Whose Job is it to fix bitcoin?

[CoinCarrie]

I have no idea what the scenario might be?  Things "break" all the time.  Are there specific individuals we rely on or who have lead the way in past disasters?  I understand we all participate.  To clarify I know there are very specific people we can & do rely on for TOR.  I could 'drop' screen names or real names.  But those familiar with TOR know what I mean. Incase of "bitcoin" emergency - who?  Who are some of the smartest people in this Coin right now?   I am interested in Mining, Technology;Advancements or Investing.   Of course this is an opinion.  Though there must be some common individuals/screennames.

[shorena]

I have no idea what the scenario might be?  Things "break" all the time.  Are there specific individuals we rely on or who have lead the way in past disasters?

Depends who you ask, but those that mainly take care about the underlying network that keeps bitcoin working are volunteers (or not? see franky1's comment below).

# those that write the software that defines what bitcoin is
# those that run servers on behalf of the network
# those that run small and large mining operations

 I understand we all participate.  To clarify I know there are very specific people we can & do rely on for TOR.  I could 'drop' screen names or real names.  But those familiar with TOR know what I mean. Incase of "bitcoin" emergency - who?  

Can you name a single Tor server operator by name? You might be refering to some of the known Tor devs (see e.g. recent press). The equivalent would be the more known bitcoin devs.

Who are some of the smartest people in this Coin right now?   I am interested in Mining, Technology;Advancements or Investing.   Of course this is an opinion.  Though there must be some common individuals/screennames.

Note: the italic passage above was modified after the initial post.

[franky1]

but those that mainly take care about the underlying network that keeps bitcoin working are volunteers.

sorry had to correct something, the main coders are paid by blockstream
gmaxwell
lukejr
carolla
peter Wuille

there are about 13 coders.. which give blockstream alot of veto power over what final code gets to be released.
if you think that blockstream is just adam back and he is using the $55 all to himself. then please research more

[CoinCarrie]

but those that mainly take care about the underlying network that keeps bitcoin working are volunteers.

sorry had to correct something, the main coders are paid by blockstream
gmaxwell
lukejr
carolla
peter Wuille

there are about 13 coders.. which give blockstream alot of veto power over what final code gets to be released.
if you think that blockstream is just adam back and he is using the $55 all to himself. then please research more

TY, I am essentially seeking people to follow, that was the intention of the post.  I learn by listening to people who are smarter than myself - even if from the shadows.  While Shorena was a bit cryptic with their answer both are beneficial - this is a great start.  Thanks to you both.

[Carlton Banks]

While Shorena was a bit cryptic with their answer both are beneficial - this is a great start.  Thanks to you both.

Sadly, Franky's answer was carefully constructed to be both false and misleading (he's a well known troll in these parts, attempting to subtly steer people away from the dev team he was "informing" you about)

The fact is that only that small handful of coders in Franky's first list are backed by/run the Blockstream company (and those guys are the top Bitcoin developers in the planet running a company together with cryptography specialists such as Adam Back). Others accept research grants (in the form of wages AFAIK) from organisations like MIT. The vast majority are unpaid volunteers, exactly as Shorena said.

And there are alot more than 13 coders contributing to the main body of Bitcoin coding, it's just that some are more prolific than others. Franky vastly oversimplified the picture to make it appear as if it's some tiny coterie being paid by a single investor (in an attempt to damage confidence). Not the case.

[franky1]

the 13 main coders are paid by blockstream, most hold the main keys.

there are over 100 other coders but the majority of them just do spell check corrections and simple tweaks. not really anything substantial.

but if you are looking for the big names and the ones that have most power in the world of bitcoin code.. it is most definitely blockstream funded  as the first main block of big names.. secondly by MIT and thirdly by exchanges, pools.

i do like how carlton tries to dilute blockstreams powers by trying to hint that somehow people that only make some small tweak should be held at the same level as those who implement totally new functionality.

[Carlton Banks]

Seeing as you're trying (too hard, lol) to establish your credibility by providing 99% dry facts, can you confirm that implementation of major new features is not exclusive to Blockstream coders, and that what in fact happens is that whoever is either free, most capable or most willing just simply gets on with what attracts them?

Anyone can submit pulls to the Bitcoin repo, just like anyone else can. Whether it passes the peer review is another question of course, so don't get too excited at this news, Franky.

[franky1]

Whether it passes the peer review is another question of course,

finally carlton agree's there is a hierachy.. but words it as a question to not reveal the answer..
 soon he will tell you there is only a few people with the main keys to accept the pulls.. soon he will then realise he is eventually on the same conversation with everyone else

the conversation about the MAIN people in power

the 100+ coders do not have equal power
the 100+ coders do not have equal privelidges
the 100+ coders do not have equal contributions

those that do have most power, privelidges and contributions are the majority paid contributors. with top of the short list(25people-ish) who are paid and actually contribute.. 13 are blockstream. the other dozen are split between exchanges, pools and academia..

the other 75+ people dont do much but have their name enshrined purely out of spell checking and small tweaks

[Carlton Banks]

No-one has ever pretended anything else, so your surfing a wave of bullshit once again Franky.

Top Bitcoiners created a company to fund development, it's been a completely open fact since god knows when. They became top Bitcoin coders first, over the course of several years, and were amongst the first people with the balls to put effort and money into Bitcoin. Only then did they start Blockstream.

This is Franky's way of saying thanks for doing all the work that created a multi-billion dollar investment that has multiplied in value 1000's of times: trying to depose them for his bankster affiliated team of reject coders. Not a real Bitcoiner, simply look at Franky's post history. What you'll find is zero participation in anything except propagandistic debate (and lame attempts to establish some credibility). He's never done anything real in or for Bitcoin, never sells or buys in the marketplace, and never strays from the high volume traffic Discussion sub-board on Bitcointalk.

He's 100% talk and has never taken any action about anything in Bitcoin, the evidence is all there.

[franky1]

all i hear is insulting whistles in the wind with no foundation. trying to deflect his own position

anyway the OP has the answer he needs

have a nice day.

[CoinCarrie]

Well, with that, I was able to find some relevant people (Franky1).  Thinking of MTGOX who was some key people which really lead the way?  When I think of FBI/CMU with TOR several names come to mind, not just those who helped but adversarial actors.  Why derail a decent question.  Following the right people can only benefit us all.  Listening to the wrong ones, I do not know the consequence.  It is not like it is not information I will not find or incidentally run across.  I just thought if someone had a few names, that would be helpful.  Despite many at CMU should rot in hell, there still are good people there (just clarifying that for lurkers).

[groll]

I have no idea what the scenario might be?  Things "break" all the time.  Are there specific individuals we rely on or who have lead the way in past disasters?  I understand we all participate.  To clarify I know there are very specific people we can & do rely on for TOR.  I could 'drop' screen names or real names.  But those familiar with TOR know what I mean. Incase of "bitcoin" emergency - who?  Who are some of the smartest people in this Coin right now?   I am interested in Mining, Technology;Advancements or Investing.   Of course this is an opinion.  Though there must be some common individuals/screennames.

That is the similar question that I also want to raise. At this moment we do not know who are the people who have access to bitcoin transactions troubleshooting. Though they have identified the man who created bitcoins but the systems for emergency cases are not yet known.

[oblivi]

I remember a while ago Nick Szabo posted this:



So Peter Wiulle, Wladimir and Gmaxwell would be the ones that would probably fix stuff faster. Gavin commits are so old that it doesn't count anymore to be honest.