"That's right, I saw it on Theycallmedan's blog. All of the witnesses suddenly agreed to shut down the blockchain tomorrow.
They said the new international crypto regulations imposed by a joint agreement in that recent UN meeting made Hive nodes illegal in almost every country.
Something about it being dangerous for us to have complete control of our funds," I typed, trying unsuccessfully to keep my emotions in check.
"Well at least we can always meet here on Discord, but I'm just devastated. Hive has been a part of my life for years," replied someone.
Similar messages began pouring in faster than I could read. It was like the reverse of our Dreemport parties. In those, the messages would flash by at lightning speed expressing joy and happiness. These were messages of sadness, shock, and even panic.
"Well guys, I'm going to go offline for a while, and write my last Hive post. I encourage you to do the same. Maybe a few of our witnesses will see how much this means to us, and figure out a way to pull off a miracle..."
Goodbye My Wonderful Hive Home
I never thought I would have to say goodbye to Hive, at least not until I was ready to pass from this world. But because of others' fear of what they don't understand, I'm doing just that.
What will we do now? Will we just give up, and go to our second home, Discord? I suspect we will for a while, but then we will regroup.
At heart, Hive is about creativity and interaction, freedom and cooperation. These values will serve us well in building something new together.
It won't be Hive, but so many of our Bees are visionaries, pioneers, and entrepreneurs. Like a phoenix, the community will rise from the ashes. This place was destroyed once before, and emerged stronger than ever. This time won't be any different!
So unless our new version is a fork of Hive, I will say farewell to the countless posts and comments I have made, and the replies and badges which all of you have honored me with over the years. But I won't say farewell to any of you. I fully expect to see each and every one of you around!
I know for some of you this seems like the end of everything. Believe me, it's not. I lost my first blogging home, a centralized platform called Uptrennd. It went offline when the owner got tired of taking care of it.
Thankfully some of the people there love Hive, and brought most of us over. What seemed like a tragedy at the time turned out to be a blessing. Let's turn this tragedy into a blessing as well? Download the blockchain, we can figure out something.
Maybe we can remove the aspect that makes it illegal, or set up servers where they are legal. I don't know how it will all work out, but I do appeal to everyone to preserve our data so we can rebuild!
Until we have a new version of Hive, I will say farewell to posting my stories, digital art, fractals, collages, blogs, contests, and comments.
But I will see you all on Discord. We will cry, then smile while we remember the happy times. Then when the time is right, we will rebuild. Isn't that what bees do after all?
It's time for the bees to come together, and swarm! Our Hive will be gone tomorrow, but we will still be here, and so will the connections and friendships we have forged over the years.
Together bees can do anything, even survive the harshest winter. Apart, we can only wander around until the snow eventually comes, and the flowers are gone...
Cover image made in Canva using their gallery
Please note that this is a fictional story. Hive is here to stay 🙌