Technology: Where everything can change in the Blink of an Eye

Intentions for this Post

Before I go into this. I must first get a few important messages across to the readers (you). First I understand it is a difficult position for @dantheman and he is brilliant and wants to tweak it like it is an experiment. He has built some unfathomable stuff in the crypto scene and will continue doing so for many years to come. However, these types of changes have always been the ones that scare people out of wanting to invest further into projects. In fact it is precisely these kinds of changes that give people like Tone Vays fuel for their outdoor firepit. So what I am about to say is said out of love and respect with no ill will.

Don't Change the Contract Silly--that is why crypto nerds left banks!

I 100% agree with what @tracemayer and @dana-edwards say about the social contract changing and the perception this will create in the Original thread. The reasons are simple:

• Word of Mouth is the best form of advertising there is. Will new purchasers of steempower prior to this change be spreading words of cheer and fulfillment or words of anger and frustration after this change?
• This completely voids the contract for people holding steempower
• This change completely takes the element of choice from current steempower holders--thus alienating the types of people who do not want to be in an ecosystem where there is little benefit to longterm thinkers. These types of people are the GOLD NUGGETS you want to KEEP in Steem!
• Changing contracts is perceived by many as "scamming"--see Tone Vays comment above

Do you have anything Positive to say?

With that, I am inclined to say that there are some kinds of changes I think STEEM could provide. For instance providing various "steempower levels" for powering up and down might be a very helpful way to let people choose their own risk profile for having their funds locked away.
Little changes during beta (especially when only adding options) are ok. Perceived contractual changes (as @tracemayer says here)---please no. It will definitely cause more uncertainty and only frustrate people who have already bought and powered up steem under a perceived contract.

Instead of taking options away--Give more of them! You can make changes to Steempower and still keep the contract intact--just add more options (and let the market decide!)

So as a simple example, here is how I see steemit being able to give users more than the original contract enabled:

Create 3 "Power Levels":

• Level 1 -- 3 month powerdown, 11% voting power and dilution protection
• Level 2 -- 1 year powerdown, 44% voting power and dilution protection
• Level 3 -- 2 year powerdown, 88% voting power and dilution protection

Note: Give plan number 3 the extra benefit of letting them power down at a % as opposed to the binary choice (100% or 0%) Plans 1 and 2 receive.

In this way, you let the market decide which steempower realm it wants to be in and you give the people holding steempower currently a choice between these options. Then alter the other variables around steempower distribution.

I cannot stress this enough: SteemPower is the ESSENCE of Steem!

Many users have bought into steem thus far seeing a price point at which they considered influence in the steem community's worth it. This will not stop anytime soon.

The price declining with STEEM is the natural, free market way to let this settle itself. If whales sell to the point that steem is driven to $.001 you will just see more whales who power up to compete with them for a much cheaper price. And the nature of STEEM makes pumping the price much easier when STEEM reaches a price point where people want to become whales here. Steem will become very pumpable...which only means more marketcap increases over time (if we are patient). That is because there is not much liquid STEEM due to most being locked away into SP. All it takes is a slow trickle of big buyers who want to become whales on the cheap. If even one person who powers up respectable amounts of STEEM and is legendary at bringing large amounts of value back into the platform, you will be able to see that trickle slowly become more steady until it is a constant streem from multiple wealthy individuals with similar intentions.
And furthermore, let me ask you... if whales powering down steem are secretly building amazing things with their powered down funds, might they drive the demand up without decreasing price? Even through their own selling? Some whales (like me) are doing precisely that with the help of friends and your upvotes...

P.S. Please instead, focus on many more options for distributing to people who participate in thread conversations, events and other means of participation. Give options---That is what Gamification is about!