Ordinal Disorder Syndrome (ODS) is a real phenomenon. As a neutral observer of Bitcoin Magazine, I aim to address misconceptions and dismissive attitudes toward ordinals in the Bitcoin community, and uncover overlooked complexities and potential within what I call “ordinal confusion syndrome” (ODS).
ODS emerges as a significant phenomenon within a segment of the Bitcoin community, characterized by oversimplification and a dismissive attitude towards Ordinals, and often arrogant in nature. As a Bitcoin Magazine staffer who remains neutral toward Ordinals but is tired of the baseless criticism aimed not only at our publications but at Bitcoin innovations in general, I feel compelled to share my perspective. Contrary to some assertions, our coverage neither captures arrangements nor provides coverage to an unreasonable extent.
Talk about the rankings among detractors is often reduced to unsubstantiated accusations of scams or spam clogging up the memory pool, reflecting the “average IQ” mentality prevalent among some Bitcoin influencers. These individuals neglect the complex details of Ordinals, choosing to capitalize on the topic for personal gain, such as gaining more followers or boosting their online presence. Whether or not these actions are intentional, with intentional manipulation being particularly egregious, they indicate a superficial connection to technology. Such behavior fails to acknowledge the complexity of ordinals, which deserves more detailed and considered analysis, and thus exemplifies ordinal confusion syndrome (ODS).
It is disappointing to see a portion of the Bitcoin community engaging in such reductionist discussions, especially in light of the thoughtful thinking that initially attracted many to Bitcoin. This trend is most evident among those who joined Bitcoin around 2020 – or the Fourth Era class – and whose understanding of Bitcoin has been heavily influenced by the “Bitcoin standard” and the literal interpretation of Satoshi’s blog posts on a Bitcoin discussion forum. This approach, similar to the fervor seen in religious fanaticism, has led to a skewed interpretation of Bitcoin's idealization, turning it into the sole identity of its followers. Sometimes, it seems as if those offering ODS are secretly or unwitting supporters of Bitcoin Cash (BCash) or Bitcoin SV (BSV), given their behavior.
Some context about my personal beliefs include:
1. Ordinal numbers (which many refer to as JPEGs on Bitcoin) are stupid numbers.
2. I understand that ordinal numbers have intrinsic value.
3. Ordinal numbers have resurfaced Bitcoin scaling issues.
4. Bitcoin is Bitcoin resistant.
5. Bitcoin is not allowed.
I have never owned, been gifted or intend to own an arrangement or engraving.
Contrary to the perception of critics of Ordinal and Bitcoin Magazine, Ordinals make up a small percentage of what Bitcoin Magazine covers. Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin Magazine has published 327 articles on its website, of which only 5 cover ranking articles, making up about 1.5% of our published content this year.
The navigation bar on our website includes sections for Articles, PRO (Market Insights), Shop, Conferences, Mining, Learning, Books, and Buy Bitcoin. It is worth noting that Ordinals does not have a dedicated section. Of the 31 print editions produced, only one focused on engravings.
Our latest print issue, titled “The Pattern Problem,” highlights patterns and ordinals as the core of an important cultural issue within the Bitcoin community, which is why it is called “The Pattern Problem.”
Let me emphasize some of our recent initiatives that illustrate our broader interests and core focus:
- We have formed a partnership with the leading Bitcoin custodian. This collaboration is designed to provide new Bitcoin buyers with the knowledge and tools needed for self-custody, including setting up a multi-signature solution. More details at: https://unchained.bitcoinmagazine.com/
- Our largest content series includes a collaboration with one of the world's largest hardware wallet providers to promote technical content on self-custody best practices. For example, see “10 Steps to Self-Sovereignty” at https://bitcoinmagazine.com/spoke/understanding-your-bitcoin-keys-bip39-seed-words
- We have also partnered with one of the largest miners to address the prevailing Bitcoin FUD. See “FUD Fighters” at https://bitcoinmagazine.com/protected/mining-misinformation-how-the-united-nations-university-misrepresented-data-to-exaggerate-bitcoins-environmental-footprint
Our conference team has expanded our events to include the Asia, Middle East and North Africa regions, specifically China and the UAE. Our conferences focus mostly on the economic, energy, and open source benefits of Bitcoin, making up over 90% of the conference content.
At Bitcoin 2023, our most recent major event, Ordinals received little attention:
- Main Stage: Of the 52 conversations, only one discussed ordinal numbers (the Great Ordinal Debate), accounting for about 1% of the focus on ordinal numbers.
- Enterprise Stage: Of the 16 Pitch Day applicants, one company submitted on Ordinals (Ordinal Safe, which did not win), and two of the 15 discussion tracks focused on Ordinals, representing approximately 9% focus.
- Mining phase and open source phase: There was no focus on arrangements.
In total, only 4 tracks were covered out of 128 ordinal tracks, making up 3% of the total conference programming.
Now I don't want to speak at a Bitcoin conference but at Bitcoin Magazine, our goal is to cover all aspects of Bitcoin, including Ordinals. It would be irresponsible to overlook rankings, given their impact on the chain, their potential long-term consequences, and their role in UTXO conversion and block space valuation.
As an independent media, we regulate everyone – for discussion that follows our very general editorial guidelines to allow individuals to reach their own conclusions. We lead the discourse and welcome competing Bitcoin stories. Being selective would make us no different from Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC.
Rankings are controversial, and addressing the controversy requires more dialogue, not less. Withdrawing from a conference or criticizing an organization for perceived “moral superiority” often reflects underlying issues such as pandering, fraud, or lack of intellectual rigor.
While some may interpret this perceived moral high ground as stemming from “sympathy for non-coins or those new to Bitcoin,” it is crucial to examine the situation more critically, as it often reflects similar dynamics to left-wing progressive cancel culture. extremism in the United States. Comparing these political phenomena to the politics unfolding within the Bitcoin community, one can observe the emergence of “Bitcoin Principles” and purity tests, which are increasingly seen as thought leadership. To understand the possible direction of this trend, one can observe the influence of cancel culture in the United States. Here, concepts like safe spaces, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and Make America Great Again (MAGA) parallel Bitcoin narratives:
- Safe spaces are similar to those that demand filtering of Bitcoin transactions. (#FixTheFilters). You can also compare “filterbois” to COVID-19 vaccine advocates.
- The global potential for Bitcoin adoption and development has been overshadowed by pejorative accusations of fraud towards those proposing scaling solutions. Similar to how DEI advocates for fair outcomes, many Bitcoin users claim that dealing on the Bitcoin mainnet is also fair.
- The calls to strengthen Bitcoin's current position echo the MAGA movement, which calls for neither change nor a return to “better times.”
Just as the term “Nazi” has been appropriated by the far left and MAGA types disillusioned with believing that the economy under Trump was “fine,” we are seeing a similar appropriation of the words “scam,” “spam,” “spam,” and “Spam.” ” and “shitcoin”, where most uses are based on opinion rather than fact.
This dilution of terms reduces their meaning and legitimacy, leads to imprecision in public discourse, and undermines the process of identifying real threats. This is unfortunate because, in the context of Ordinals, there are real scams out there, including artificially inflated markets and convergence scams disguised as Ordinal projects run by Bitcoin SV backers. Rather than highlighting the differences, the focus has shifted to pejorative arguments against the arrangements, rather than engaging in a discourse about the artistic underpinnings and how we got here in the first place, which is a much larger issue. I'm looking at all the Bitcoin Twitter folk attacking Taproot with the green square emoji!
ODS has also given rise to a trend of using ordinal numbers as a basis and excuse for overlooking cashless applications of Bitcoin, which is deeply concerning. This perspective conveniently ignores Bitcoin's significant innovation in harnessing stranded energy to reduce emissions and secure the network, as well as it ignores Bitcoin's capabilities in enabling proof-of-existence, providing timestamp solutions, facilitating decentralized domain name systems, supporting immutable messages, and promoting decentralized verification. Identity. .
While Bitcoin is first and foremost money, ignoring its other functions is short-sighted and misguided. It is crucial that we acknowledge and explore the full range of Bitcoin applications, as limiting our view to the financial aspect alone is a limited approach.
Furthermore, believing that global adoption of Bitcoin will reflect the individual journey of discovery of the 2020 (or 4H) cohort is a narrow perspective. It is essential to realize that the path to widespread acceptance and use of Bitcoin may be as diverse and multifaceted as its potential applications. Ignoring the evolving nature of Bitcoin adoption and utility risks marginalizing oneself from ongoing developments and conversations, especially in a permissionless environment.
Canceling a speech does not constitute a challenge to the speech.
Don't be a victim of ozone depleting substances.
