To be honest, I am quite surprised by how negative the responses have been to the State of the Road Address and how little faith you put in me after I feel like I have done so much to deserve it. I chose the words I wrote in the Address very carefully. I reviewed it many times. Every one of them is true, and my sentiment is valid. Go through and re-read it along with the clarifications. Every one of your concerns is addressed if you would only do me the courtesy of believing me. This change IS about scam prevention. We ARE working on solutions to the finalizing early and bitcoin exchange scams. We DID do everything we could to keep the rates low while still addressing the present and future needs of the organization. Everyone WILL be treated fairly under the new rules just as you have been all along. We also need to be WAY more flexible on this kind of stuff. It would be amazing if we could try out lots of different commission rates, some way too high, some way too low, to try to find out what works for everyone, but the minute we even mention changing rates everyone becomes an expert on the subject and puts up resistance to change. There is lots about this organization that just isn't going to be made public and you have to TRUST us that we are doing our absolute best and will always work toward our stated goals, which include giving people the opportunity to choose freedom over tyranny, and to trade in just about any good or service they wish, securely and privately. Our goals DO NOT include profiting personally at anyone else's expense, or the expense of our stated goals. If I am greedy, I am greedy for freedom. I am greedy for power. Not force over others, but for a world where POWER resides in me and each and every individual, where it belongs. If we can get to that world, I can die happy. Silk Road is an ENTERPRISE that is just getting started. It could literally change the world as we know it. It is bigger than any one of us, and it is going to take the dedication and will of MANY talented people, a lot of luck, and RESOURCES to get from here to there. Do you want to see this thing go all the way and take the absolute piss out of the power mongers of this world? Do you want to give it every chance it needs to succeed? Why aren't you telling me to raise the commission even further then? I don't hear anyone refusing the commission break on high priced goods. I don't hear anyone saying don't do that, you need it, you keep this whole thing going, we're happy to do our part. As a community, if we are going to survive, we need to adopt a LONG TERM vision. Getting the most out of this thing before it gets taken down is NOT going to bring us success. In that world, Silk Road will be a shooting star that burns out quickly and dies as little more than a dream, swallowed by the nightmare reality of an ever-expanding, all-powerful global oligarchy. Planning ahead and doing everything we can NOW to prepare for the war to come is the only way we are going to have a shot at this. We are still mostly ignored by our true enemies, but this incubation WILL NOT last forever. I don't like writing this kind of stuff publicly because it taunts our enemies and might spur them into action, but I risk it because the context for what we are doing is too often lost in the day to day stuff that happens here and it needs to be put in from time to time. Silk Road NEEDS our support. It needs everything we have. The return on what we put into it will be immeasurable if we can get through the months and years ahead and gain a real foothold on the global stage. HELP ME GET US THERE!!! Do it for me, do it for yourself, do it for your families and friends, and do it for mankind. P.S. Here's another thing that doesn't get said enough: I love you. This is the most fun I've ever had and I feel closer to the people I have met here than the vast majority of people I have to hide all of this from in real life. Stay light, have fun, and please please please take this on as more than a way to score drugs. Stand by me as we stand up for ourselves. - Silk Road admin