> On the exploit framing, I understand the analogy to using YouTube for storage or a bank database for encoding data. But there’s a key difference. Those are private platforms with terms of service. Bitcoin is a permissionless protocol. The question isn’t whether inscriptions are the intended use, but whether Bitcoin can remain permissionless while enforcing intended use.
bitcoin is a money protocol, break any other use case is not against the protocol. and again bitcoin doesnt live on the ether, in runs on people's devices. bitcoin is permissionless money.
> Now on consensus versus policy, you’re right that policy allows parallel rules without chain splits. That’s valuable. But when the debate becomes not just what policy individuals choose, but what policy should be standard or what pools should be boycotted for not filtering, we’ve moved from free market policy to prescriptive policy.
many policy has been part of the bitcoin for a very long time. they are part of what bitcoin is. only reason they are not consensus is just in case, so we dont accidentally trap ourselves. these are yes mostly standard. and many has the purpose of mitigating the blob data storage usage from the early satoshi days.
> Your vision of a free market of network policy with custom filter scripts and plugins is actually more aligned with permissionless principles than mandating everyone filter the same way. Let nodes compete, let fee markets work, let the best approach win.
exactly knots go up, and everyone has right to believe other implementation is shit, and go do wars on it. everyone has right to preach knots, and teach others why its the best option we have. its social. and because technically core arguments makes no sense, if people think longer than 10 mins.
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Bitcoin being a money protocol, agreed. But the mechanism that makes it work as permissionless money is validation without requiring permission or judgment about transaction purpose. Once we start validating based on intended use rather than protocol rules, we’ve introduced a gatekeeper even if it’s decentralized.
Longstanding policy does shape Bitcoin’s identity, fair point. But there’s still a difference between policy that protects structure and policy that judges content. Script size limits are structural. Deciding what data is blob storage versus legitimate use requires interpretation.
You’re right that everyone has the right to advocate for their preferred implementation and try to win that argument socially. That’s legitimate. My pushback is specifically when that advocacy uses fear and emergency framing rather than technical merit. Preach Knots on its merits, fine. Use CSAM panic to force immediate action, that’s manipulation.
If Knots wins on technical arguments and social consensus, so be it. But let it win on merit, not manufactured urgency.