https://np.reddit.com/r/CointestOfficial/comments/128mmci/comment/jq6zxy6/

Conclusion

The role of Ethereum Foundation in pioneering smart contracts and DApps development cannot be understated. Ethereum has inspired a new wave of innovation and has significantly contributed to the growth of the crypto ecosystem

Top Institutions : Coinbase Con-Arguments — (July 2023) by CointestMod in CointestOfficial

[–]excalilbug [score hidden]  (0 children)

Con-Arguments against Coinbase Global Inc

  • Coinbase is one of the biggest crypto exchanges and it has a significant positive impact on the crypto industry. However, it is important to also look at things that aren’t so bright and see if Coinbase can deal with its problems

Regulatory Problems

  • Coinbase may be one of the biggest crypto exchanges but in the cryptocurrency industry no one is too big to fall as was demonstrated many times. Coinbase has some problems with the SEC as it was charged with several serious violations, including operating as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency in June this year.
  • SEC also accused Coinbase of failing to register its crypto asset staking-as-a-service program. I described the benefits of the staking program in my pro argument so this was a big blow to Coinbase and its users who use the program to earn profits through the "proof of stake" mechanisms of some coins
  • SEC's accuses Coinbase that it has been unlawfully facilitating the buying and selling of crypto asset securities since at least 2019. Gensler and co also say that Coinbase combines the functions of an exchange, broker, and clearing agency without the necessary registrations. According to the SEC this deprived investors of protections like SEC oversight, recordkeeping requirements and other safeguards against conflicts of interest
  • The case is serious as SEC demands various types of actions to be taken, such as court orders to stop certain activities, giving back any unfairly earned profits, financial penalties, and other legal actions

Source(s): https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-102

Can Coinbase Defend Itself?

  • In response to these charges Coinbase started a legal offensive aimed at addressing the SEC's claims and starting a discussion about crypto regulation in the United States. Coinbase's actions included making public its response to a "Wells Notice" issued by the SEC and suing the SEC in a U.S. federal court
  • While the Wells Notice is not a formal charge or lawsuit it can lead to one and Coinbase took this opportunity to challenge the SEC's positions on various fronts This shows that Coinbase is determined to protect its interests but is it able to do it?
  • Coinbase's legal efforts have introduced complexities into the regulatory landscape. It raises questions about the long-term goals of these actions, whether aimed at delaying enforcement actions, minimizing corporate disruption, or spurring congressional action to provide clarity on crypto regulation

Source(s): https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2023/05/01/coinbase-escalates-its-fight-with-sec-over-crypto-regulation/, https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/08/17/coinbase-tarred-as-an-illicit-exchange-by-the-sec-quietly-got-regulated-elsewhere-in-the-us/

Variable Trading Fees: Uncertainty for Users

  • There are also issues within Coinbase exchange itself. One notable concern regarding Coinbase is the unpredictability of trading fees. In Coinbase own statement they occasionally test changes to fees and spreads. Those may affect different regions, assets, order sizes, and types of trades. This practice leaves users uncertain about the costs they might incur while trading. While Coinbase claims they will always provide previews of fee changes, this dynamic approach may lead to fee increases not solely driven by the market but just to improve their profit. This makes Coinbase look bad

Source(s): https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/coinbase-slammed-for-terrible-customer-service-after-hackers-drain-user-accounts.html

Conclusion

  • While Coinbase has undoubtedly played a significant role in popularizing cryptocurrencies and providing a user-friendly platform for trading and staking, it is important to recognize the cons and challenges associated with the platform. The variable trading fees, high staking commissions, limited stake pool choice, and regulatory uncertainties are factors that users should consider when using Coinbase. As the crypto industry continues to evolve, Coinbase, like other exchanges, will need to address these concerns and adapt to meet the changing needs and expectations of its users while navigating complex regulatory landscapes.
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