Didn't pan out.
Increased user activity and engagement is very bullish though. There is now real value to owning Steem Power, certainly compared to before.
But I'm still very concerned about the unwillingness to adopt a standard open source licence. I hope we don't just forget about that and it comes back to bite us in the ass a few years down the line O.O
...adopt a standard open source licence... that's new to me, what it means?
Steem has a proprietary licence. It includes the following clause:
All the other top cryptocurrencies maintain a standard open source licence, while Steem retains this non-standard one which leaves a serious ambiguity over the legality of forks (which are vital for witnesses and stakeholders to genuinely be the governing force in Steem).
https://steemit.com/steemit/@neoxian/i-discovered-something-unpleasant-today-steem-s-license
https://steemit.com/steem/@demotruk/petition-to-demand-steem-be-made-open-source
https://steemit.com/steemit/@walden/dantheman-last-deleted-post-making-steem-really-open-source
I am not an expert in this, but can it be changed easily? What have to be done? What could be the consequences if they don't change it? I just read a comment from @sneak:
Thanks for the page, I am happy to comment. :)
[Note: I am not a lawyer.]
The things you attribute to Linux and Bitcoin are also valid with Steem. No approval is required from Steemit to fork the repo, or to convince the legitimate witnesses to run your update.
The clause in the license is to ensure that any future development work is run on this blockchain, as defined by the witnesses (not Steemit Inc), so that the STEEM currency that we all hold is the beneficiary of changes. It's protection against confusing clones/altcoins, not forks. Any changes that the witnesses run is the valid chain and we have no say in that (other than as any other holder of stake).
As a staunch open source person myself, I too was initially surprised when I saw that nonstandard license, but it makes sense in a weird way. The opportunity to make changes to this code comes with the caveat that your subsequent improvements must benefit the specific community (STEEM holders) that provided that opportunity in the first place, which is why it needs to run on this chain. I see it much like the AGPL in that sense.
Steemit Inc can change the licence for sure.
If it is not changed, there will be a permanent uncertainty over whether witnesses can effectively oppose a fork when Steemit Inc supports it. This will be especially important after the stake has been diluted a few years down the line. Every company which intends to build on top of the Steem blockchain will be burdened with the need to hire lawyers to evaluate the implications of a non standard licence. We also artificially suppress competition, which could build upon the Steem code, innovate further and keep Steem on it's toes, forcing it to provide more value than competitors while retaining the network effect advantage of being the first mover. We run the risk of Steem becoming stagnant and permanently divided by politics if we cannot have this kind of competition, along with freedom to fork.