Latency and Privacy in Lightning

The discussion revolves around the prioritization of privacy over speed within the development of a network, emphasizing the importance of privacy as a fundamental aspect. The developers chose onion routing from the project's inception to ensure that privacy and censorship resistance are core features, distinguishing this network from traditional payment rails which lack these properties. The stance on privacy is clear: it is favored over performance improvements that do not currently have a concrete use-case, underlining the belief that privacy should be the default behavior of the network to achieve adequate protection. This perspective is driven by the observation that most users may not realize the value of privacy until their personal information is compromised, challenging the notion that only those who have done something wrong need to worry about their privacy.

There is a strong conviction that building a network that provides open access to electronic payments worldwide, with an emphasis on privacy, censorship resistance, low fees, and reasonable latency, represents a significant achievement. The goal is not to create a faster version of existing payment networks but to focus on delivering real-world utility through privacy-focused services. The conversation touches upon the philosophical aspects of development choices within the network, highlighting the importance of being open to discussion and listening to user feedback while acknowledging that developers ultimately make personal decisions on what to focus on. The dialogue also mentions the challenges and trade-offs involved in working on an open, decentralized network, including delays in progress due to important discussions on features like attributable failures, indicating that such deliberations are valued over rushing to release new features.