I begin to think that designers of all things crypto-related take some kind of perverse delight in over-complicating everything.
Why have one coin or token for a project when a profusion of different ones can be created for every aspect of it ? Why use a generic wallet or service when you can make users sign up to a dedicated one that's totally alien compared to everything they've seen before ? Why get people to sign in with a password or authenticator when you can get them to do a micro-transaction, sign in three times in three different places, and maybe dance naked widdershins around a salt pentagram ?
Deliberate over-complexity can be a kind of elitism, a way of saying "I'm smarter than all you plebs". I get it, the people who create blockchains are way smarter than I'll ever be. But if crypto is going to go mainstream, it needs to be usable by non-specialists.
Image subverted by me
In this particular case, all I wanted was to cast my Algorand governance vote, in order to qualify for the quarterly rewards. It was so much easier when you just got automatic rewards for holding it !
I'd previously installed the Algosigner extension (one of their recommended methods), connected it to my Ledger device and registered as a governor. I could see on my governor dashboard that it was time to vote, so I did. Then I hit the "submit vote" button, and waited. And waited. And waited. As it cycled endlessly doing nothing.
While I waited, I opened a new browser window and searched to try to troubleshoot Algosigner. There were a few people reporting similar problems, but no answers. So I sent in a support ticket - I guess eventually I'll get a reply. I read the Algorand Foundation governors guide. It laid out how the process SHOULD work - it's actually quite a well written document, to be fair.
That's where I found the first clue as to what had gone wrong. It told me I needed to connect my wallet in a similar way to when I registered. I realised that my browser had kept me connected (I guess it was trying to be helpful).
So finally I sorted it out. There was a link in the guide to the governor's dashboard, and opening that took me to a version of the screen where I wasn't still connected (in retrospect, I might have been able to disconnect and then reconnect to get the same result).
This enabled me to connect, log back into the Algosigner extension, then open my Ledger device, approve the zero-value (0.001 ALGO fee) transaction to sign the vote, and finally confirm with another login to the Algosigner extension.
Yay ! My vote was submitted. What an awesome way to spend half an evening.
Here's the screen, and the solution.....
But despite my rant, there's a serious message here. If we want to see widespread crypto adoption, it needs to be easy enough for the "man in the street" to use on an intuitive level.
Instructions need to be clear, the process needs to be as few steps as possible, and it all needs to just work without the need to spend hours trying to find advice.
Doing this will minimise the possibilities for error or malicious actors to slip into the process. This in turn will reduce the concerns of people who are currently deterred by over-complexity and the risks that come with it. We want people to enjoy the crypto adventure, not worry that misunderstanding the process could lose them money.