Tonyk has brought a few things to this forum and community:
(1) Negative attacks, some of them personal, and many of them probably misplaced. Shit posts are one way to let off steam, but they are not harmless.
(2) A sharp wit and sense of humor that is sadly lacking here much of the time. Come on, this can be a pretty dry crowd. Plenty of readers don't pick up more than 50% of what Tony is saying. He runs circles around some of you guys. Have some fun. Definitely one of the reasons I stay tuned.
(3) Passion for BitShares. He cares about this project as much as anyone here.
(4) Constructive critique. Tony calls a spade a spade. Sometimes, he casts too wide a net and opens fire on something that is not worth knocking. Calls a diamond a spade, too. But the problem with #1 above is that many readers catch the personal junk and probably miss the substance of his critiques. Some of these opinions have been extremely valuable. I've agreed that the product and community would be stronger if some of the things he has targeted were better explained and justified.
This thread is a case in point, since Tonyk was right to post it. Look, Bytemaster's brilliance and passion is the reason we're all here. Yet Tony's poll elicited community opinions that strongly coalesced around two very similar poll choices. And then BM came out and frankly admitted that he's prone to getting a project 80% of the way there and then becoming sidetracked; that was what most readers had concluded as well. I may have been an asshole to post in the other thread (about constrictive laws) that I'd rather he focus on getting the product ready. Ideally, I'd like to show nothing but respect and deference for this grand design and the man who has brought us to this point, but instead I come off as the moneygrubber who is in this to tentuple his 'donation.'
But I don't regret that post, or the previous times I've said something similar ('keep your eyes on the ball, please'), because other times we've came close to something, BM basically scrapped everything and started again, alienated many users (including the sizable group of Chinese supporters), and started going off on those harmful blog posts that dug a public relations hole we're still trying to climb out of. (As with some of Tonyk's posts, I actually agreed with most of the substance of what BM wrote in those posts, but...if he hadn't written them, we'd encounter a lot more minds in the crypto community that are still open to BitShares.)
Be libertarian. Be free. Be proud. Care that your project achieves much more than financial enrichment. But for those of us who have poured our money and faith into this project, please give us the product. And then share your vision with the world.
If we can't have free speech on this forum, then what kind of decentralized project and community is this? I credit Tonyk for having the balls to step up, speak his mind, and make some valid substantive critiques. He's made the product stronger, he's made some of you have to work harder and do a better job of what you do, and he's probably given many of you a thicker skin, which in the long run will serve us all well.
I just wish he had some more positive things to say once in a while, because there's a lot to like here also. Rather than tearing things down, let's look at how to make them better.
Topic: And we are here bacause...[poll] (Read 8302 times)
