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Ethereum reminds me of what happened to the web: the desire to add code. The blockchain by itself wasn't good enough so Ethereum added code to it, just like HTM

Ethereum reminds me of what happened to the web: the desire to add code. The blockchain by itself wasn't good enough so Ethereum added code to it, just like HTML wasn't good enough so people added applets, Flash, and JavaScript. I understand why they would want to do this but I think it gets the priorities wrong. It prioritizes features and functionality over security and reliability. Given how hostile the Internet has become I think this is a mistake. My guess is that Ethereum is only a couple of scandals away from being perceived as a fundamentally insecure platform. Bitcoin has its own problems and it may not survive either. Perhaps another cryoto currency can learn from the mistakes of both and deliver something better?

cesarb 9y ago
> Ethereum reminds me of what happened to the web: the desire to add code. Also known as Zawinski's law: "Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can."
lou1306 9y ago
This! A money exchange platform can't be both distributed and unrealiable. If PayPal screws up, at least you can call them and get a refund.
kordless 9y ago
Bitcoin has code. The language is called Script. It lacks loops, however.
- woah 9y ago
  Dealing with the legwork around programming bitcoin script will always be at least 10x more complex than whatever it was that you wanted to program.
RoboTeddy 9y ago
I actually think this is a great analogy, although not sure your conclusion follows. What happened after people added JavaScript to the web?
- BaronSamedi 9y ago
  In my view what happened was usability and security suffered. See for example, https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=JavaScript https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=JavaScript I have no problem with JavaScript itself, it allows developers to build some amazing web applications. What I object to is the default use of JS for every web site. I would rather see JS limited to a small set of trusted sites and HTML (with server side rendering if needed) for everyone else.

cesarb 9y ago

> Ethereum reminds me of what happened to the web: the desire to add code. Also known as Zawinski's law: "Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail. Those programs which cannot so expand are replaced by ones which can."

lou1306 9y ago

This! A money exchange platform can't be both distributed and unrealiable. If PayPal screws up, at least you can call them and get a refund.

kordless 9y ago

Bitcoin has code. The language is called Script. It lacks loops, however.

woah 9y ago
Dealing with the legwork around programming bitcoin script will always be at least 10x more complex than whatever it was that you wanted to program.

RoboTeddy 9y ago

I actually think this is a great analogy, although not sure your conclusion follows. What happened after people added JavaScript to the web?

BaronSamedi 9y ago
In my view what happened was usability and security suffered. See for example, https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=JavaScript https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvekey.cgi?keyword=JavaScript I have no problem with JavaScript itself, it allows developers to build some amazing web applications. What I object to is the default use of JS for every web site. I would rather see JS limited to a small set of trusted sites and HTML (with server side rendering if needed) for everyone else.