Meet The Herders’: William Schwab
Meet The Herders’ is a series of interviews with members of past and present Ethereum Cat Herders (ECH). ECH helps coordinate upgrades and process improvements to Ethereum by aligning multiple devs from protocol clients to application teams such as wallets; assisting individuals/teams to write EIP/ERC and informing the community as the landscape changes.
William is one of the founding members of ECH and has extensive experience in ECH activities.. from note-taking to coordinating upgrades.. he has done it all.
Haresh: Could you please give us a background about yourself and how you got started in Ethereum?
William: In 2017, I started teaching myself how to code. A few months in, my interest in privacy tech led me to discover Bitcoin and then once you’ve discovered Bitcoin, the next step in general was discovering Ethereum I delved into the Ethereum ecosystem and have been actively involved ever since. Bitcoin perhaps is no longer the gateway to web3/crypto … I mean I wouldn’t be shocked if somebody told me they got in via doge.
I stuck around not because it’s the best or the one true option or anything like that..rather it’s the one I know the best, it’s the one, with the most traction. So that keeps me here.
Haresh: Could you please talk to us about the history of how ECH was formed and what type of issues were the teams facing at the time?
William: I attended Devcon in Prague in October 2018, and before that, I participated in the Fellowship of Ethereum Magicians sub-conference. At the time, many were wondering how they could contribute to Ethereum and become more involved in the ecosystem. During this event, Lane Rettig emphasized the need for product managers, coordinators, and individuals to reach out and drive initiatives forward. Inspired by this, I expressed my willingness to contribute. Following Devcon, Hudson Jameson was recruited and this was the beginning of my involvement.
Back when we were deeply involved, one of our primary focuses was coordination, ensuring that everyone was prepared for network upgrades. This involved not just client teams but also other teams. Our coordination efforts extended to applications and other participants. We aimed to handle potential disruptions caused by new features or changes that could impact the system. Specifically, during a conversation, I spoke with someone from a large mining operation; They shared insights into their experiences, mentioning that, after a halvening event, users would often complain months after that the reward they received was lesser. This reminded me of the challenges faced during hard forks, where users might panic, thinking the blockchain is broken, without being aware of prior discussions and preparations.
It seemed that the initial idea behind decentralized project management was to ensure the right stakeholders were informed and updated about upcoming changes. While efforts were made to communicate these changes to the public, it was acknowledged that not everyone could be reached. The goal was to at least inform major players, major dApps, and key stakeholders to handle significant changes effectively.
Haresh: Could you please talk to us about the term you used do-ocracy?
William: Credit for the term and idea largely goes to Lane. He advocated a “just do it” mentality. This ethos has endured, with those who have been most successful being those with clear ideas who took initiative and got things done. During 2021 and early 2022, my involvement in the ECH involved putting in more hours, driven by whatever tasks I could identify and tackle and that led to both personal and ECH success. Even today, there’s ample space within the ECH for individuals to self-define tasks and take charge of their execution, emphasizing the organization’s commitment to self-driven initiatives. The sky is the limit.
The full interview discusses more about how ECH is funded, William’s passion for privacy, how to get started with ECH & favorite upcoming EIPs, and much more history.
Show notes:
- EOF: Ethereum Object Format
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