As I write this blurb I'm watching over Bangkok... High above in the sky, hot and humid in the Pratunam center. Our last evening here, back to Europe-in-lockdown tomorrow with one of the last flights, so it seems.
I'm reminiscing 5 months ago, SteemFest 4, with a big group of friends. It felt like a family. A true community. Users from all over the world. With so many different backgrounds yet only this blockchain in common, had great fun, mixed, discussed, and worked on new plans.
With all the negativity and centralisation attacks on this place we call our home, it can be difficult to keep your head up. Pour in the "real world" problems facing us globally, these chain struggles might seem unimportant.
But I do think this place we call our home, and many of us have been living in for quite a while together, should not be given up. This home might need some fixing...
I will not give up on this unpolished gem, with its unique features:
... but most of all I will not give up on the people. The people that make our chain, YOU! As I said in a Coindesk interview recently: This is not a blockchain of bots, this is a blockchain of real people.
And I won't give up now. Seeing the massive response in the "voting wars". The battle against the "non-voting"-designated Steemit Inc stake which is trying to centralise the governance model. It is humbling and spectacular and especially energy igniting, hope-bringing to see the community, you, the real power of the chain over-ruling this malice. For now.
Here we are. It came to somewhat of an impasse, or a standoff if you will. Both parties still gain votes. The status quo of 8-10 community witnesses in the top 20 is ongoing for a bit. Binance enabled withdrawing again a couple of hours ago... the 🤡Sockpuppets got extra votes already and most probably will keep on getting more stake as more of Steemit's hidden stake on exchanges gets powered up into the 🤡Sockpuppet-voting proxy-account.
The future seems bleak. But I won't give up. Let's not give up. Not now. It was in one of the gazillion chat programs I'm currently residing in, where I read a beautiful one-liner: "It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn".
On that note, I close my laptop, 👋wave goodbye to the Bangkok night, get some sleep and fly into Covid-EU in the morning.
See you on chain!
