Seems well written for those who might be considering the role of Witness @timcliff. Your thoughts certainly are derived from a lot of first-hand experience.

"... I'm a pragmatic optimist."

Yep. While I self-identify as a "realistic optimist," for all practical purposes, they are the same thing. I have never been a fan of delusional thinking ...

I still have a number of unanswered questions stemming from the "Big Split," part of which led to my removing of support for you as a Witness. But ... It really doesn't matter now. It is done.

For most of my "journey" inside these fascinating blockchain "worlds," I have supported you as one of our all-important Witnesses. Accordingly, I have changed my voting here on Hive and am now, once again, supporting you, with the +31 MVests under my control.

Hope to see you back in the Top 20 in the near future!