{"action":"created","issue":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/issues/894","labels_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/issues/894/labels{/name}","comments_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/issues/894/comments","events_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/issues/894/events","html_url":"https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pull/894","id":88457836,"number":894,"title":"Blog: Bitcoin.org Position On Hard Forks","user":{"login":"harding","id":61096,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/61096?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding","html_url":"https://github.com/harding","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"labels":[],"state":"closed","locked":false,"assignee":null,"milestone":null,"comments":90,"created_at":"2015-06-15T15:24:00Z","updated_at":"2015-06-17T15:20:57Z","closed_at":"2015-06-16T01:04:59Z","pull_request":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pulls/894","html_url":"https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pull/894","diff_url":"https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pull/894.diff","patch_url":"https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pull/894.patch"},"body":"This blog post introduces a new policy for Bitcoin.org regarding contentious hard forks:\r\n\r\n> Bitcoin.org will not promote software or services that will leave the previous consensus because of a contentious hard fork attempt.\r\n\r\nFull explanation can be found in the blog post itself using the GitHub diff on the screenshot preview below.\r\n\r\nThis statement, or earlier revisions of it, has been reviewed by the following persons:\r\n\r\n* @theymos (Bitcoin.org domain co-owner)\r\n* Cobra (Bitcoin.org domain co-owner)\r\n* @saivann (Bitcoin.org site co-maintainer)\r\n* @harding (Bitcoin.org site co-maintainer)\r\n\r\nWe also feel that this statement reflects the published sentiments of many of Bitcoin.org's active reviewers, and we invite them to individually ACK this PR if that is the case.  If a sufficient number ACK this PR today, we will merge today.  If not, we will merge tomorrow (Tuesday) unless unexpected criticism is received.\r\n\r\n![hard-fork-blog](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/61096/8162837/d2c9b502-134d-11e5-9a8b-27c65c0e0356.png)\r\n"},"comment":{"url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/issues/comments/112842914","html_url":"https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/pull/894#issuecomment-112842914","issue_url":"https://api.github.com/repos/bitcoin/bitcoin.org/issues/894","id":112842914,"user":{"login":"harding","id":61096,"avatar_url":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/61096?v=3","gravatar_id":"","url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding","html_url":"https://github.com/harding","followers_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/followers","following_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/following{/other_user}","gists_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/gists{/gist_id}","starred_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/starred{/owner}{/repo}","subscriptions_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/subscriptions","organizations_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/orgs","repos_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/repos","events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/events{/privacy}","received_events_url":"https://api.github.com/users/harding/received_events","type":"User","site_admin":false},"created_at":"2015-06-17T15:20:57Z","updated_at":"2015-06-17T15:20:57Z","body":"@jlopp sorry for the delay responding.\r\n\r\n> this appears to me to be an issue of safety versus freedom [of choice]\r\n\r\nWhose choice puts whose safety at risk? You choosing to risk your money in an unsafe investment is fine by me. But you choosing to risk *my* money isn't appropriate.\r\n\r\nBitcoin is a consensus system---it only works if we all agree about who owns what, and if we can do that relatively quickly even in the event of major problems.\r\n\r\nThe March 2013 extended fork shows that's possible to restore consensus after a major problem when there is a shared vision for how Bitcoin should work. But what if there isn't a shared vision? It seems clear to me that Bitcoin's resiliency would be greatly reduced.\r\n\r\nThis brings us to what is now the first paragraph of the [statement](https://bitcoin.org/en/posts/hard-fork-policy). If a contentious hard fork should occur and Bitcoin's consensus isn't stressed, then maybe all we have are some people feeling disenfranchised because the system was changed without their consent. That's not good, but we can hope time will heal those wounds.\r\n\r\nBut if a contentious hard fork should occur and consensus become fractured, either during the fork or because of some event afterward, Bitcoin would be in danger of never again reestablishing the same level of consensus, and consequently losing some or all of its value.\r\n\r\nYou may recall how fast the price dropped during the March 2013 fork (see below). That was with developers, miners, and merchants all [collaboratively](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=152030.0) trying to resolve the problem.  Imagine if that was not the case.\r\n\r\n![coindesk-bpi-chart](https://cloud.githubusercontent.com/assets/61096/8210967/8ac35f74-14e2-11e5-8387-048d4b3c4856.png)\r\n\r\nSo, yes, thanks to Bitcoin Core being open source software and Bitcoin being an open protocol, there exists a lot of freedom of choice here---but some choices contain significant moral hazard. It is not just the value of the forkers' bitcoins at risk, but the value of everyone's bitcoins."}}