Bitcoin for many reasons has always been under extreme pressure, but dramatic episodes such as the current one remind us of the fact
Moments of quiet are fleeting as a mirage. Will it ever emerge purified and free of blemishes?
None besides Nick Szabo can ever explain why he has recently started tweeting again after his hiatus, but he has and some of his tweets have concerned the dreaded O-Word pandemonium
Found this one intriguing (along with the linked blog post from 2006)
Finding it quite the throwback to read these reflections of this cypherpunk granddaddy
Whether you try to discourage something, or do nothing, or try to encourage it -- or seem to do these things -- each of these actions or non-actions sends a signal, often a much more powerful signal than the actual security of your effort warrants.
Think about locks on your door. Would they stop a skilled and determined robber? No. Do they stop most unwanted visitors? Yes. Most predators just want dinner, and they will choose the least risky prey they can find.
Since this debate mostly lies in the area of the mempool and relay policy, it mostly isn't about strong security, it's more about the locked-door kind of security, or even just about traffic signs that guide people to the proper place. A strong security solution would obviously be much better, but the alternative to a strong security solution is not to do nothing -- it is to fall back on other methods. Methods that may be weak but that send a signal. The fact that you can't stop a determined and skilled attacker in this case should not stop us from trying to stop most of the behavior that could harm node operators individually or the network collectively.
Also see also (for those unawares) his Bit Gold proposal just days before genesis block
just some notes on what I see going on in bitcoinland