Has community ideology changed over time?

[chennan]

My observation about this is that the strong liberal and anarchist users have declined over the years and the new generation of Bitcoiners are more speculative in nature and out for some profit on the technology. We have moved from a community with idealistic views on changing the world to a better place for all, to a world where everyone just takes as much as they can from the technology to profit the most.

This is just a natural change during a phase where mainstream adoption are becoming a reality and a more diverse group of people are getting involved with the technology. ^sad^

Or it could just be that the "anarchist" type doesn't frequent these boards anymore like they used too... But yeah, I definitely agree that there is generally a different "vibe" from people that flock to cryptocurrencies. 

Before it was more of the dream of achieving financial freedom from banks and governments... now it's the dream of having banks and governments accept and use bitcoin and to have it as "mainstream" as possible.  That, and people here are more the wall street/day trader type of people.

[Gleb Gamow]

My observation about this is that the strong liberal and anarchist users have declined over the years and the new generation of Bitcoiners are more speculative in nature and out for some profit on the technology. We have moved from a community with idealistic views on changing the world to a better place for all, to a world where everyone just takes as much as they can from the technology to profit the most.

This is just a natural change during a phase where mainstream adoption are becoming a reality and a more diverse group of people are getting involved with the technology. ^sad^

Yep, and it's bound to be that way, too.  Just like how all the idealistic hippies got co-opted by megacorporations in time.  I think everything trends toward the median--but there is bound to be strong anarchist and even criminal tendencies with bitcoin.  Hell, we see this every day on bitcointalk with crackers and scammers and whatnot.

I am not qualified to speak on the old guard, as I was not into bitcoin until last year.  I did lurk this forum for quite some time, but I don't have a sense of how things were.  It definitely seems as though this forum has gotten less intelligent.

Yep! Back in March of last year I brought attention to this community about Leroy Fodor's StakeMiners Ponzi. Since then, according to Leroy over 180 Investards invested in the scheme, some later came crying to me as to how to get their moneys back since Leroy changed the site's ToS in limiting weekly withdrawal requests to ONLY 0.35 BTC creating a backlog going on two years. Meanwhile, supporters of Cryptsy have teamed up with Chantha Owen Lueung's Crypto-city designed to harbor nefarious actors in attempts to further fleece the less intelligent members of this community and from around the world.

[patronis]

My observation about this is that the strong liberal and anarchist users have declined over the years and the new generation of Bitcoiners are more speculative in nature and out for some profit on the technology. We have moved from a community with idealistic views on changing the world to a better place for all, to a world where everyone just takes as much as they can from the technology to profit the most.

This is just a natural change during a phase where mainstream adoption are becoming a reality and a more diverse group of people are getting involved with the technology. ^sad^

Welcome to capitalism at its finest. People are just out trying to make some money.

[smoothie]

I believe it has stayed the same and changed at the same time, depending upon your perspective.

Crypto has so many moving parts that when you add in more people there will be people with different ideologies.

I think the main theme is still the same but you just have more people in it for pump and dumps that don't really care what Bitcoin stands for and why Satoshi created what he created.

[TheMage]

Lots of good responses here, some of the pretty funny (the reference to Idiocracy is golden!). But the one thing that stood out the most was the bolded area below

I was made aware of Bitcoin during the November/December 2013 rise and fall,
so I have been here for roughly 2.5 years now and the difference between when
I first participated in the scene and now is very surprising (and sad). Even though
I was not part of the Bitcoin beginning and did not participate in the original ideal,
when I arrived here some of those people were still talking and their arguments
were valid and compelling about Bitcoin was not another payment processor system.
There was a much larger point and goal. It was undiscovered territory.

It seems to me the current average user or new comer to Bitcoin does not care about
such issues or ideals and just wants it to work the way they think it should work. They
don't understand the backstory nor the original reason (IMO) for it's creation. Sadly,
they actually do not care about that truth and as a result, even though their numbers
are adding to the system and helping the system grow, are actually enemies
to this system and one day may reach a point where their ignorant voices will force
changes that make Bitcoin the same as centralized corporate payment processors
regulated and compliant with blacklisting and other methods to oppress.

If the time comes, that the system is fundamentally changed and becomes the opposite
of those original ideals and hopes, it will be used to oppress individuals including those who
wished and pushed for those changes.

If that day comes, we must destroy Bitcoin to save ourselves and future generations.
Satoshi opened Pandora's box, it is now our responsibility to mitigate any diabolical use.

I also have a general feel that its more of a trading/less tech savvy group of people joining today, not that there is anything wrong with that! But there also seems to be a larger increase in greed as well. My original interpretation of the ethos was "financial freedom", and that is what I go by when I perform the work I do at the LA. The price is inconsequential to me for Bitcoin, Litecoin, or anything else (although I do understand there is a significant coloration between price and activity/usage).

BUT....what really grinds my gears honestly is the guise of caring about cryptos where the real intention is spreading either spreading misinformation about other cryptos or attempting to pump your own interests.


Interestingly enough, I did have someone PM me on this topic because he wasnt sure if his thoughts would be trolled. Paraphrasing, he essentially stated the community is now blinded by greed, robbing the blind, or posting nonsense to get paid, thus creating a poisonous atmosphere.




Maybe the above quote I bolded is a sign of good things, "they just want it to work and dont care how". Ultimately this is/was the goal of cryptos, in order to get adoption. The old adage I love to use is grandma, and grandma dont care about how the blockchain works.