EDIT: I'm now aware of the wiki system and have folded in some of the information below with the great work /u/binaryresult has been doing at http://ift.tt/1uQjDuI . Please check it out.
Firstly, the majority of it isn't actually FAQs, but a big "dont message the mods" announcement. Regardless, I think it would be better to have some FAQs answered that are more appropriate for now, followed by that mod stuff if necessary.
I know a lot of it is in the sidebar, but most mobile apps don't give that prominence. The stickied post is the main landing page, and it says FAQs on it causing new people to read it. Also, the FAQs on the wiki (from the sidebar) is huge and pretty dense. Not newcomer friendly.
My loose ideas:
(From the sidebar) Bitcoin is the currency of the Internet: a distributed, worldwide, decentralized digital money. Unlike traditional currencies such as dollars, bitcoins are issued and managed without any central authority whatsoever: there is no government, company, or bank in charge of Bitcoin. As such, it is more resistant to wild inflation and corrupt banks. With Bitcoin, you can be your own bank.
Some introductory information
- Check out /r/BitcoinBeginners to get started. /r/changetip is the easiest way to send small amounts to users on social media or content creators that you like. /r/FreeBits will get you started with a few to try out.
- You can find out how much a bitcoin is worth Here, Here or by googling "1 bitcoin in USD" or your local currency.
1 Bitcoin is quite large, so people often deal in smaller units:
- 1/1,000th of a bitcoin : mBitcoins
- 1/1,000,000th of a bitcoin : μBits or also often just called 'bits'
- 1/100,000,000th of a bitcoin : Satoshis (Named after the inventor, it is the smallest unit of bitcoin)
To buy your own bitcoin, recommended sellers are coinbase, circle.com...... The availability of these services vary by country so check out (WHERE? ) to find the best one for you. You can also buy bitcoin directly from people via localbitcoins.com but this has the usual concerns with face-to-face trading.
As bitcoin has become more popular mining has become only profitable for large investments. It is unlikely you will make your money back by mining.
With bitcoin you are you own bank. Make sure you secure your bitcoins and keep your eyes open for scams. Here are some ways to store your bitcoins:
- Companies such as coinbase and circle have secured wallets where they hold the bitcoins for you, but this means that if they are corrupt or hacked then you lose your bitcoins (although some have insurance). Be sure to only deal with legitimate companies. Using 2 factor authentication is always recommended.
- Popular secure wallets exist for desktops/laptops, android and iOS where you hold your coins. Armory, Electrum & Mycelium are common ones. More information about these can be found ...
- For long term storage paper wallets are recommended, where the 'password' is kept on paper.
That's what I think would be a good introduction for newcomers at a reasonable length. Put all the modmail stuff afterwards if needed, but this is a friendly intro with real FAQs unlike the current sticky post. What do people think?
Submitted November 19, 2014 at 01:48PM by StavromulaDelta http://ift.tt/1ynOPRt