BitShares has had this idea since inception that if incentives are aligned
they will come. But who are
they?
In the end, what happened instead was that people who initially participated in forum discussions and lurked around, ended up joining the core team, or starting a related project. Before
coming, there was a process where
they became BitShares, learning and arguing about the economical, political, and technical potential of this project, contributing their own knowledge and experience into the mix.
We have better incentives now, but I still suspect
they are people who first have to
become BitShares, and who then stand up and participate because they freely chose to do so, not because they are overwhelmingly compelled by profit. It is extremely difficult for a crypto-equity to align incentives in a way that makes it more profitable to work for them than to work where pay is best and then invest.
Just like BitShares understood over time that security is as much in the community and in reputation, I think we will understand more and more that getting people to participate is not just an economical calculation or a simple referral program, although it helps a great deal. Getting users, workers, witnesses, and delegates depends just as much on the "massively transformative purpose" we strive for, the developer experience, the forum liveliness and the characters involved, and many other intangible aspects of this project.
We should see everyone here as individuals first and homo-economicus second. In the end the economical aspect is in service of complex individuals who live with passion and purpose. The world is a big place, and we choose to be right here, right now, with each other and with this project, in all its gory matrimonios glory..