There is a Hardfork scheduled for November 19th, which means it is just over two weeks away, but I have very little insight into what it contains, the reasons why, and the expected impacts to the platform and community. It would be brilliant to be able to get some details on it, because while most of the people in the community can't do much about it, it is always worth having the discussions and speculating on what it all might mean.
What changes?
Lets, split it into three broad categories.
- Technology
- Economy
- Community
Technology
Each Hardfork introduces changes to the way the blockchain functions, adding or removing functionality, which then changes the possibilities for usage. There is often the "if the code allows2 arguments that say that if the code allows the behaviour (like self-voting) then it should be fine. But, that doesn't take into account the other aspects of the chain (economic and community). The technology changes allow for developers to build on the chain in different ways, which then affects how people interact with the chain, and how the economy distributes through the choices people make. Often the technological changes are to find process efficiencies, but there are also capabilities added.
Economy
Then there are the economic changes that will affect both the development paths and the community behaviours. For instance, a few HFs ago there was the EIP introductions, which gave free downvotes. Many don't like downvotes, but having them means that the bidbot economy became unprofitable by being able to trim the profits from buyers. As a result, most bidbots disappeared and most distribution shifted back to account to account, or through curation initiatives. Other changes introduced was 50/50 curation/receiver split, rather than 25/75 - which also changed behaviours.
And when it comes to economic health, what has to be remembered is that it is derived from behavioural health of the community. The economy (unlike the global legacy economy) has to incentivise the kinds of behaviours from the community that leads to valuable development and interaction. If it is just about maximising profit and is not tied to positive behaviours, it becomes like the legacy economy, with diminishing distribution and raising poverty. But at the same time, the reward structure has to encourage behaviours that add value to the staked community and community as a whole. It can't be a handout process, it has to be a "work" process, with the work performed being considered valuable and health-promoting.
Community
And the changes to the base-layer technology and the economy is always going to affect the way the community interacts and experiences the blockchain. If there are compelling and rewarding ways to participate, then people will participate. And the rewards aren't just the potential for earning HIVE or HBD, it is also about the social value of interaction with others, and being part of a community itself.
The changes to the tech and economic layers will change the way people behave and this change in behaviour will affect how people feel about their experience on the chain, whether that be with applications and games, or interpersonal communication with others. And while a lot of people concentrate on the tech and the economy, the community is vital for the success of Hive, or any human experience. We don't want Hive to replicate the global economy, because that is broken, where profits come at the cost of humanity, not through the advancement of humanity.
Expected impacts
Making assumptions is dangerous, and having expectations leads to disappointment, but when it comes to a hardfork, being able to think through the changes and possible implications and consequences ends up building a lot of useful collateral that can inspire ideas from the community and be used for future development. Quite often, there are also a lot of unexpected consequences that were not considered prior to creating the candidate, and these could also be discovered prior, and discussed after a hardfork.
It is also worth having the information well prior to the hardfork, because it gives time for people interested to get their head around it and communicate and discuss with the community circles they are within. As those who have been around long enough know, Hardforks don't always rollout according to plan, so it is good for the community to be primed for some level of disruption. Hope it runs smoothly, but prepare for the worst.
Valuable discussion
While most (including me) can't add much to the technological discussion at the practical level, the economic and community levels should be open for many to contribute to the narrative. Even if it is to complain. I believe that we have moved too far away from the community being engaged with the blockchain capabilities because there was pushback against inward-facing Hive content for a long time. People didn't like that Hive content was earning rewards. However, that same Hive content kept many people engaged and knowledgeable about Hive itself, so rather than being a platform of users, it was a community of owners discussing how to improve the community. We need a bit more of that, which is why I have said I will add more of this kind of content (like this article).
Hopefully in the coming days, there will be a "simply-worded" list released of changes and expected impacts on tech, economics and community aspects, that will then be able to be discussed by the community and used to theorise what might change at the economic and community level. I would love it if a lot of people from the community got interested in possibility on Hive, rather than just seeing it as another place to post content, because it is so much more than that, and could be far greater again with engaged people.
So what is changing?
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
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