That being said, I am pleased that no one seems to agree on anything. I guess this means once again that things will just continue as they are (unless something actually breaks).
The thread poll also indicates a skeptical majority. I sent an email message to the bitcoin developer mail list asking for permission to branch the source code on the GitHub repository and begin researching a Proof-of-Stake version of Bitcoin. No comment so far. I noted that I understood that Proof-of-Stake is listed as as a prohibited yet disputed enhancement on the Bitcoin wiki. Prohibited features are those which break the social contract between the Bitcoin developers and Bitcoin users.
I am preparing to devote the next year or two at least to the branch. I will create a project in the Project Development sub-forum to transparently track progress. I will keep this thread and poll alive to engage and potentially educate anyone who is not a developer or technical expert.
As an indication of my commitment to this Bitcoin improvement project, I am now using my real name and recent photo where possible. I regret postponing my AI research, but the coding decisions I made years ago have stood the test of time, and will endure until I fund them with future bitcoin valuations.
You can always create and altcoin with the same addresses as Bitcoin and with the same distribution of existing Bitcoins over those addresses. Than everyone can choose which Bitcoin to use (or both). I would personally feel safer using both concurrently than to change the existing social contract of the original Bitcoin. When the first change is made, the discussion for the 21M limit will surely start as well ....