thesnat21, thanks for the response. I agree it can be a vicious circle. I don't want to post there because the environment doesn't seem aligned with what I'd post. But if I don't post, then I can't help change the environment. I'll have to meditate on this more, maybe I need to be the change I want to see. For now, this thread feels more open to these kinds of discussion without concern for censorship based on a single person's perspective. The censorship for the perception of not being "positive" about the project does bug me, especially when the person doing the censoring often goes on the attack themselves?
I notice it seems like a small number of people are responsible for the vast majority of the posts, which are very technically detailed, and I'm not sure who the audience most of you are speaking to.
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Shouldn't there be more diverse activity for a 500+ page thread?
Actually there are around 800 pages when you count the old thread. Very interesting observation! I agree, this is something very strange for this coin... Other coins of this market cap have many many times fewer posts, and much bigger coins have a lot of diversity in the posts, from a lot of different users. So BiblePay seems almost like a cult of loyal followers, but very few of them, but they are very active. The coin getting more and more complicated only helps to further isolate the cult from potential new members. But I still believe there are a lot of lurkers who only ever read and not post, but they read often and follow the developments.
I'm not sure how to contribute on the main ANN thread. It feels like there's no room there.
Could you elaborate on this? How is there no room in that thread? Is it because of Rob who instills fear of posting, or something else?
Still, it feels like there's a gap somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it..
Well said, I actually feel that way too, I just can't understand what I'm feeling, but this phrase of yours "there's a gap somewhere" solidified my thoughts. I think so too, but I also don't know what it is. It's maybe related to what I wrote in the first paragraph above. I follow many projects too, and neither of them feels even remotely like BiblePay.
Well, I think the word cult is too strong, and not exactly appropriate. It just seems with a lack of diversity, things kind of become a self-feeding closed loop. This has been my observation throughout life, not limited to BBP. When I read the main thread, it's mostly reports from "worker bees", what the main core of people are working on. But I'm having trouble piecing it all together into a cohesive whole.
I don't have any problem with Rob, and have a deep feeling of wanting to help him, to help the project (I do wish he'd chill out some). It's hard when you take the mantle of responsibility for something. It can lead to all kinds of control issues. Getting a project to thrive always means letting more people get involved, which means letting go to some extent. It's difficult, especially for IT folks, and when you personally care about the outcome. This is where surrender to God becomes very helpful, like "I don't want this project to succeed, without divine approval, and I can't know what that is ahead of time." That's how I see it.
I thought about that "gap" more. What I see is, as you said, is an intense concentration of posts by the core folks, and then what feels like a moat before it gets to people like me. It kind of feels like being on the outside. You need the core for functioning, but you also need a bigger involvement to grow. It's vital to a project's (any project's) health to bring in new people. Being on the "inside" all the time, it's too easy to forget one's "beginner mind". It will actually be impossible to retain this being very involved in the project, which is why it's vital to always have newbies, and not deride them for needing "hand-holding". It's hard to account for how damaging that is, or how many people just walk away after getting the feeling of not being honored and wanted.
I'm still new enough to have that kind of mind, and that's what I bring to each of the projects I'm involved with. If I can't succinctly explain what a project is to my parents, or someone at the supermarket without the jargon like PoBH and such, that's a sign that it's going to be hard to grow without more focus. I do writing on the side, and it's important to have an "elevator pitch", a 20 second explanation for the endeavor. I would say for BBP, it should just be the fundamental hope to bring genuine Christian values to cryptocurrency. It doesn't matter if it's orphans or widows, that's not the heart of it. It's the hope. I think that gets obscured somewhat. (see comment about use cases at bottom).
Personally, I think the Dash model doesn't help. It seems to me to be very non-democratic, and difficult to interface with the project's values as I seem them. But I realize that's already set in stone. Some other projects don't have such formal duties, and when it's time for an exchange, it's just asked that people donate crypto when interested in a new exchange. It seems more inclusive and free-flowing, and community-driven. And if people don't want to fund it, then it doesn't happen. Nobody takes ultimate responsibility. Here, it seems very formal (maybe the project's size needs that?), and like BBP is employment for some. I just can't wrap my mind around things like IT and marketing budgets. They're needed, but on a continual basis every month? It's as if BBP is an employment opportunity, which I think looks odd from the outside--the haves and have-nots. The expenses always seem tied to the same few people always spinning off new ideas that cost bbp to implement. Sure, Rob says step up if you want to be involved, but frankly it's not a very open environment at present and I question to what degree he means that. And I'm not sure the core group will allow the space for that to happen, which can really hamper long-term growth. A project this size should have at least a dozen people cranking out code, which would allow for more volunteer opportunities and lessen the "budget".
Thanks for your feedback and attention. I wouldn't put this much thought into it if I didn't see a lot of promise for this coin.
Edit: One thing I think BBP is missing is use cases for the coin. It kind of functions as a currency for the core group, but why would your average Joe or Jane Smith use the coin, other than as an investment? It kind of seems like the coin's use, outside the core group, is lost. This is a big problem for a lot of crypto, but really apparent here.
