You encapsulated what has been bothering me over the last year. Odell was one of my faves and must be the reason I am even sending this note on nostr right now. But him having no strong public opinion on the unfolding mess over the past few years doesn't make sense when he is so hardcore on other things, like ditching Twitter entirely for Nostr. He didn't need to support Knots or BIP-110, but avoiding the topic felt like it was meant to avoid criticizing his friends. I understand and respect that, if that is indeed what is happening, but it's damaged his credibility on bitcoin and freedom tech, at least for me.

As someone I thought of as a radical, Odell's mild criticism of Core's actions earlier last year didn't seem coherent to me. I've seen him mention that we need multiple implementations, but this felt like a maneuver to get around the topic. Saying that noderunners can just run v28 felt similar, just a way to get around discussing the bigger issue.

He has seemed annoyed at others' attempts to have him discuss the spam/Core issue. Before RHR dropped off my weekly listen list, Odell said a few times that he had already discussed spam/Core/Knots more than enough. That's his opinion and that's fine, but the amount he had discussed the topic felt very incomplete to me, considering how detailed he can get on bitcoin-related topics that are insignificant relative to policy and consensus issues. What has happened in the past few years has unquestionably made it more burdensome to run a node and, even for those who could run one with ease, made it potentially much less appealing to run one. Odell has been maybe the most prominent advocate for decentralization and freedom tech, and I'm sure his intentions regarding this are still true and genuine, so it's odd that he has not addressed the deterioration of the blockchain and why that has occurred.

Now Odell is attacking the character and motives of the BIP-110 supporters, and this is disappointing. Knowing that Luke is a jerk or he lost his coins or that Kratter used to work for Thiel doesn't negate how their arguments are logical and coherent with what they want as an outcome. They might not be right, but they seem genuine and their proposals match what they say they want.

In the end, I don't blame Odell trying to get around this topic. Friends and family are more important than keeping up a public reputation, truly. I thank him for all that I've learned from him. But I don't value his commentary any longer.

I crossed this threshold years ago and am now on the other side. Any recognition is a bonus. Besides the Strokes, mid-00s enjoyers would like Interpol, Royksopp, and maybe Moby, and surely some others that never knowingly encountered my ears.