regarding the state of the pool I believe the only long running problem it has ever had is the subsidy system. this is now badly abused. all you have to do is double-click on a record in the 'block distribution' tab on the pool site. look at the top ten miners there. some are mining fairly with serious hash but many have split their (still considerable) hash into over a hundred very small workers to maximize their return. this has at least two serious effects.
1. it actually dilutes the benefit that genuine small miners receive
2. it is the largest disincentive to putting a decent amount of hash on the pool as a large percentage now simply enriches people with more hashpower than you yourself!
another effect is that no-one really knows how much their hash contribution is really worth. i have no idea whether i would be a net donator or a net receiver of subsidy, i suspect the latter. Either way i believe the current situation is both unfair and unjust.
ps no-one is mining 'against' the pool. people are just mining.
You do realize us 'big' miners have invested heavily into hardware and have many monthly costs for electricity/datacenter bills? Sometimes it doesn't even cover the costs and/or initial investment. Not here to become millionaires, we are here for a good cause. Also I would like to have a MN someday and heavy mining is only option.
Also keeping up with this many machines is very time consuming, it is not 15min day job to keep everything running
I understand joelles, i've made an investment/taken a risk too. but what if everybody, or just most, did it your way? what would happen to the size of the subsidy you receive then? and r u really happy taking from others in such a way?