[brudgers]

Idiots? No.

Bitcoins were an investment. For a time, the investment offered an opportunity for handsome returns. Now, not so much. Like any investment it carried risk and the potential rewards reflected that risk. A potential erosion of Mt. Gox was part of the risk and the offered rates of return reflected that risk.

My gut says if you can describe your bits sufficiently to distinguish them from other bits you stand a chance of recovering them. Any optimism over the prospect should be tempered by the fact that Mt. Gox's collapse appears to be due to their inability to distinguish one person's bits from another's. If true, then there are no accurate records which link individuals with specific units of currency. That of course is the premise of the whole enterprise.