Oddbean

I don't really know, I don't use Telegram. I read it in an article a couple of days ago. They have a "crypto" token and seem to be building the type of "all-app" that Elon wanted to turn Twitter into.

In 2019 I got air dropped a shitcoin through Keebase and it started my current journey into Bitcoin. Even though I had a Bitcoin address on there since 2017 and never pursued it beyond that. 2012 I ran Bitcoin core and was disappointed that after I synced the chain that I had no idea how to actually do anything... Signal, Telegram and more using a payment technology but won't touch Bitcoin because they can't dominate, control and seek rent. Still, as I threw away my Coinmine box of 2020 and repurposed the computer in 2022 I'm reminded that in the Bitcoin / shitcoin there are plenty of us wanted Fiat for one reason or another because we have to use the mark of the beast to buy and sell things. It makes sense, all of it. You own Bitcoin because you don't want money and then you need liquidity anyway. The most important words are from 2500 years ago: Here is the formula of Because of this, there is that.... Paticcasamuppada Paticcasamuppada The Twelve Parts The Paticcasamuppada, or the Cycle of Dependent Origination, summarizes the Buddha’s teaching on the conditionality of all physical and mental phenomena of living beings. The cycle has 12 parts, which are: 1. Avijja – ignorance or delusion 2. Sankhara – kamma-formations 3. Vinnana – consciousness 4. Nama-rupa – mind and matter 5. Salayatana – six sense bases 6. Phassa – contact or impression 7. Vedana – Feeling 8. Tanha – craving 9. Upadana – clinging 10. Bhava – becoming 11. Jati – rebirth 12. Jara-marana – old age and death The 12 parts form a cycle, in which each part is conditioned by the preceding part, and in turn, conditions the part that follows. The formula of Paticcasamuppada is as follows: 1. Avijja paccaya Sankhara: through Ignorance are conditioned the Sankharas, that is, the rebirth producing kamma-formations. 2. Sankhara paccaya vinnana: through the kamma formations is conditioned Consciousness. 3. Vinnana paccaya nama-rupam: through Consciousness are conditioned Mind and Matter. 4. Nama-rupa paccaya salayatana: through the physical and mental phenomena are conditioned the 6 Bases. 5. Salayatana paccaya phasso: through the 6 Bases is conditioned (sensorial) Impression. 6. Phassa paccaya vedana: through Impression is conditioned feeling. 7. Vedana paccaya tanha: through Feeling is conditioned Craving. 8. Tanha paccaya upadana: through Craving is conditioned Clinging. 9. Upadana paccaya bhavo: through Clinging is conditioned the process of kamma-formations and becoming (kammabhava and Upapattibhava). 10. Bhava paccaya jati: through the process of kamma formation (kammabhava) is conditioned Rebirth. 11. Jati paccaya jara-maranam-soka-parideva dukkha-domanassa-upayasa sambhavanti: through Rebirth are conditioned Old Age, Death, Sorrow, Lamentation, Suffering, Grief and Despair. Evametassa kevalassa dukkhakhandhassa sumudayo hoti: thus arises this whole mass of suffering. https://www.buddhivihara.org/paticcasamuppada/

This was a huge disappointment at the time and in my mind called into question the technical judgement used in the rest of the product. Seems like nothing has come of it and tbh I had forgotten all about it.

Signal might be a honeypot. Moxie Marlinspike initially developed Textsecure + Redphone for encrypted SMS + phone calls. These were widely used during the arab revolutions in spring 2011, especially in Egypt. Moxie sold to Twitter, became their employee and the services were shut down when people relied most on them. (In 2010 Moxie was detained by feds when entering US from abroad). Moxie actively undermined development of federation on the server side, insisted in making Signal a centralized service. Long time Google Play Services were necessary with the reasoning of less battery consumption ;-) To many red flags for me, but DYOR. PS: You might also take a closer look at Meredith Whittaker PPS: Similar holds for Proton Mail which was never invented at Cern.