Re: [Bitcoin-development] improving development model (Re: Concerns Regarding Threats by a Developer to Remove Commit Access from Other Developers

[Milly Bitcoin <milly@bitcoins.info>]

 >- Did you accept payment from companies to lobby for 20MB blocks? Do 
you consider that something appropriate to publicly disclose if so? Do 
you consider that user rights should come above or below company 
interests in Bitcoin? FWIW on pondering that last question "should user 
rights come above or below company interests" I think my view of the 
guiding principle is starkly clear to me: that user rights should be the 
primary thing to optimise for. Businesses are providing service to 
users, their interests are secondary in so far as if they are enabled to 
provide better service thats good. Bitcoin is a user p2p currency, with 
a social contract and a strong user ethos. Importing and forcing company 
interests would likely be the start of a slippery slope towards an end 
to Bitcoin.

I always thought is was the exact opposite.  I thought it was expected 
that the only incentive for developers (other than increasing the value 
of coins they hold) is to lobby for changes that will benefit the 
companies that fund them.  That is the only way you are going to get 
more full time developers on board.  It focuses their efforts on  
products and services people want rather than some sort philosophical 
agenda that may be unrealistic.  The notion that large numbers of 
volunteers will do all this work at little or no pay to improve user 
experience is not a realistic long term plan.  I also think it is 
incorrect to assume some kind of "social contract" and "strong user 
ethos."  While many early users are like that I think most potential 
users of Bitcoin don't think that way.

Russ