Dan Romero
@dwr.eth
In the next few months, the Farcaster protocol will have the most meaningful increase in DAU decentralization since we started. Base will be adding a Farcaster-powered feed to Coinbase Wallet—an app that has millions of existing users and wallets with balances. They will have a paths for both existing users and new users to onboard to Farcaster, i.e. creating FIDs. That's a meaningful, tangible step toward increasing decentralization on the protocol. So if you're claiming that we're making changes to limit client competition, you are, in fact, factually incorrect (both in what we are working on at the protocol level as well the likely outcome after CB's launch).
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Dan Romero
@dwr.eth
Our original thesis was incorrect: a decentralized permissionless protocol would allow other clients to grow users for the protocol. This evolved into product-led protocol development (see blog post). And even that has fallen short on the most important thing developers want: daily active users and user growth. Updated version of this philosophy: 1. Make the underlying data and APIs as open as possible 2. Ensure that accounts / identities are portable and sovereign 3. Build an opinionated, high-quality client that is relentlessly focused on user growth. There will be reasonable criticism early on "how can I trust you won't stop building the protocol", but time and consistent shipping on protocol promises will earn trust (and assuming 1 and 2 actually work). 4. At some sufficient scale—not sooner than 10M+ DAU at the protocol—work on further decentralizing the protocol / hardening it from capture. And because you have a big client, you can do that. https://danromero.org/product-led-protocols.html
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Jonny Mack
@nonlinear.eth
#4 is delusional. at that scale organizational incentives are too powerful to justify working on anything other than maintaining centralized control and capturing value. no high growth enterprise will risk losing the goose that lays golden eggs
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Dan Romero
@dwr.eth
Varun and I have board voting control. Buck stops with us. You either trust that we are building a protocol or you don't.
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Jonny Mack
@nonlinear.eth
great point. as long as that remains true, i have high trust and believe you and v will do what you say. i also know organizations can take on a life of their own, and evolve in ways counter to the intentions of the founders the great thing about protocols—and why i'm a strong proponent of them on day 1 instead of open APIs—is that they don't require trust
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shazow
@shazow.eth
I trust you to change your mind about #4 before 10M+ DAU :D
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$ALEX Masmej
@alexmasmej.eth
100% agree If the product becomes centralized it has literally no differentiator so what was the point? I believe in FC
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JC
@jonathancolton
💪
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dagelf
@dagelf
Trust is earned through actions, not words. Why do you want to leave the hard stuff for when it's going to be even harder? Nail it from the get go... and the more people you can get to contribute, the stickier and stronger your foundation.
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