# Gavin Andresen
# 2013-01-22 22:14:16
# https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=137866.msg1471782#msg1471782

RE: what's my role in the core team:  I try to do whatever needs to get done, that isn't getting done.  Today I'm cross-compiling the 0.8 release and testing it on Windows, trying to track down a crash-at-exit issue and an excessive-memory-use issue that seems to only happen on Windows. @p{par}

When I'm not doing nitty-gritty things like that, I try to work on big, what-is-most-likely-to-make-Bitcoin-succeed problems. @p{par}

RE: why pay me a salary?  "why pay for the cow if you can get the milk for free?" @p{par}

I told myself (and my wife) a couple of years ago that I wasn't going to sink dollars into Bitcoin@p{--} that I'd sink time into it, and that I'd EARN bitcoins by starting a bitcoin-related startup. @p{par}

Well, there's enough core development work to keep me busy full time. I wasn't very happy doing core development work AND trying to make ClearCoin happen; I'm happier when I can concentrate on one thing.  Besides, having my own startup introduces potential conflicts of interest (ClearCoin sparked conspiracy theories about why I push for multisig transactions so hard). @p{par}

RE: what if I get hit by a bus? @p{par}

Then the other core developers will carry on without me. I'm not indispensable. @p{par}

RE: Why should you join the Foundation?  What is in it for you, personally? @p{par}

That is a hard question, because you can "free ride" @p{--} if we're successful making Bitcoin successful, everybody will benefit. Personally, I don't respect people with that kind of "I'm not going to do it because I'm sure somebody else will" attitude, and I think in the long run the people who take the risks and roll up their sleeves and do the work needed tend to win in the end. @p{par}

Really, the main benefit of joining the Foundation is it is an organization full of people who @p{(bf}are@p{bf)} rolling up their sleeves and doing the work. If you're smart, you'll realize that networking with those types of people is to your long-term benefit. @p{par}