I think that's a false premise.
Regardless of how the fork occurred, we'd have 2 "Steem" blockchains, one with a Steemit Inc balance (which they could use for funding) and one chain without it (which they wouldn't then be able to control).
If, in the event that a fork like this, were it pushed onto the live Steem blockchain (an idea no one actively supported) - you don't think Steemit Inc would just create their own fork reverting the change? I'm 99% positive they would, and then they'd change steemit.com to use that blockchain. They'd also use their exchange contacts to ensure it's listed on exchanges and traded.
Ahh, okay. No, I didn't understand this aspect of it. I would imagine that maybe a lot of people looking into this don't understand this part.(maybe I'm wrong) I'd have probably led with/put more emphasis on this part of your stance.
So for me this does take it out of the "theft" territory and it is definitely not as extreme as I'd first imagined.
That said, I still can't disagree with what Ned is doing from a business perspective. That fork would definitely be harmful to Steemit Inc. and if I were the CEO of that company it would be my job to protect my company and it's assets with whatever levers I have at my disposal.
This is in line with people's(yours, I forget) complaints that he has put company over community. As CEO, the reality is that's his job. Obviously the best case scenario from their point of view are things that are good for both. Maybe the road forward is considering ideas that don't throw out the baby with the bathwater?
Noted, thanks! I put so much time in that post that by the end of day 3, I don't think I had a great grasp on the entire message.
I understand that, and I'd probably consider the same actions. However, I'd also consider the other side effects that the action would cause.
In this specific example, that action caused a scare in the community, and degraded any level of transparency into the organization.
Is that worth protecting the companies aspect from an unknown risk? That ends up being a subjective call.
If I were the CEO, I probably would have engaged in a conversation rather than taking actions and going on the offensive. I know that if a fork occurs on the live network it'd be a headache, but nothing irreversible.
We've talked for years at this point about many more "Steemit Inc Friendly" options, I think this instance was just one of the first where Steemit Inc had no control over the direction, nor any willingness to engage and learn why it was being discussed.
After things calm down again hopefully we'll be able to look at how this situation unfolded and learn how better to approach more "dangerous" issues like this one. Probably (and unfortunately) it will require more privacy while the core concept is worked out, after which it would be made completely public as the idea is considered by the larger community.