This debate is a joke.
Basically, mining is a hedged investment on Bitcoin, and your profit is lower but your risk is also lower than purely investing in Bitcoin.
Furthermore, you help stabilize and secure the network aswell as verify transactions.
Buy and hold is nice, and many miners also do this, but the positive impact on the Bitcoin system is very limited.
You can mine and do all the things you suggest AND recover your costs or you can mine and not recover your costs.
Which would *YOU* rather do Collider ?
Without profit mining is dead. When mining dies, the network dies.
This is why honest ROI discussions are so important. The future of bitcoin depends on mining being economically sustainable.
Those vendors who avoid ROI discussions, take advantage of people's ignorance or otherwise exploit their customers are doing bitcoin a grave disservice. Its easy to talk the talk, how many of them are walking the walk ?
Mine manufacture's are constantly exploiting newbie miners for more sales. There will be plenty of guys at home getting the stink by their wife and both wondering when they're going to make any money, even $10.
