Open Letter to Ned/Steemit
Ned/Steemit,
A lot has happened in the past seven days. I'm sure by now most of the community is aware by now of the fact Steemit, Inc. started a large power down in reaction to a perceived threat of a hardfork that could potentially remove or freeze the balances of Steemit Inc's accounts.
Many of the witnesses, stakeholders, and members of the community are very concerned over what is happening.
In terms of Steemit powering down all of their stake and hiding it from view - we feel very strongly that this is heading in the complete opposite direction of where things should go. We would like to see more trust and more transparency (not less).
A hardfork that would potentially affect the security of Steemit's accounts could only go through with support from a sufficient number (17/21) of the top witnesses.
I would like to make a commitment to you:
If Steemit, Inc. stops the full power downs of all of their accounts and returns them to their normal power down rate prior to the first disbursement of the current power down cycle, I personally commit to you (on chain) as a witness that I will not implement, support, or condone any hardfork that affects the balances, keys, or security of any of Steemit's accounts on the current chain.
I know many other witnesses feel the same way, and will be making similar statements. I encourage all other witnesses to express their views and make similar commitments.
[Edit] Just to be clear, the wording I used is not intended to imply I would fork if the power down continues. This is not a "do this or I will x" type of statement. I have not, nor have I ever, made any statements indicating that I am in support of a fork of the main chain, nor have I ever implied that if a set of demands weren't met that I would do such a thing.
Note: This commitment does still allow any stakeholders / witnesses who may want to go off and form their own chain (as a fork of Steem) in a way that doesn't disrupt the current chain the option to do so.
It is our hope that with sufficient demonstration from the witnesses that your funds are safe here, that you will no longer feel the need to hide them from view.
Never ever fork peoples stake away. And never suggest it in any way shape or form. This kind of behaviour is a violation of property rights and will scare away potential future stake holders.
I would ask you to look at the fact that I haven't forked (even though I didn't "get what I wanted" as some would say) as an indication that I am not going to toy around with these things. I do though still reserve the right as a witness to adopt any hardfork that I truly believe is in the best interest of the stakeholders and platform, and in absolutely extreme situations - that might include freezing somebody's account.
Here is one example to think about - if an exchange has more than enough STEEM on it to be able to single-handy take over all of the top 20 witness votes and they get hacked by a malicious actor who wants to destroy Steem - I would seriously consider it in that case. You can start to get less black and white - let's say that Steemit, Inc. somehow got "taken over" (not hacked) by a group of people that wanted to adopt a hardfork that would somehow screw over all the other stakeholders. Again, I might seriously consider it in that case too. Where does the line get drawn?
Honestly, it is a really difficult question. And a serious one too. Part of me would love to just take a simple "I will never do it" stance, but honestly - I feel that it would be irresponsible to do so. I take my job very seriously, and I reserve the right to use whatever tools exist in my tool-belt if I deem them necessary to do what is best for the Steem stakeholders.
The point is, it is not always black and white, and I am not going to make an on-chain commitment to never consider using it as a tool. I am also not going to cloud up a post which had a specific intention (to ensure Steemit that their funds were safe if they didn't power down) with a long drawn out explanation of when I found it appropriate to use this type of hardfork as a tool.
Holy shit guys. Too bad you're discussing this in another slack, I have the strong urge to clean up my witness votes to stop supporting everyone involved in this blackmailing.
Do as we say or we hardfork you out. Seems like the perceived power got to some peoples' heads. You realize that this attitude is what led to the power down in the first place?
I'm far from happy about the performance and behaviour of stinc, but anyone considering this option seriously is way below. Witnesses secure the chain, they don't fuck around with it. If you need that power, move over to EOS.
Just to make it clear, I am not blackmailing here. I am not issuing any type of threat that I would support a hardfork if they don't cancel their power down. I have never come out in support of a hardfork that would impact the current chain, nor have I implied that if Steemit doesn't comply with some list of demands that I would do so.
It is not blackmail.. It is just an offer they cannot refuse..
_
Why not?
Not only can it be refused but I fully expect it to be refused. Of course I may be surprised, but IMO "an offer they cannot refuse" is extremely distant from reality.
_
Your formulation starting with a condition gives that impression, thanks for clarifying.
Compare it to how @lukestokes worded it:
As I'm sure you and certain other witnesses as @lukestokes etc. will NOT
I set you @pharesim as my witness proxy !
Se also my related committment:
https://steemit.com/deutsch/@diana.feuerberg/mein-kurzes-aber-klares-statement-zum-powerdown-vom-steemit-account-und-dem-angedrohten-hardfork
Hugs
Diana
Thanks for the trust you put in me!
Just added this:
[Edit] Just to be clear, the wording I used is not intended to imply I would fork if the power down continues. This is not a "do this or I will x" type of statement. I have not, nor have I ever, made any statements indicating that I am in support of a fork of the main chain, nor have I ever implied that if a set of demands weren't met that I would do such a thing.
I have gained a great deal of respect for you witnesses. I still must point out that simply by making a demand you are leaving the threat 'on the table' if the demand isn't met.
It's extortion. Please stahp.
The “threat” of any witness applying any fork is always there. As a witness, I can choose to support or not support any changes I want. (Whether I will stay voted in is another matter, but unrelated to what we are talking about now.)
I am not going to make a blanket statement that restrains me from ever considering changes such as this in the future. I am not a witness who will never fork out someone’s stake. If there are extreme circumstances, I might consider it as an absolute last resort.
I have never indicated that the current situation is even close enough to an “extreme last resort” situation that I would ever do such a thing. In fact, I have indicated the exact opposite.
There is nothing in my post saying that there will be any type of consequences if the power down doesn’t stop. I am not making any type of threat that there will be consequences. There is no extortion or blackmail there.
What I have done is stated that if Steemit is willing to “give up” something on their side (powering down), I am willing to “give up” something on mine (my freedom as a witness to move forward with any type of hardfork on the main chain that I deem appropriate).
Again, I want to stress that even if they don’t give up something on their side, and I reserve my freedom to choose what changes to support - that does not imply that I will use that freedom to make any particular choice.
As we are discussing these matters elsewhere, I but thank you for the courtesy of your civil, forthright reply here, and defer our conversation there.
Thanks!
I don’t blackmail. You can approve me! :)
https://steemit.com/witness-category/@ats-david/open-letter-to-stinc-and-everyone-else
I agree with you. Whatever someone is doing, the chain should never be forked. This is rule number one for blockchain.
I am against hardforking for taking stakes from Steemit inc or anyone else for that matter. It would put Steem in a very bad light.
Yep, it would destroy the integrity of STEEM as a unit of value.
It would be great if you could make a post stating your views.
i will go over all my thoughts shared in various channels and will try to come up with a more extensive version. The gist will be something like: Imho, every stakeholder, steemuser, want steem to succeed, so let's work to fix what's wrong, together! we are one, we are many.
Short and simple but truthful answer
I translated this post into Korean.
https://steemit.com/open-letter/@ayogom/2nidut
@timcliff,
This is my statement:
I am a minnow but I will only keep witnesses who would not use our faith on them to do bad things on this chain!
So I selected you as one of my witness and now I am looking forward others who worthy to be there!
Cheers~
Great initiative bro!
Hardforking to "occupy" someones account is against all values that blockchains represent.
(I understand what you said in your edited paragraph, but only even mentioning such a fork is not a good sign to the people)
Posted using Partiko Android
I respect that view and would only consider it under the most extreme of circumstances.
Glad to see this public commitment to encourage transparency and trust.
Posted using Partiko iOS
Hats off Tim!