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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 2013-07-10 18:47, Adrian Tymes
wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CALAdGNRKk21on0d1UYAfDufNhTG10LcWVEs4XKqQ7acsT5Hpwg@mail.gmail.com"
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<div class="gmail_quote">Where, without advertising to draw
new members (at least so<br>
<div>much as being googlable), communities die a slow,
stagnant<br>
death. I've seen it happen multiple times.<br>
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<div><br>
Meanwhile, the communities who continue to exist in the
open,<br>
</div>
<div>despite the increased costs, may continue to get new
members.<br>
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<div>(Some of them at very low rates, granted.)<br>
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<br>
This is a general problem/feature. I argued something similar about
biometric systems: you can design something with built-in privacy
and protection against mission creep (at least in theory, to some
extent), or you can have a system that is open - you can change what
it is used for in the future, and the data can be turned to new
uses. Now, which system will grow the most? The open will find new
uses, it can be upgraded, and failures to foresee new needs will not
block things. So it will win in the end because the closed system
only has the advantages originally planned.<br>
<br>
Open communities that can grow, change and find new sources of
income or motivation will persist. The ones that are less encumbered
by built-in restrictions will tend to thrive. That doesn't mean all
the others will go extinct, but critical mass effects (you need
enough participants to create a feedback loop of activity) will weed
them out.<br>
<br>
So I suspect it is uphill for most crypto-communities even when
people see their point. But it is not a guaranteed failure, and
having a few alternatives around is useful and might even force
market leaders to be honest to some extent (consider how linux as an
alternative affected Apple and Microsoft).<br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Dr Anders Sandberg
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Oxford University
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