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A while ago I wrote a piece I am proud of, "Beyond the shouting match: what is a blockchain, really?" https://dustycloud.org/blog/what-is-a-blockchain-really/ (Thanks to @meena for reminding me about it)
I think it had careful and relevant thinking, but it was long, and Jay Graber challenged me: could I summarize its points in a thread here? So let's go:
The loosest of these is people interpreting "blockchain" as "decentralized networks" in general.
This surprised me, because I work on decentralized networks which I don't consider to be blockchains. But for some people, this is their only decentralized network exposure!
Oops, I accidentally split this thread in two, here's the other half: https://octodon.social/@cwebber/107492641623642005
The discourse on "blockchains" is heated, but it often seems like people shouting past each other *because they are*. Since people mean different things, what's "essential" to one side isn't to the other.
This breaks down in architectural, cultural, and historical ways.