A Comment on Social Media, Software Developers, and Silicon Valley Corporations
Date: 2021-01-25
The other day, I responded in a manner that
seemed irrationally angry. I did so purposely, to kick the hornet’s nest—proverbially.
Unfortunately, in today’s post-social-media world, it is rationality that
suffers. To get people to listen to you, they need to be stirred into action. The
emotive nature of their reaction presents a state that has come with the
intentionally conditioned reflex of people over time. Social-media companies
use it to incite further reactions.
I am proud of the work of many developers
in the blockchain space. My satisfaction includes those who do not like me. The
sentiment expressed by the many in the blockchain space, to change the world
and make a system that is open to everyone and to promote financial freedom, is
laudable.
When I started Bitcoin, no individual
taking part in the project at the time maintained any liability for the
software, as none of them had any influence on the decisions to implement code
changes, which is different to how the project works now. Developers are now
acting together for their own benefit, and thus must realise that they are
subject to the risks and consequences associated with established legal systems.
Companies such as Square fund developers as
they undertake such projects, increasing the rewards for the developers that
own and control the projects. In turn, such Silicon Valley players gain access
to the benefits of the projects without assuming the risks of controlling and
owning the projects. It is my view that when such projects suffer negative
legal judgments, the Silicon Valley companies will have to take up the job of
controlling and owning the projects, exposing themselves to the same sort of
liability that they have been content to leave with the developers.
The truth is, I am not angry at any of the
developers in the Bitcoin and BTC space who have been developing software to
help create a financial system that is freer and more open to the world, but
the developers need to understand the system in which they operate. Using my
statements, I needed to get people to start to respond and to question the
status quo. To do so, I needed to shake them out of their malaise. I needed
them to start reacting.
Certain corporations take advantage of the
passion and integrity offered to them through developers who want to do
something significant to change the world. They twist it to promote their ends,
and minimise the amount of risk that they would face. Such groups use social
media to twist the truth and promote an outcome that allows them to profit at the
expense of others. They do so leaving the risk and the consequences with the
developers, who are left high and dry when things eventually go south.