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Re:Why Monero by stavros on Monday September 13, 2021 @07:50PM (#28518390)
I don't know how it could resolve the "supporting crime" concern, really. When something is anonymous/private, it's going to be used for things you don't like. It's then all about whether you think the tradeoff is worth it.

Personally, I think it is, but I understand how others can have different viewpoints. I think the logical conclusion if you take the opposite stance is that you're against anonymity and/or privacy, though.

Re:Why Monero by bb88 on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @05:11AM (#28522113)
> I think the logical conclusion if you take the opposite stance is that you're against anonymity and/or privacy, though.

People are all for anonymity until law enforcement can no longer catch criminals. There's a balance there your statement is lacking. It's kinda like saying if you support anonymity, you must be clearly pro-crime, which I don't think you are.

E.g. Banking regulations don't allow banks to publish details of customer's accounts. But KYC allows banks to report questionable activity to FINCEN, say. And that seems to strike a balance between regulation and anonymity.

Re:Why Monero by stavros on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @06:10AM (#28522524)
> It's kinda like saying if you support anonymity, you must be clearly pro-crime, which I don't think you are.

I think it's that, if you are pro-catching-crime, you're against anonymity, because that's a prerequisite. If you're for anonymity, you don't have to be pro-crime, because crime isn't a prerequisite for anonymity.

> People are all for anonymity until law enforcement can no longer catch criminals.

That is certainly true. I just think that it's used against morally-good causes much more often than it's used against morally-bad, or at least that the benefit we get for the latter doesn't justify the former. One salient example is the security theater we have to go through in airports since 9/11, which have eroded the liberty of millions of people and have probably caught (or even deterred) zero people.

Re:Why Monero by bb88 on Wednesday September 15, 2021 @09:15AM (#28538675)
> if you are pro-catching-crime, you're against anonymity, because that's a prerequisite.

I'm not sure it is. It seems to me you can be pro-hoodie without being pro-murder. It also appears that being anti-murder doesn't require you to be anti-hoodie.

> One salient example is the security theater we have to go through in airports since 9/11, which have eroded the liberty of millions of people and have probably caught (or even deterred) zero people.

I won't say the TSA is good at their jobs. But I will say that anonymity ends at the door of an airplane. Now whether the former can do the latter is another question entirely.

Re:Why Monero by stavros on Wednesday September 15, 2021 @09:46AM (#28538959)
> It seems to me you can be pro-hoodie without being pro-murder. It also appears that being anti-murder doesn't require you to be anti-hoodie.

I didn't say anything about being anti-murder, though. If you're pro-catching-murderers, you must be anti-hoodie, otherwise you catch fewer murderers.

Re:Why Monero by bb88 on Wednesday September 15, 2021 @08:32PM (#28546352)
> If you're pro-catching-murderers, you must be anti-hoodie, otherwise you catch fewer murderers.

Maybe, but also there's other options. One might be that more cops on the street would probably have a more powerful effect than banning hoodies say.

So I reject your black and white reasoning outright.

Re:Why Monero by sumedh on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @08:07AM (#28523443)
> But KYC allows banks to report questionable activity to FINCEN

Isnt that just for the little guy because there are always stories in the news that banks help cartels move money.

Re:Why Monero by paulryanrogers on Monday September 13, 2021 @08:01PM (#28518477)
TBH I'm against strong anonymity when it comes to money. Seems like it can amplify harm more than other areas like speech or association.
Re:Why Monero by stavros on Monday September 13, 2021 @08:04PM (#28518497)
True. The issue I have is that anonymity exists, it's just expensive, so only rich people have it. This makes the choice from "financial privacy or no financial privacy" to "financial privacy for the rich or for everyone".
Re:Why Monero by paulryanrogers on Monday September 13, 2021 @08:21PM (#28518619)
Good point. And if it's truly a binary choice of only-the-rich or everyone then I'm more inclined to side with anonymity for everyone.
Re:Why Monero by around_here on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @08:12AM (#28523496)
Disagree because you’re already getting screwed by the rich. Being anonymous doesn’t divorce from the “getting screwed” class, but it continues to aid the rich.
Re:Why Monero by cassonmars on Monday September 13, 2021 @08:42PM (#28518792)
Financial anonymity is important — just because the panic of the day is “secret Nazis” doesn’t make this untrue. Consider a woman trying to escape domestic abuse, who has been financially trapped. If all transactions are untraceable, a $20 to “a grocery store” here and there can very well be her escape route. Same goes for oppressed individuals attempting to escape abusive families, neighborhoods, countries. Realistically the people you’re most worried about have used what they’ve always used to conduct their transactions anonymously: cash.
Re:Why Monero by loeg on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @03:47AM (#28521591)
Just because the government knows about my bank account doesn't mean my wife/neighbor/rando does. No one is talking about radically public bank accounts; the surveillance is only for the government.
Re:Why Monero by spinny on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @05:21AM (#28522179)
what happens when your government is corrupt and is after you? such blind trust in big daddy government
Re:Why Monero by krageon on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @04:13AM (#28521739)
So what happens when your abusive boyfriend is a cop or a government worker?
Re:Why Monero by bigger_inside on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @04:49AM (#28521989)
which they are, of course, statistically more likely to be in this instance. https://www.amazon.com/Police-Wife-Epidemic-Domestic-Violenc...
Re:Why Monero by krageon on Tuesday September 14, 2021 @06:07AM (#28522501)
I was opting for heavy subtext, I completely agree :)