Back in 2008, 2009, 2010 I was a standard irc user and would always typelist to see all channels on a given irc network.
I would sort by most populated channels first. This was my weird OCD process, to see what projects, and technologies people were interested in on Undernet, Dalnet, eventually freenode.
Before bitcoin related channels existed on freenode, I used this method on some irc server(the network I long forget), and saw #bitcoin with about 130 people in it.
I joined, and as soon as I joined everyone was spamming their wallet addresses. I asked why, and I was told people were sending 10, 50, 100,300, and other random amounts to BTC to each other when they were worthless, in turn strengthening the network. This was late 2009. This is when Bitcoin had no value.
I promptly asked what Bitcoin was about, and after getting the explanation from a few, I said: "Why would I use Bitcoin, when I can use debit cards online", and/or cash in person?
Then the person that responded said: Do you want to take part in global financial disruption, and become the new elite?
I promptly laughed, and said to myself, "wtf is this sh**", and left the channel.
Fast forward to mid to end 2010, is when I finally started taking it seriously after seeing early applications being shaped, and the beginning undertones of organized crime being interested in it.
When you know the darkside gives something a serious look, you know the early adoption means it has value.
Setting that 'dark notion' aside, I saw it for what it was. I got in early, but not early as I could of.
Does anyone have any stories similar to the irc scenario?
I wish I was lucky enough to get to know about it then and the sad part is I was online actively everyday and yet I completely missed it, if I hadn't the story would have been a lot different for me, from what it is now. I learned about it last year, right before I joined this forum and I saw a program about it on Discovery/National Geographic channel I think and it was about a guy who had a lot of bitcoins but has lost its private key and it showed how bitcoins are still sitting there but no one can claim them and they're most probably lost forever.
It made me curious and I started googling stuff and that's when I learned I was quite late but still I joined here, learned about various things and here I am.
