Bitcoin has died 113 times. Clearly a shitcoin. Heheheh.
Great post, @stellabelle. I'm glad you're learning more about this crazy world. I agree your position as a relative new comer gives you quite a bit of objectivity, but I also think there are some really smart people in the space who write the actual code, the language of cryptocurrencies. Their technical understanding is complicated and unique and we often ascribe supernatural characteristics and perspectives to things we don't personally understand (i.e. get religious). Some (myself included) will get too excited about one coin over another or ignore one all together based on complexity and lack of understanding, not on actual technical fundamentals and usefulness. Sometimes it just takes time to understand these complicated things, especially when they include internal economic systems like steemit does.
It's the wild, crazy west indeed.
Oh man, that bitcoin obituary is amazing. hahaha. It would be fun to call up those authors from time to time and see how life inside the box is working out for them. ;)
Is there some sort of document out there that details the different cryptocurrencies and which are stable or not?
You can check out their whitepaper, how large their development staff are, what makes their coin truly unique and valuable. There aren't that many really good coins. Not many with a real community, a developing and contributing community. one that handles all aspects of the coin from promo, graphics, news, public awareness, economic incentives, and continued innovation, etc.
Most of the coins are clones of earlier coins with limited resources, vision and skill
You have to be wise when investing in anything because there is always a price fluctuation and you don't want to be buying something that is at it's all time high. There's a saying in the stock market, "the trend is your friend". If you're interested in trading, learning how to read charts and market mentality are most helpful.