Domain name update

[AGD]

Did someone already throw in Andreas M. Antonopoulos as the domain name keeper?

[1715420966]

1715420966

[DooMAD]

Did someone already throw in Andreas M. Antonopoulos as the domain name keeper?

If a domain name belonged to you, would you be wanting opinions from strangers on the internet when you haven't requested any assistance regarding who should receive your property?

I'm sure if Cobra needed help making a decision, they would ask.  Until then, it's not our place to say.


//EDIT:  Apologies, I missed that part.  I just saw the more recent post where Cobra mentioned two names they had in mind.

[AGD]

Did someone already throw in Andreas M. Antonopoulos as the domain name keeper?

If a domain name belonged to you, would you be wanting opinions from strangers on the internet when you haven't requested any assistance regarding who should receive your property?

I'm sure if Cobra needed help making a decision, they would ask.  Until then, it's not our place to say.

Maybe he did and maybe you simply don't know. Maybe you should stop commenting things that you don't know about?

Alternatively, if anyone knows of any individuals or organisations that would be good, feel free to suggest (either here, or privately -- just DM me on Twitter

[TheBeardedBaby]

Did someone already throw in Andreas M. Antonopoulos as the domain name keeper?

If a domain name belonged to you, would you be wanting opinions from strangers on the internet when you haven't requested any assistance regarding who should receive your property?

I'm sure if Cobra needed help making a decision, they would ask.  Until then, it's not our place to say.

I think AGD is referring to Cøbra's announcement, quoted here :

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5248316.msg54427415#msg54427415

First of all, happy halving to everyone!

I just want to inform that I will gradually be reducing my involvement in Bitcoin.org this year, it won't happen instantly but hopefully by the end of the year, I won't be around anymore. Over the years, I'm glad to have helped contribute to a project that has let so many millions of people learn about Bitcoin. It's really a massive honour. The domain name will be left in trusted hands, I have a few people in mind already. Alternatively, if anyone knows of any individuals or organisations that would be good, feel free to suggest (either here, or privately -- just DM me on Twitter). Ultimately, trust is very hard to measure, but I plan to be thorough and meticulous here and find the right people.

I guess for a lot of people, this will probably be some sort of relief. I can't say I've gotten along well with everyone, and some people have questioned my judgement. Hopefully whoever comes after me doesn't get sucked into drama as easily as I sometimes did (though that's also largely a product of being around in pretty dramatic times). Bitcoin.org really is an amazing resource, and we need to continue working on it and keep improving it. With Bitcoin being as complicated as it is for new people to understand, sites like Bitcoin.org are key to getting more mainstream adoption. Especially in avoiding getting Bitcoin labelled as some get rich quick scheme.

If we've had any collaboration over the years; I appreciate your contributions, and have learned a lot from many of you. I wish everyone good luck and success. Thank you. No doubt Bitcoin will keep succeeding and reaching new milestones with such a great community behind it.

[hv_]

Did someone already throw in Andreas M. Antonopoulos as the domain name keeper?

And go shill for ETH scams?

Snaking out in courts?

Lol

It's people like you that make this forum so unwelcoming. By the way, thanks for your negative trust feedback, funny that you only mustered up the courage to do that after I was no longer owner of bitcointalk.org, perhaps you understood negative trusting the owner of the domain of the very site you're using would be comical.

It is neutral feedback. Lying, as expected of you. I did not do anything out of respect for theymoses mistakes, one of which was trusting you very early on. This is no longer necessary.

Doesn't sound very neutral to me:

Refused to decentralize Bitcoin.org control very likely due to long term malicious goals. I would not trust this user until proven otherwise (Not doing evil is not proof of good).

No, you didn't do anything before because you were scared it would have consequences for you (it wouldn't have), or that it would make you look stupid (it would), so you only acted now, which is cute.

The clever snake smells the fear

Right

[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[gmaxwell]

Some wanted more color on my thoughts about cobra (and this was too long to fit in the trust system comments).

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

I don't know Cobra well.  I don't think anyone does: We can't as a consequence of his anonymity.

But I don't have much doubt that Cobra is a rough man in the above sense.  Brash and at times apparently erratic.  When I trusted him with confidences, he broke them.  Unrepentantly.  He created drama in the community, for reasons that I don't understand or maybe no reason at all.  Just because he's Cobra.

I've seen him lash out in places that I think didn't come close to deserving it-- and we have so much toxicity from outright enemies of Bitcoin, so it hurts all the more from people who should be working toward a common end.  Why?  Because it moved?  I cannot say.

He's abused me personally, calling me evil in public for little reason.  I'm not alone.  At times Cobra can be the kind of ally that makes you think longingly about the company of enemies.

But when things were broken and and really deserved criticism and when many people bit their tongues, Cobra was there also ready to speak up and say what was necessary.

When mobs were being swayed by popular whim, Cobra held strong.

From what I can tell Cobra more or less doesn't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks for better, or for worse.

In many cases I agree with his positions but strongly believe he often promotes them in a counter productive way that creates drama for no good reason.  I don't think it's because he intends to, but maybe because he doesn't really care what people might say or think.

But Bitcoin.org?   He protected it.  Yet, across the years he managed to drive off some extremely valuable contributors and left many in the community stressed that would get turned into something anti-bitcoin.  But he hasn't corrupted the site or handed it to someone who would, he just didn't know or didn't care to say the right words to inspire people's confidence that he wouldn't.

But when I think about how it could have gone instead of Cobra... I shiver.  The ill-fated Bitcoin Foundation wanted to control it-- could you imagine?

What if we'd handed the domain it to some soft-bellied placater that would hand it over to the first Satoshi impersonator that demanded it forcefully enough?

Do I trust him? No.  Would I want to do business with him? Not if I could avoid it. If we wound back the clock to 2011 knowing his personality would I have recommended inviting him to help maintain the domain?  No.

But would that have been a terrible mistake?  Very likely yes.

At the time many of the likely alternatives are ones that would have turned out much, much worse (especially since many of the not obviously worse options would have or actually did turn it down).

As someone else who has at times answered the calling to do what was necessary to protect what matters, I don't think my actions should be above judgement. To conceal that I've found Cobra's actions wanting would be a lie, but to deny his success at the most critical thing I could have asked of him would also be one. I think where I stood to act where others didn't all I could ask is that people judge me against the alternatives. And as far as Bitcoin.org goes, Cobra compares very well.

But that doesn't mean I have to like him or trust him.

[bonesjonesreturns]

Some wanted more color on my thoughts about cobra (and this was too long to fit in the trust system comments).

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

I don't know Cobra well.  I don't think anyone does: We can't as a consequence of his anonymity.

But I don't have much doubt that Cobra is a rough man in the above sense.  Brash and at times apparently erratic.  When I trusted him with confidences, he broke them.  Unrepentantly.  He created drama in the community, for reasons that I don't understand or maybe no reason at all.  Just because he's Cobra.

I've seen him lash out in places that I think didn't come close to deserving it-- and we have so much toxicity from outright enemies of Bitcoin, so it hurts all the more from people who should be working toward a common end.  Why?  Because it moved?  I cannot say.

He's abused me personally, calling me evil in public for little reason.  I'm not alone.  At times Cobra can be the kind of ally that makes you think longingly about the company of enemies.

But when things were broken and and really deserved criticism and when many people bit their tongues, Cobra was there also ready to speak up and say what was necessary.

When mobs were being swayed by popular whim, Cobra held strong.

From what I can tell Cobra more or less doesn't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks for better, or for worse.

In many cases I agree with his positions but strongly believe he often promotes them in a counter productive way that creates drama for no good reason.  I don't think it's because he intends to, but maybe because he doesn't really care what people might say or think.

But Bitcoin.org?   He protected it.  Yet, across the years he managed to drive off some extremely valuable contributors and left many in the community stressed that would get turned into something anti-bitcoin.  But he hasn't corrupted the site or handed it to someone who would, he just didn't know or didn't care to say the right words to inspire people's confidence that he wouldn't.

But when I think about how it could have gone instead of Cobra... I shiver.  The ill-fated Bitcoin Foundation wanted to control it-- could you imagine?

What if we'd handed the domain it to some soft-bellied placater that would hand it over to the first Satoshi impersonator that demanded it forcefully enough?

Do I trust him? No.  Would I want to do business with him? Not if I could avoid it. If we wound back the clock to 2011 knowing his personality would I have recommended inviting him to help maintain the domain?  No.

But would that have been a terrible mistake?  Very likely yes.

At the time many of the likely alternatives are ones that would have turned out much, much worse (especially since many of the not obviously worse options would have or actually did turn it down).

As someone else who has at times answered the calling to do what was necessary to protect what matters, I don't think my actions should be above judgement. To conceal that I've found Cobra's actions wanting would be a lie, but to deny his success at the most critical thing I could have asked of him would also be one. I think where I stood to act where others didn't all I could ask is that people judge me against the alternatives. And as far as Bitcoin.org goes, Cobra compares very well.

But that doesn't mean I have to like him or trust him.

This looks like a post of excellent quality.
I can't say that I have validated all of the claims you have made. However from reading some of your other posts and looking through some of your judgements on things,  you are appear to be an honest and straightforward  person. Also I like the way you will engage in a step by step break down and analysis of peoples posts and give them fair objective appraisal with no apparent care for the popularity of the outcome.

I have read a few of cobra's posts and found him to be very straight talking person who's opinions I largely agree with ( meta board I dont read any others except rep)

The very most important points to me are that he has handed bitcointalk freely to theymos without doing damage to the forum, and as you say has looked after bitcoin.org amazingly considering through those times what could have happened.

I'm glad you made this post. I find it quite ungrateful and disgusting how some here have tried to ruin his name completely. Okay you guys didn't always get along and were not perfectly aligned in every decsion ,but it is nice you can remain objective and give a balanced and credible appraisal of an important character in bitcoin history.

The guy is solid.

[krishnaverma]

I have a question. How much did you pay for registering the domain first time ?

[hv_]

I have a question. How much did you pay for registering the domain first time ?

good point - but I bet you could look that up. 

[slancer]

I have a question. How much did you pay for registering the domain first time ?

"registration price" of an org domain is around $9