Quote from: revans on April 13, 2013, 11:03:32 PM

Quote from: myrkul on April 13, 2013, 10:56:51 PM

Quote from: revans on April 13, 2013, 10:14:46 PM

So in other words the client with the largest install base ultimately makes the rules. The fact that source code is available is utterly irrelevant to the vast majority of users as they would not have the expertise to derive anything from it. So rather than having monetary policy dictated by the Fed, Bitcoin users may ultimately have it dictated by those responsible for the dominant client application.

You're looking at it backwards. I'm beginning to think this is habitual with you. Bitcoin users decide (by using it) the dominant client application. If the one they're using implements rules they don't like, hey presto, they change clients, and it's not dominant any more.

But you're looking at thing as they stand. One assumes the goal is for bitcoin to become sufficiently ubiquitous such that less technically savvy users enter the fray. This type of users will use the client that is most popular, the one that they see first in Google, or the one used by their friends. In fact there in a nutshell is how to subvert Bitcoin. Hire a whizz bang team of UI designers to make a really slick application for iPhone/Android and Web, throw a marketing budget at it, and watch your client become a de facto standard.

You're missing something. Who, exactly, controls the most computing power?

Oh, and Red, you need to read this:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Attacker_has_a_lot_of_computing_power