Quote from: eleuthria on November 25, 2015, 06:07:44 AM

Quote from: hurricandave on November 25, 2015, 04:37:10 AM

I just voted in the Coindesk "Most influential People of BTC in 2015". It looks like someone at Coindesk forgot to put BTC Guild on the list so I'm sure a few of you, from here, can find their way to use the write in at the bottom like I did. HINT..ef'n..HINT!!!

Thanks for the mention, but I'm certainly not an "influential" person in Bitcoin. I ran a good pool, kept things running smoothly for 4 and a half years, and decided to gracefully shut down the service (and give people 6 months to clear old accounts) to make sure it ended on a positive note and under my own terms, not as the result of legal action or even worse, malicious actions.

When I hear influential, I think of people that are actually "doing something" for Bitcoin. Either by pushing adoption, working on improving usability, working on improvements, or trying to inform/direct legal authorities into making decisions that will do the least damage if they insist on doing anything at all. All BTC Guild really did that fits into any of that would be BIP32 support and then voicing opinions on BIP 100/101 and my agreement that block size should be increased. But that's the real limits of influence: Suggestion/confirmation. I don't make myself an advocate and preach the benefits of them. Oh, and my continued assault on SPV mining done by pools like AntPool, BTC China, and F2Pool, meaning over 50% of the hashpower on the network isn't even doing their damn job properly.

I really must disagree. Your post above in fact illustrates exactly WHY you are very influential. You ran an honest business in an era where bitcoin mining was very much like the Hollywood version of the old west. You helped a lot of people without much or any motive to do so, and when you did shut down, you did it exactly right. The example you set IS the standard that others are measured by, and most come up short.

While you may not be an activist in the street, the example you set will be forever part of the early history of cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin in particular. One of the very best parts of that history. Your opinions carry far more weight than I think you realize.