Hey Doug,
I discovered your crypto channel at the end of last year and I'm a fan of your work. I have recommended it to my small circle of crypto friends. I've been in crypto since 2013 and joined Reddit specifically to participate in Bitcoin discussions. I'm a software dev for 22 years with a minor in economics. I'm unassuming, don't like to rock the boat, and don't contribute that often in terms of posts. However, I did my part in participating in the Bitcoin economy by spending and replenishing bitcoin as often as I could. I have spent bitcoin at NewEgg, Expedia, Overstock, Rakuten, Namecheap, Red Cross, coffee shops, and many other places.
I was around when this subreddit was created. I thought at first that it was an over-reaction by a few people. But as time went by, it was clear that this was not the case and by 2016, I felt that the writing was on the wall and Bitcoin will fall in dominance. I sold whatever little bitcoin I had left and joined other projects. I have no regrets.
When Bitcoin Cash was created, my interest in Bitcoin returned because the project was more welcoming and open to ideas. However, I feel that it might be too late to save Bitcoin in any form because I think most of the talent has been scared away into other projects. You say that you favor tech innovation. I think that most in this group favors that too. That's why this group is more suited for you. This group isn't against 2nd layer scaling. This group is against restricting blocksize increases and censorship of ideas and innovation.
The issue I have with the video in question is that I think it exaggerates minor points to demonize someone. Given that you hold Bitcoin and not Bitcoin Cash, it felt like you are trying to connect the dots for your audience in order to influence their decisions. Roger is a straight shooter. He says what is on his mind. If a guy goes up to a girl at work and calls her "Honey" and she asks him not to call her that because it's disparaging or disrepectful but the guy ignores her and keeps calling that, is that OK in your opinion? Roger asked someone nicely not to be disrespectful yet the guy continued on. How is this Roger's fault? I didn't understand why this was brought up in the video.
I know you are a logical and bright guy. Professional poker players have to be or they won't succeed. Here's the thing. In competition, it is easy to find the stars because the stars rise to the top and win. In software development however, how do you know who the stars are without competition? You feel that the core developers are the best in the world. Without competition, how do you know this? How do you know that another group of developers can't do a better job under the same circumstances? What do other academic or industry researchers in this field (other than Litecoin devs) think about the restriction of blocksize to 1 MB? Is it well accepted that this is the best design? This is basically the main point of contention between the 2 groups. Cut through the noise created by social engineering and keep doing what you're doing. I'll keep watching your channel even if we disagree on the direction of Bitcoin. Thanks for the work that you are doing to help new crypto users.