You are viewing a single comment's thread from:
RE: It Is Time To Stop Using Steemit.com
I'm sorry, but I see these types of comments everywhere... I get that a lot of people have invested some decent amounts of cash into the platform, and in a sense that can be blinding.
This isn't like children of productive parents going out and making a mark in the world.
This is more like the children of dysfunctional parents are now in competition for the same resources as the parents, while claiming that the shared resources is their strength...
The interfaces might be maturing, but the core is rotting.
I think you are misunderstanding what decentralisation is about.There is nothing wrong with the core steem blockchain. Its running perfectly fine and you and I are using it right now. The API layer, above the blockchain, is currently too centralised and dependent on Steemit Inc. But this changing. SteemMonsters just moved into @anyx's full node. eSteem is running its own full node.
If Steemit Inc had disappeared last week it would have been a crisis. But it hasn't and is now focussed on bringing down costs of full nodes and core blockchain development. This is as it should be.
It is simply untrue that the children are in competition for the same resources as the parents. Steemit Inc is refocussing on core blockchain development and getting out of the way at the application layer (letting Steemit.com die) and doing improvements that allow greater decentralisation at the API layer.
I do understand what decentralization is about... and the issue is nothing to do with it.
The circumstance is that a strong foundation was built, then because everyone was benefiting, nobody did anything while the termites started coming in. Some people did try to point this out, and it was always an excuse to not consider it a problem.
Now, the structure of the house is rotting and the solution is to add more attachments to the house so that the load gets spread out.... there's still termites at the core, and since all extensions to that structure are connected. It becomes like trying to pretend there are no termites by just giving them more wood so the infestation doesn't appear as bad.
It is something of a shame really, there really was a great opportunity to build something great. Unfortunately, greed got in the way. Now, we get to witness this downward spiral.
5-10 articles a minute of mostly rubbish, often bot generated, now fewer, higher quality posts from real people.
But Steem is not just about posts. More importantly, it is about apps.
Have a look at Steem Monsters figures here https://beempy.com/steemmonsters
1 million games played in only 8 weeks with 3500 player and rising fast.
When the issues bottom line to not enough revenue to sustain the nodes, that's really irrelevant.
You know what you call it when you offset losses (or generate revenue) by putting the cost to newcomers?
PONZI SCHEME!!!!
That is the answer to the problems of the platform that I've seen repeated by many. Interestingly, ponzi schemes RARELY begin with the intent of becoming a scheme.
Ultimately, it's poor planning, poor decision making and poor implementation. So, NOW the solution is to cast a wider net... except that's not going to increase revenues, that will increase strain on the nodes... So then it becomes a push for a wider net and again and again until some of the decision makers are being given their perp walk.
Actually I am a legal expert on the difference between a Ponzi or Pyramid scheme and a legitimate business and Steem is most definitely the later. I was the General Counsel and main intellectual driver on this landmark case on the issue.
The solution when revenue drops because of outside forces is to cut costs, which is exactly what Steemit Inc is doing. It is cutting costs for EVERYONE who runs a witness or full node by moving to RocksDB etc.
Legal experts are fun, they always manage to interpret whatever they want to be true, even while telling you what they want to be true is false.
Ponzi schemes and pyramid schemes are similar but different. Pyramid schemes directly rely on new investors to supply the return to earlier investors. The ponzi scheme is more about using esoteric "investments" (like investing in steam power, investing in building a witness node as an "independent representative", investing via software development to draw in new investors).
So, the "offsetting costs" is to get new "investors" to absorb those costs under the promise that there are rewards under the success of the platform.
Anyway, this attempt is just going to start the death spiral of the platform, since the measures to offset costs are really only a stop gap measure when the solution requires increasing the value of steem coins, but that can't happen in that current environment and the things that would are going to wind up increasing the costs making the platform even less viable.
Funny, eh ? Poor planning got steemit in a situation where the cure is the poison.
Hi @apshamilton, bmanmcfly
I completly agree with you. It has been one week only since one bad news ha been announced and many are already coming to crazy fast conclusions. Many things may change within next months if not weeks.
We're facing some real challenge and the fact that development of Steemit is being pushed and focus is on cutting cost doesnt mean that Steemit is done.
Why can guarantee that similar issues with high costs will not be a common problem of other apps?
Yours
Piotr