# The Silk Road **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 31, 2013, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996 "2013-07-31T15:36:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/21 "2013-10-03T16:34:29Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > ETA: Some people on Reddit (at r/silkroad) are freaking out, obviously, because they were fronted large amounts of money to buy drugs and now the money and the drugs are gone. Several people stating quite plainly (if they’re being honest) that they’re as good as dead. Not to be hard-hearted, but if a few drug dealers get killed because Silk Road was shut down, I rather suspect the Feds will regard this as a bonus, not collateral damage. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/22 "2013-10-03T17:42:42Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Not to be hard-hearted, but if a few drug dealers get killed because Silk Road was shut down, I rather suspect the Feds will regard this as a bonus, not collateral damage. Unfortunately drug dealers don’t always get killed quietly and out of sight. There could very well be shootouts and car chases which can just as easily hurt anyone else nearby. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/23 "2013-10-03T17:53:34Z")
Plus I have a feeling many major drug suppliers aren’t very tech savvy and won’t take kindly to explanations of seized Bitcoins and whatnot. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/24 "2013-10-03T17:59:30Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Not to be hard-hearted, but if a few drug dealers get killed because Silk Road was shut down, I rather suspect the Feds will regard this as a bonus, not collateral damage. Maybe the Feds won’t mind, but us regular joe’s should. I understand there are a lot of issues present with drugs but I don’t think it is right how many lives are lost trying to stop something the wrong way. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/25 "2013-10-03T18:16:59Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > Maybe the Feds won’t mind, but us regular joe’s should. I understand there are a lot of issues present with drugs but I don’t think it is right how many lives are lost trying to stop something the wrong way. How is this the ‘wrong way’? I think people accept some risk when they get into any high return enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/26 "2013-10-03T18:56:42Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > How is this the ‘wrong way’? I think people accept some risk when they get into any high return enterprise. Oh, just hating on the war against drugs in general. Yes, there is risk in all we do. I suppose they could always skip town and show up in Canada and be just fine there 😛 ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/27 "2013-10-03T20:08:34Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I thought, once upon a time, I read about them also dealing in various other illegal items (child porn, etc). But I haven’t seen that angle in any of the articles so I’m not sure if Silk Road actually handled that sort of thing or if that was some other “secret internet”. I saw on reddit that at the very early days of TSR people could sell firearms and hire people to do hits but the owner decided to stop that pretty quick and just allow the drugs. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/28 "2013-10-03T20:22:56Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > However, the whole “secret internet” thing, I forget the actual term for it, has all kinds of stuff including CP like you mention, sights for hiring hit men (I mean undercover cops), basically anything you can think of. They’re separate from Silk Road though. You are probably thinking of the [Deep Web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Web), which includes legitimate stuff as well the nefarious underworld of the internet. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/29 "2013-10-03T21:04:54Z")
Straight Dope [article](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3092/how-can-i-access-the-deep-dark-web) on the Deep Web and the Dark Web. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/30 "2013-10-03T21:13:07Z")
This is sounding more and more D&D. Can I get drow prostitutes on the [Deep](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underdark) [Web](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolth)? And I should use [Tor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_Books) when I get there? ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/31 "2013-10-03T21:14:38Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > How is this the ‘wrong way’? I think people accept some risk when they get into any high return enterprise. The War on Drugs is “the wrong way” in that penalties are disproportionate and irrational. Marijuana is no worse than alcohol or tobacco, and arguably less harmful overall. But it’s punished quite severely- it’s a \*felony \*in Nevada, even for simple possession of small amounts. Can you imagine somebody going to jail over a couple of beers? No, of course not. Not since the end of Prohibition, our last War on Drugs. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/32 "2013-10-03T21:22:48Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > The War on Drugs is “the wrong way” in that penalties are disproportionate and irrational. > Marijuana is no worse than alcohol or tobacco, and arguably less harmful overall. > But it’s punished quite severely- it’s a \*felony \*in Nevada, even for simple possession of small amounts. > Can you imagine somebody going to jail over a couple of beers? No, of course not. Not since the end of Prohibition, our last War on Drugs. Except we’re not just talking about pot here. You could literally order black tar heroin, or cocaine, or MDMA, or really anything from a Silk Road vendor and have it delivered to your front door via US mail. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/33 "2013-10-03T21:55:24Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > But it’s punished quite severely- it’s a \*felony \*in Nevada, even for simple possession of small amounts. No it isn’t, although that might’ve been true at one time. Up to 1 ounce is a misdemeanor, and might often be suspended, although penalties increase with consecutive convictions (felony on 4th+). The medical marijuana program is expanding as well, dispensaries are coming. > **[Nevada Laws and Penalties](https://norml.org/laws/nevada-penalties-2?category_id=872)** > > Conditional Release Drugged Driving Expungement Legalization Mandatory Minimum Sentence Medical Marijuana Tax Stamps Penalty Details… My only experience with anything is knowing people (no not “a friend”) who bought things like morning glory seeds off the regular internet to make LSA, and I know you could buy sativa and such. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/34 "2013-10-04T01:44:08Z")
My sympathies for anyone who deals drugs getting killed by other drug dealers over this are less than nil. Good riddance to bad rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/35 "2013-10-04T03:38:37Z")
For some good reading/foreshadowing, check out the [interview he did with Forbes](http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/08/14/an-interview-with-a-digital-drug-lord-the-silk-roads-dread-pirate-roberts-qa/) (lol… pride/fall) a bit over a month ago. Choice teaser quote: > [@](#): > > **More fundamentally do you think there are any limits to the benefits of a free market? If tools like Tor and Bitcoin could become so powerful that they truly create an invincible free market, can free market libertarianism go too far?** > That depends on what you want. I want to be able to pursue my dreams and live my life as I see fit, unhindered by others, and I want others to have the same freedom. Your question doesn’t make sense to me. How can you go too far protecting people’s rights as individuals? How can you go too far liberating people from bondage? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/36 "2013-10-04T08:06:24Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Eh, he wasn’t that bad. He used his own name once, two and a half years ago, and only when he was pretending to be someone looking for information on the site, not its creator. > > So I’m not sure that its “incredibly sloppy” so much as that you have to be incredibly careful to not get caught doing this kind of thing. Since almost everything on the internet is stored for years and is often easily searchable, even the smallest fuckup years ago can be uncovered once someone decides to put some effort into looking for it. The Guardian clearly think [he was an utter idiot](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/03/five-stupid-things-dread-pirate-roberts-did-to-get-arrested). ---
**Author:** ![Virgil\_Tibbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@Virgil\_Tibbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Virgil_Tibbs)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/37 "2013-10-04T09:02:21Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Except we’re not just talking about pot here. You could literally order black tar heroin, or cocaine, or MDMA, or really anything from a Silk Road vendor and have it delivered to your front door via US mail. Wow! \*Actual \*heroin, cocaine or MDMA? Delivered to your front door? My god, soon they’ll have hookers that can drive! ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/38 "2013-10-04T12:30:58Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > Plus I have a feeling many major drug suppliers aren’t very tech savvy and won’t take kindly to explanations of seized Bitcoins and whatnot. I consider myself fairly tech-savvy and I _still_ don’t fully understand Bitcoins— although at this point it’s less “WTF is a Bitcoin?” and more “HTF can this shit possibly not implode on itself?” It is a fitting update on the cliché, I guess. Traditionally, the middleman dealer blows the fronted money at the racetrack. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/39 "2013-10-04T13:17:08Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > The Guardian clearly think [he was an utter idiot](http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/03/five-stupid-things-dread-pirate-roberts-did-to-get-arrested). #1 isn’t stupid (the quotes of him describing Silk Road are extremely oblique). And as for #2, getting fake ID’s with a “real photo of himself” is the whole point of fake ID’s (as I said earlier, the real stupid thing was trying to ship them across a national border). #3 was mildly dumb, though I doubt the Feds would’ve been able to use it to link him to silk road except for his other, more blatent use of his real name where he actually discussed Silk Road. #4 is meaningless. Lots of people are interested in Mises. #5 was the only one that was really stupid. And evil. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996/40 "2013-10-04T15:05:29Z")
> [@Virgil\_Tibbs](#): > > Wow! \*Actual \*heroin, cocaine or MDMA? Delivered to your front door? My god, soon they’ll have hookers that can drive! I don’t follow your snark. I was replying to \*\*aNewLeaf’s \*\*post about the drug war that was pretty focused on marijuana. I was pointing out that this Silk Road thing wasn’t just about pot, which I have no problem with (except that I just ran out a few days ago). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-silk-road/664996.md?page=3)