Don't the words Block & Chain worry people?

[CryptGuardian]

We had the internet , freedom to do whatever we like,  fun etc..yet it was called the WWW - World Wide Web.
Connected maybe, but eventually more like chained together, unable to escape because we got so dependant on it.
First make something so appealing that it get's massively adopted (microsoft did it, cheap windows with every pc) than once people are so used to it regulate the shit out of it.
And now with the end of Net Neutrality who knows what will happen?  This was not what we expected or wanted the Internet to be.

Now we got  BLOCK CHAIN.  That doesn't sound very freeish to me. Yet this is what people think it is, making them free of Banks, Corps, etc..
Nice gains in $, etc.. And more people putting all of their money into it.  It sounds too good to be true.
But what if all those banks, corps, elitits , just let this all get mass adopted , just to in the end get it regulated.

Do we even think about the risks? (hacking, blocked wallets, closed exchanges,...)  Could this in the end not be even worse than fiat, gold etc?
Do we have an exit plan if it turns out it wasn't what we wanted, just like the internet where we're so dependant on now.

If the real value of the dollar is worthless (no gold backing, printing endlessly) but everyone exchanging it for crypto, than wouldn't that eventually save the dollar/US ?
Making fiat money more valuable in the end than crypto?

Don't know about that last paragraph, just thinking out loud.
What are your thoughts?

[chukaday]

That is one way of viewing it but the name is derived from how the whole system works. A blockchain has blocks which are linked together hence the "chain" and it is simple as that. I doubt there was a double meaning behind it or even a negative meaning behind it, but rather the term was a collection of two parts.

[wiser]

I doubt too many people see it that way. Although chains are used on prisoners at times, for most of us, chains are viewed as useful things you can do stuff with, not instruments of bondage. To me, block chain simply is a phrase implying a number of blocks connected linearly, hence a block chain.

But there may come a point where we outgrow chains and move on to fabrics or webs. The hyperledger protocol, for example, is supposed to function more like a web so blocks could be connected in various ways, not just linearly. There's also IOTA, which has been described as a "tangle." So... if you really don't like block chains, maybe wait five years or so?

[eddie13]

New people don't seem to know anything about crypto and are just throwing their money into everything.. They are probably going to lose a lot..

[jseverson]

Now we got  BLOCK CHAIN.  That doesn't sound very freeish to me. Yet this is what people think it is, making them free of Banks, Corps, etc..

Well, the word web doesn't sound so free either. It's being used by spiders to trap and kill their prey after all. The blockchain may sound constrictive, but I never really thought of it that way until you brought it up. I'm pretty sure the naming doesn't matter too much.

But what if all those banks, corps, elitits , just let this all get mass adopted , just to in the end get it regulated.

Regulation isn't always synonymous with control, so while they can regulate it, I don't think it will be the end of the world. Regulations are rolling out, even as we speak, and short of exchange bans or outright bans, they don't seem to affect people too much. Take the internet for example, there are lots of regulations, yes, but there's still lots of freedom going around, and even ways existing to bypass most regulations.

Do we even think about the risks? (hacking, blocked wallets, closed exchanges,...)  Could this in the end not be even worse than fiat, gold etc?
Do we have an exit plan if it turns out it wasn't what we wanted, just like the internet where we're so dependant on now.

I'm pretty sure most users are educated with the risks. This is why people often advocate not keeping coins in exchanges, using hardware wallets, taking security precautions like tor, etc. I don't know about exit plans, but if it fails, then it fails; everyone has to acknowledge that there is a chance, no matter how small, that this can happen, and the degree of preparation depends on the individual.