RE: Ned on SBD: "Does the community want to continue to be paid out in Steem Dollars?"
If we get rid of STEEM dollars (one degree of complexity and value), then what can we gain in return that we can't have now BECAUSE the SBD is getting in the way? (more speed?)(more scalability?)(more Facebook options?)
You can't ask me to concede something of such high value without giving me something back in return. Nobody will buy it. If you don't want to show the noobs the SBD, then don't utilize it on Steemit.com, and just let other users (busy.org, e-STEEM, etc) access these kick ass features. It's that simple, unless, of course, we can get a new 1 second transaction engine and ditch this old 3 second transaction POS. If that's the case, and we can choose to add new features (let's discuss THIS) that we could not otherwise by hanging onto the SBD.
You are going to have to give me something pretty good if you want to take away the vehicle that shielded SBD holders from losses over the past few months!
Hey, maybe we can convince the government to eradicate the FDIC insurance because it is too confusing. Social security and medicare too! let's get rid of all confusing and complex and complicated stuff!
Yes, STEEM is complex, but so is life and the human body. One wrong snafu inside you, and it's lights out. In other words. YOU are complex, so when you say that complex stuff sucks, then....well... Maybe we should give Dan and Ned a couple lobotomies so that the average person can understand them better than they can now?
Without STEEM dollars, the current market cap of STEEM dollars would surely be combined with that of STEEM, no? If this is true, then perhaps the pegged-to-a-dollar status of SBD could be liberated and we could potentially see the price of STEEM begin to rise and reach new heights. I'm no expert with crypto though, so I could be wrong about that.
What I do know however, is that you may be underestimating the power of an unnecessarily over-complicated system to deter new users from jumping on the Steemit bandwagon. If we have the opportunity to simplify things, and if doing so could increase the number of people who decide to join and stay on Steemit, then that is surely something that ought to be considered.
Have you ever heard the quote "A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members," before?
While this quote was probably a lie told by some politician who then proceeded to get elected and did nothing for the weakest in society, I still feel that it nonetheless holds a vital life lesson.
Should we apply this philosophy to Steemit, then perhaps keeping things complicated in spite of the knowledge that it would put some of our users at a disadvantage, would ensure that this ecosystem and community be judged on par with that of the one that dominates society offline.
I believe the founders created this site on a block chain and with open transparency so that they could build something better than what the world has to offer. I see this as an opportunity to rise above petty arrogance and demonstrate the integrity of Steemit by providing equal opportunities to those whom otherwise would be left behind.
I shall admit though, that there is potential dangers with sacrificing a currency that has proven stable to the dollar, yet at the same time.. how stable is the dollar?
I feel this issue warrants a lot of discussion and I thank the poster for sharing it with us. I'm intrigued to see where the community lands on this.
SBD is not what deters new users. Cryptocurrency might, but the SBD isn't specifically deterring users as I know that it's far easier to relate to for a crypto noob than the now highly liquid steem token. Imagine writing your first post and getting $100 dollars, then going away and coming back a week later to find out it's now worth $50. If you're used to crypto you might be OK with that, but for people who are new to it, that's a total turn off.
Exactly. I know some of my friends that have joined and are now posting on Steemit would not have joined if the only rewards we Steem. The SBD's peg to the dollar and the interest it earned was a big selling point for them and made it easier to understand.
Plus, I think only having the Steem to trade right now would flood the market even further and drive the price lower. We haven't even moved past the 13 weeks change in the power down time since the last fork. We all knew the price was going to go down again. I don't think it's a good idea to kiss SBD goodbye. I'm for keeping it.
I was not necessarily asserting that SBD in itself was deterring new users from the platform. It is the fact that there are two crypto-currencies involved with the site rather than one that may overwhelm some new users.
I know at first I was confused about why there needed to be two different currencies. I stayed and found out, but that doesn't mean that every oneelse will.
Making things as simple as they possibly will provide new Steemians with the most user-friendly experience that could be offered. It is my opinion that this will do wonders for user-retention, and in the long run the growth of the platform.
I don't think 2 crypto's is deterring users I think crypto itself is. You read it's a "token" and suddenly it's not money. Even though that's exactly what a dollar bill is - a token of debt!
When I saw 3 cryptos I find SBD the easiest to understand and quickly concluded that that's the only one I need to know about. With time and presence on the platform I appreciate steem a lot more, but that takes time and I was NOT new to crypto when I came here! So it's much harder for those who are.
I understand your perspective and it holds water too. Though, most people who are advocating your position to retain SBD in the comments are expressing STEEM's volatility to be a significant cause for its difficulty with new users.
@thecryptofiend's comment below does an excellent job of delineating the role that SBD plays in that volatility. Should SBD be removed from the equation, then we may very well see the price of STEEM stabilizing, negating at least one of the complexities of STEEM for new users.
By the way, there is one thing they could do is make this more relateable to what people already know. Tokens/Steem/Steempower should be credits , or something. So Steem Power would be SuperCredits . Or, let users flip between ways of displaying it default to $ dollars and credits , but let crypto peeps flip it to the perspective token names steem / steempower . Also, maybe people can have the option of tucking away ' steem savings , steem power' I mean not everything has to be displayed by default.
Agree with you 100%!
There are not two but three. Sbd, steem and bitcoin. In order to get in you go through bitcoin and in order to cash out you go through bitcoin.. Sacastically speaking why not get rid of both SBD and Steem?
Even if this is true (I reserve judgment), that would only add about 3% to market cap, barely enough to notice.
I wrote this comment before I discovered @thecryptofiend's concise explanation as to what SBD is and how it negatively effects the growth of STEEM.
I don't see how SBD complicates things. It makes the rewards easier to explain to noobs and easier to price things for commerce.
more stable than Steem and that's the point, isn't it?
As I explained just a few comments below, should SBD be done away with then STEEM would have that stability anyway.
I disagree. More Steem on the market will lower the price some more as did changing of the powerdown to 13 weeks.
It's a new crypto and the price is going to be all over the place. Look at all the other crypto's that have no additional tokens pegged to fiat. Do they look stable to you? Adding a stable token is a selling point. Perhaps it's unrealistic to think we could stabilize any token at all.
The difference to STEEM would be minimal. SBD is currently about 3.5% of STEEM in terms of market cap. Folding back in that 3.5% would hardly make a day and night difference to anything about STEEM, including stability. A lot of these claims are greatly exaggerated.
It has nothing to do with complexity. The SD reduces demand for actual Steem. That is the real currency. SD is a smart contract.
ahhh I see, make us more like bitcoin. I get it, btc is hot, STEEMIT is not, but maybe we need to get a little more closer to the market cap of bitcoin before making a reverse course now. FULL STEM AHEAD , I say, let the men do their work, faster gents, more upvote power! let's go now!
But if the only token we have to trade is Steem and everyone starts trading it, will it not just flood the markets and drive down the price, negating the stability claimed to be gained by SBD's removal. Having a place to park Steem, in steem power or SBD, is a nice feature.
We all knew the price was going to drop after the fork. I say we leave it alone and work on UI and onboarding features. Nothing will stabilize the price of Steem like more users that we can retain and engage.
No the Steem is already on the markets. If anything it should reduce the Steem on markets as those who want to invest in the Steem ecosystem only have one choice.
It's a nice feature but no Steem is actually parked in the SD. It is a smart contract that entitles you to a certain amount of Steem in the future. If everybody parks there money in SD then their are fewer people parking their money in Steem itself.
if all I had was Steem I would still have 2 choices. Power up or sell my steem for BTC or fiat. No different than now except I would have to decide the minute the Steem is earned to avoid the volatility.
Exactly. So you without it you either choose Steem or you don't. There is no Steem lite with lower risk which is how I'm starting to view SD. By holding SD you don't take the volatility risk.
I agree with the above comment, not for all the same reasons, but near enough I'm upvoting it.