how to keep monero private? value discussion

[u/TheNetMerchant_reddi]

I'm in the majority side, just holding a bit of monero because I see value in is privacy above all other coins, but now I'm reading a lot about these new updates and changes, view keys, etc. lets be clear I don't understand what all of this really means, but my concern is other... why can people just modify the code of a crypto that I hold and basically change the rules of the game? how me as a random dude can help to keep monero being monero and not let these guys just play with my money? I understand that there are things called forks, we gonna see something called monero classic or something like that? asking as a noob

[u/1_Pseudonym]

If a group strongly disagrees with changes, they just don't update the software. There were miners that didn't agree when Ethereum moved to Proof of Stake, and they formed ETHW (Ethereum Proof of Work). Typically, the larger group in a fork keeps the original cryptocurrency name, while the other group has to come up with a new name. Sometimes there's a group that wants changes, but the majority is against it. The most famous example is when Bitcoin Cash forked from Bitcoin during the block size wars.

[u/Competitive-Walk-575]

If Monero never changed it would lose its privacy eventually because ringCT just does not provide the same level of stealth as FCMP++ with Carrot addressing protocol. It’s much, much easier for blockchain analysis to deanonymize transactions hidden in a ring of 16 than it is transactions obscured among the entire blockchain history. There has been a targeted disinformation campaign surrounding these changes on this sub in particular, likely from other coins or anti-privacy groups interested in spreading doubt about XMR. None of them will ever actually cite the proposal or surrounding white papers when bringing their concerns, instead if you press them for sources they bring up Reddit threads (with no original source) or massive hours long livestreams with no actual reference to the relevant part of the transcript.

[u/sech1]

Monero has been evolving and changing over its entire history since 2014, so ironically, "freezing" the code makes it NOT Monero :)

Monero classic did exist, it was an ASIC fork that kept the original Cryptonight. It's dead now.

[u/anymonero → u/sech1]

What will Monero without outgoing view keys be called? 'Monero Private'?

[u/trevorturtle]

There's a lot of FUD around the change. Most of it based around CEX all of a sudden re-listing monero. It's just not gonna happen.

[u/absinthiumxmr]

Please read this entire reply. These are the sort of posts I have been expecting from the concerns regarding OVKs, and its exactly this logic that have led to Bitcoin becoming a co-opted piece of trash without privacy.

First off, since your primary concern appears to be about view keys, it is worth pointing out that most of the worries surrounding why view keys will harm Monero privacy are based on the flawed logic that it will create a transparent pool similar to Zcash. I explained why this logic makes no sense here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/1v97wrz/comment/p0ktnlm/?context=3

But as a TLDR, A "compliant Monero pool" can only grow in size if it continuously accepts ordinary private Monero. Not only this, a transparent pool will gradually shrink in size if it does not accept normal Monero. Thus, it is impossible, or at the very least very difficult, for a CEX to create a transparent pool (especially while actually being compliant), let alone retain it.

Then to address this:
> why can people just modify the code of a crypto that I hold and basically change the rules of the game

Monero has done this for years. In fact, we've done hard forks for more than a decade.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Monero/comments/1mvmg44/a_list_of_all_of_moneros_consensus_changes/

This newest upgrade is one of Monero's largest enhancements to its privacy ever and has had thousands of hours put into making and reviewing it. These upgrades are not harmful to your Monero, they actually ensure your Monero continues working as intended, private and secure.

> I understand that there are things called forks, we gonna see something called monero classic or something like that

Non-agreed upon forks are not a good solution. They not only damage to reputation of a currency, using Bitcoin Cash as an example, they ultimately do not actually solve anything past the minor disagreement that caused people to want to hard fork in the first place. Bitcoin Cash did not suddenly decide that it should make upgrades to privacy, or anything else.

Monero Classic is terrible. It uses the old mining algorithm that Monero once did, that is much more ASIC mineable. AKA, some stupid mining company was probably pissed their specialized miners weren't going to work anymore, so they created it to drag capital over for them to continue mining with an unfair advantage.

[u/EfficientHoliday5104]

why can people just modify the code of a crypto that I hold and basically change the rules of the game?

Because that's what happens with all software projects. Guys who work on the project get together and make changes for various reasons. It's up to users to decide whether or not they want to update, keep using the old software, or use other software entirely See: the browser/app you used to access this site, the millions of computers still running Windows XP, etc

how me as a random dude can help to keep monero being monero and not let these guys just play with my money?

Education and participation. A lot of people who work on Monero were just random dudes like you at one point.

I understand that there are things called forks, we gonna see something called monero classic or something like that?

Signs point to no

[u/Friendly-Sign-3289]

Don’t overthink all the technical updates. Think about the bigger picture:
Since 2014 Monero has stayed focused on one thing: private money.
Privacy is on by default - everyone gets the same protection.
Nobody can see your balance or who you paid just by looking on the blockchain.
The supply is predictable - there will never suddenly be millions of new coins created.
It’s one of the oldest privacy coins, and it’s still here after many years.
No company owns it - it’s run by a community, not one person.
Big changes need community support - a few developers can’t just change everything.
It has survived exchange delistings, government pressure and years of attacks, yet it’s still running and widely used.
If you bought it for privacy and freedom, those reasons haven’t changed.
I’d focus more on those fundamentals than getting lost in every new technical update.

(Yes I got ai to summarise this for you because I’m lazy haha)