I am watching the excellent BBS documentary. It contains a chapter on FidoNet: a pre-Internet worldwide computer network that linked bulletin board systems (BBSs). It is fascinating to listen to its creator and early users discuss its beginnings, growth and decline. I found the parallels between FidoNet and Bitcoin, in particular, between the founding of the International FidoNet Association (IFNA) and the founding of the Bitcoin Foundation, striking. The following are some quotes, taken directly from the documentary, that illustrate the similarities:
"Tom was the creator -- and you can look at that from a religious or a spiritual perspective. He created this thing that has a life of its own." (James Madill)
"Everyone has their own view of the "Tom Jennings' Dream"." (Frank Vest)
"The technology is easy. It's the politics that's hard." (Ryugen Fisher)
"It's just people that are trying to do their own power-plays. It's sad." (Tim Pozar)
"They're taking a really nice technology and distorting it to their own needs." (Tim Pozar)
"When you get to the point where you have people that don't know each other, then people perceive that there is an inside and an outside. And they're not inside. And things are being done to them from the inside." (Tom Jennings)
"Technically, the stuff works and if you want to spin off your own network, that's fine." (Tom Jennings)
"We felt that we needed some voice out there." (Tim Pozar)
"We needed some sort of lobbying voice or at least some voice that we could bring to government and say we're out there, this is how it works, you don't need to necessarily re-create laws for this sort of stuff." (Tim Pozar)
"The whole IFNA debate is a very sore point among a number of people." (Tom Jennings)
"Why do we need an IFNA? The answer was so that Ken and Ben could legally accept money to help support their efforts with FidoNet." (Bob Hartman)
"It just runs in spite of the idiots." (Tom Jennings)
