IMO, while a hybrid approach might be eventually necessary, I don't see PoS as part of the solution. But there are viable solutions (see below).

The problem with Qubic is that a few players can (temporarily) disrupt the network. The tokenomics of Qubic allow it to attack temporarily but it will ultimately fail by that same tokenomics. With PoS, the problem is that a few players (the stakers) can disrupt the network. The requirements for staking (e.g. not turning off your machine for a set period of time, etc) encourage people to stake with a service so it encourages non-custody and centralization. And since PoS gives stakers more stake, their power to disrupt can only grow.

So you're trying to fix one set of disruptors by adding a second set of disruptors. Not exactly a solution, IMO.

Of course there's slashing. If it's purely algorithmic slashing, then it can be gamed and taken advantage of by either disruptor. If it's "trusted individuals" then you're just adding another set of disruptors to the mix. With so much complexity and potential for collusion, it's almost certain that failure will eventually result.

So what's possible? There are other consensus mechanisms that greatly reduce block reorderings like GhostDag (see Kaspa) that might be used to support the current PoW. Nano also has no transaction fees and seems to keep working. Instant validation of mutually agreed upon transactions also work if both parties are online at the same time (it doesn't work otherwise). If I give you cash, and you accept the cash and give me a receipt for that cash in real life, I don't need a third party to validate it so it would be wrong for a third party to not confirm it on the blockchain as finalized. You can even add the condition of having both parties have a copy of the receipt and both parties have to sign it. That extra condition is usually a part of the transaction of big ticket items like houses for extra security. True this approach wouldn't work if one party is offline, but since I estimate for over 90% of transactions both parties are online (since NFC cards aren't common but phones and computers are), this approach would all the blockchain to keep working even if there is an attack. The other supports are there for offline transactions.

I think you're talking about a number of things that have nothing to do with each other. Yes, communists and anarchists have the "just one thing" in common and don't seem to understand anacyclosis (i.e. all political systems are unstable and flow into each other), but both are a response to the current system. It is not a coincidence that the tea party and occupy walls. Communists accept that governments are going to take over everything, so if that's going to happen, it should work for the people (it won't...it will just make it more abusive and self righteous). Anarchists see government abuses and think that getting rid of governments will fix things (it won't, it just replaces abused laws with "might makes right"). Each are pushing in different directions of anacyclosis and each will fail. So far, the most stable political system is a mixed system that contains multiple systems, but even this seems on the verge of collapse.

WRT Open source, it's not about communism. It actually encompasses many contradictory political theories. Even the self proclaimed commie himself, Richard Stallman had no issues with selling open source programs or paying for maintenance, so there is some nuance you're missing even for the open source commies. Let's not even mention the more nuanced views of Linus Torvalds (creator of Linux). I've been using Linux since the 1990s when it was real bear to use. I did it because I was feed up about being controlled and spied on and nickel and dimed and planned obsolescence. Plus i wanted to know how it worked. I could take a Unix programmer from 1980 and drop him in front of modern Unix and he could start producing useful code. There's no way I could do that on Windows. Linux is good because it's motive for existence is usability, not profit even though profit can enter into the equation. Yes, you may have to pay for something advanced now, but if it's needed and if it's not niche, it will eventually be developed by open source and create a more advanced ecosystem upon which more innovation can be build and paid for if it is good enough.

WRT Lemmy, it depends on which forums you visit. On my forums, I tend to see more apolitical and privacy focused people (i.e. they don't want their info shared to the collective), so your impression may say more about you than Lemmy. WRT Nostr, look at the top 20 tags for any week of the year. Over three quarters have to do with either Bitcoin or Nostr. Yes, other topics exist but for the most part Nostr is a bitcoin maxi echo chamber that tries to chase away all non-Bitcoin conversations. It's being ruined for any non-bitcoin usage.

WRT cloudflare, agreed, even the monero.town owner agrees so it's not about ideology. He said he's not technical enough to know another solution since not using cloudflare resulted in weeks of downtime. Give him a hand on a solution...you can even open up a CSS to fund this work, and you can be sure this will be taken care of since cloudfare prevents Tor from being used.

Regardless, the world is complex. If you see the world as "Just my one thing" alone, you might be a victim of your own analysis.

Isn’t possible to do it on RandomX? Yes but not on Monero since that's not its purpose and it hurts anonymity (review the Mordinals reaction).

Why the F will you sell JPEGs with the Monero mascot that I can download off of Google images for free? Yes, it's fugazi as is most of the "modern fine art" market.

That being said, NFTs are available on CEXes and there will be an easy XMR to this NFT atomic swap so it might be an on/off ramp for some people.

Given Monero's anonymity and the media lock out, it would be hard to know how popular Monero is in Russia. Haveno isn't the best measure of adoption. Perhaps Russians prefer swapping Monero for other easier to acquire crypto on Russia-agnostic DEXes? Remember also Russian citizens are masters of covert communications. Back when computer programs were on cassette tapes a common strategy was to embed programs and documents in the middle of extremely hard to listen to music like high volume death metal or MERZBOW Woodpecker #1. Any guard charged with finding illegal content would have to listen through hours of ear-bleeding and harsh music before they could detect that "something" was being hidden. Perhaps there's an active trade in the underground market which the average citizen is a part of. Perhaps they have an active independent street exchange as is available in Argentina (from what I know, street vendors tend to give the best rates).

I think you miss what the poster and I are trying to say. On LocalMonero and on Bisq2, you could purchase without deposit based solely on the reputation of the person. That is all the person was asking. I commented that if Haveno had a field in the seller information for private contact (e.g. simplex, signal, etc) the trade could be done outside of Haveno since other than listing the sellers and contact information, Haveno would provide no guarantees. That's an acceptable risk for many people to start off - you just don't risk too much on first contact. Unfortunately I've checked and , Haveno doesn't provide this feature yet...IMO, it will as it incorporates Bisq2 features or at least adds a contact field in the seller information.

Give it time. I never used LocalMonero since I was happy with instant exchanges but I came close to using it just before it got shut down. At the time, there were only 2-3 acceptable sellers of XMR for Canadian Dollars and the best one kept having banking issues. There are currently 2 acceptable sellers of XMR for Canadian Dollars, which means that in Haveno's short life it's getting close to replacing LocalMonero for me. My hope is that eventually it gets integrated with Unstoppable Swap and BasicSwapDEX (and maybe Serai DEX) since there's no technical reason it can't automatically mirror the offers. Once that happens, it'll have more than enough liquidity for anyone.

I would agree with preferring light mode (with an off white background), but the community is split on the issue. Having a toggle mode would be helpful, but there might be a third alternative that might work for the community, beige mode like FIRO does ( https://firo.org/ ). Imagine using the hammermanns design but using the more beige versions of the Monero colors (toned down orange, dark grey, and white) as being the primary colors on the web site. It would show Monero is different and is a compromise between the "hacker black" and "corporate white" used by nearly every other crypto.

A few things. (1) The most valuable real estate is the top of screenplay of the page since it might be the only one people read (in transit to go to the menus), so it need to make a statement or be useful. As such, the circle takes up way too much room and gives little information or a feel for what Monero is. Also, the "[Insert Crypto] Means Money" slogan is a bit of a cliche and is claimed to apply to many crypto. If you want to keep the slogan, at least make it more Monero specific like "Monero Means Private Freedom Money" or "Monero is mind your own business money".

(2) I'll agree about the criticism of the black background. While it is true that some people complain about a white background burning their eyes, the "burning" problem would more likely apply to white text since it makes the text blurrier...especially if the text is smaller. The point of text is to be read. White text is "hole" in the background. It's easier to read text rather than a hole where the text is supposed to be. For my text editor, I tend to use off-white (so it's not bright) and dark gray text. IMO, using a graytone background of any colour plus and off-black text is the best best compromise, but if you want to have a dark theme in addition to the white theme, please make the text bigger and bolder and off white so it's easy to read. Firo.org (which I don't like the design of) has an example of the dark theme with bolder/slightly off white smaller bolder text and a white theme for subsequent pages with a gray tone rose background and dark gray text (although it should be a bit darker gray).

(3) I assume this is for https://www.getmonero.org/. IMO, a good replacement should be easy to read the first time and be a good resource that you to return to and want to return to again and again. Here's how I evaluate some of the competitors: (short version, I think that firo, bitcoin cash, and the current monero web site all have good ideas that would help the new design once you eliminate the problems in each).

https://www.getmonero.org/

• Cons: It's childish and doesn't onboard new users well.
• Pros: It prominently promotes community and merchants along side exchanges.

https://imgur.com/a/monero-redesign-homepage-d1-PcoYHcs

• Cons: It's harder to read and makes it look like just another exchange payment token and not a community driven project. It also makes "Get coins" look like the only way to get Monero is through exchanges (which is not) and the only way to use Monero is to send it to someone else (which it isn't).
• Pros: It attempt to onboard Monero users and looks professional.

https://firo.org/

• Cons: The front "slide" takes up way to much space. While it is good for first time visitors, repeat visitors will get annoyed skipping to the content they want. The subsequent slides are also way too spaced out sit it is harder to find what you need.
• Pros: Clean design that is relatively easy and pleasant to read. Making the first section different looks nice.

https://bitcoincash.org/

• Cons: It puts too much content directly on the front page. If it wanted to have this, it should make it list 4 to 8 popular choices along with a "see more" bar which presents all the choices. There is very little mention of the community. There are too many FAQ questions. If they have to be on the front page, at least make them progressive disclosing (i.e. click to see the answer to each question).
• Pros: A very clean and design with some use of an off white background and gray text. Once progressive disclosing is put in place and community is added, it can be a very good website.

https://z.cash/

• Cons: Looks both plain, uninteresting, and not useful.
• Pros: Nothing significant

https://litecoin.org/

• Cons: Looks both plain, uninteresting, and is not made for people who have trouble with contrast. The top page takes up way too much space for little value.
• Pros: It gives the basic information that's needed and mentions a community.

https://zano.org/

• Cons: Way too complicated, unpleasant to navigate, and hard to find what you need.
• Pros: It has a lot of information....it just needs to be organised and presented much better and the community should be emphasised more.

Fortunately, you're reading the numbers wrong. Yes, some projects have 1-3 projects. Those projects tend to be side projects (e.g. Revuo, web site maintenance, etc) and are likely founded mostly from wallet providers and Monero service providers since it helps spread information that helps the ecosystem. I know Cakewallet has funded a few of these. The really important projects have 5-70 contributors. If donations stop, then some people would keep working on it because Monero is important, but they wouldn't be able to spend very much time on it so progress would be incredibly slow.

The "sources" are extremely sus. Most CEXes have delisted Monero and no-KYC exchanges by definition don't have KYC. The addresses are not stored on the blockchain. If an address is known to be CSAM, it would be blocked off so no transactions would have been made and because of the previous point, you can't go back in the blockchain to find past offenders. The CSAM site likely has other non-CSAM porn so many actual purchases would be legal so usage on honeypot exchanges would not mean much. Reading between the lines, the article is basically coming up with its statistics via inference. (1) Most BTC blockchain activity is speculation, (2) CSAM makes up a significant percentage of BTC actual usage, (3) Monero's popularity is growing, (4) Criminals prefer privacy, (5) therefore Monero's growth is mostly from CSAM. The main counterpoint to this is Monero's increase use in coin cards, VPN and other privacy tool/services purchases, Shopinbit, etc where Monero's use exceeds that of BTC and lightning. So (1) does not apply to Monero, and it's likely (2) if it were ever true is increasingly not the case so (5) is absolutely false.

Two things. While you may disagree with some points, his overall analysis is well thought out. While he does acknowledge that fungeability and price stability are essential to a currency, and you could convince him that Monero has these qualities, he also has two other criteria that Monero does not currently possess, namely "being declared legal tender" and durability, i.e. will it be around with a predicable price in 100 years, so you can make contracts with it. Monero fails the "official" legal tender criteria (even if you're able to live off Monero and show it's unofficially legal tender). All crypto, including Bitcoin fails the durability criteria. Bitcoin has only been around 15 years...that's just a baby currency that has not even gone through even a single serious recession. I cannot guarantee you that Bitcoin or Monero will be around in 100 years. I can't guarantee that its price is at least the current price at that time. No-one can, even though they may believe it to be the case. The only way to show that Monero is durable, is using Monero so it will endure. Eventually, it will reach the stage where all reasonable people will trust it enough to believe that it is durable. No need to worry about influencers. They will look into Monero when the need or interest arises.

Thanks. I can see it now. It seems it's been picked up by Monerotalk (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKrN-bnUvfw it should be on odsyee an hour later) . Anyone that wants to give a shout out for the project should join the viewers on stage segment of the show.