Confessions of an Ethereum Community Member: How to Convince Me to Support a Hard Fork

The topic of Ethereum hard fork has been very hot on Reddit recently.

Vlad's article is well written. He believes that the community should reach consensus through peaceful negotiation.

Peaceful negotiation should indeed be the first choice. Although he is a "fork party" and I am an "anti-fork party", our ultimate goal is the same (to promote the development of Ethereum).

So I thought it would be helpful to write down my thoughts. Here are some of the arguments that I think would convince me to support a hard fork, and some that would only make me more disgusted.

Personal stance

First, let me talk about the reasons for my interest in Ethereum and my personal stance.

1. I am an Ethereum holder

2. Investing in Ethereum is one of my sources of income

3. I have several long-term projects on Ethereum

4. I bought a small amount of DAO tokens as a trial, but I was well aware of the risks.

5. I was outspoken against DAO before it was officially launched

6. I am a liberal

7. I believe in personal responsibility

8. I am a Bitcoin enthusiast

9. I have been working with cryptocurrencies and smart contracts since the 1990s

10. I have a strong interest in financial institutions and related laws

Can convince me of my point of view

1. DOS attacks consume a lot of gas

No one has mentioned this yet, and it's unclear whether this is a problem.

2. This attack puts the proof-of-stake mechanism (PoS) in danger

This is an interesting question. My intuition tells me that if this problem really exists, we must improve the PoS algorithm. But I haven't seen any analysis of the Casper consensus algorithm (PoS) yet. It would be great if someone could explain the risks involved.

Vlad didn't seem to think this was a problem, though, so no one tried to convince me otherwise.

3. This attack affected the stability of the Ethereum network

I have only heard of the above two viewpoints so far, but I will try to learn more about the attack vectors and the problems that exist.

It would be nice if a knowledgeable “fork party” could list the potential problems above (which may have already occurred) so we can conduct a public analysis.

4. Attackers attempt to manipulate the price of Ethereum

Some people say that the attacker’s goal is to sell a large amount of stolen Ethereum to cause a sharp drop in the price. I agree with this and think it is very likely to happen. However, at that time, the exchange can directly add the attacker’s address to the blacklist to prevent this behavior. However, this must be done under the premise of complying with the anti-money laundering law.

Ultimately, whether it’s the attacker selling off the ether or the DAO token holders selling off after getting their funds back, the price will fall, and I’m prepared for that.

If the price of ether really drops by then, it may be a good thing for Ethereum. In this way, we can create real value in the Ethereum system and raise the price of ether with the strength of the platform. I am very confident about this.

If someone understands the above points better than me, then maybe they can convince me to support the hard fork.

5. Legal Liability of the Core Development Team

Of course, I don’t want to see the Ethereum core development team go to jail. Some people say that if they don’t help recover the losses of the DAO, then they will be held legally responsible. Although I’m not a lawyer, I know this is complete bullshit.

I discussed this with some lawyers, who believed that the development team's actions would create a legal precedent that would set a template for future actions.

Absolutely can't convince me of my point of view

1. Investors will lose a lot of money

Every investor should know that as long as there is investment, there are risks. I feel sorry for their financial losses, but it is their own choice. I have also lost money in investment, but I have never asked for compensation, just as a lesson.

2. Follow the instructions of authority

There are a bunch of followers on Reddit who often say that Vitalik or so-and-so has come up with a solution and that they should be trusted because they have status in the community, but I never trust any authority unless I think what they say makes sense.

3. Those who oppose hard forks are stubborn

I am a reasonable adult. I have seen that most people who support forking like to express rude opinions, like spoiled children. They say that our views are backward and conservative. But just raising the banner of opposition without concrete opinions cannot convince us.

4. We don’t want to see anyone go to jail

The DAO was a cool idea in the beginning, but now it is a naive experiment. It seems to be just a pump and dump scheme. We warned against it in the beginning, but the enthusiasts just ignored it.

The result was a huge loss of funds. The Ethereum community also learned a lesson from this. For nearly a month after the attack, Ethereum lost most of its efficiency.

With all due respect, the Slock.it team has violated the securities laws of most countries. You may think these laws are unfair. But this incident proves that these laws are meant to protect ignorant investors.

I certainly don't want them to go to jail, but if that day comes, I also hope they can face it calmly.

The Ethereum community has already been hurt by them, so we can't hurt ourselves further by saving them. Don't take the blame for them. Sorry if this sounds a bit cold and heartless, but the truth is always cruel, and the truth is unpleasant to the ear but beneficial to the action.

Summarize

Each of us has different ideas, different pasts, different experiences, and different levels of investment in the Ethereum system. This is something we must be aware of, and this is why I stated my position at the beginning.

You can try to come up with some similar opinions of your own, without necessarily sharing them, so that you can make a decision that is truly beneficial to yourself and the community from a personal perspective.

Act like an adult when expressing your opinions. Support well-intentioned and well-founded articles and ideas, even if you disagree with them. Try to be respectful of other people's opinions when discussing them.

I hope the Ethereum community can become a strong collective. A collective that can tolerate different opinions and behaviors. Different opinions are a good thing. Forcing consensus cannot guarantee long-term benefits.