The author points out that while they were not directly involved during this time, they recall the tensions surrounding it. They highlight that the way changes to Bitcoin are made has been traditionally through community consensus, code merges, and activation signaling. However, the author questions if this approach remains the only viable path given the current landscape of Bitcoin, which differs significantly from the era of the block size war.

The author suggests that the nature of threats to Bitcoin has evolved; unlike the past where external entities attempted to influence Bitcoin's development, today there are interests vested in preventing protocol evolution to benefit from regulatory capture and custodial services. This shift, according to the author, necessitates a different response from Bitcoin's 'immune system'—a metaphor for its self-governing and protective mechanisms.

Furthermore, the author discusses the concept of establishing user consensus in Bitcoin. There is an acknowledgment of the risks associated with publishing signaling and activation clients as a means to gauge consensus. Despite the concerns expressed by others in the community, the author defends their stance on the utility of such mechanisms in the absence of centralized figures of authority. They remain open to alternative methods of achieving consensus but underscore that currently, there is no other established mechanism.

Lastly, the author comments on the perceived risks of minority soft forks within the Bitcoin network. Emphasizing Bitcoin's inherent characteristic as a risk management network, they argue that participants are capable of making informed decisions regarding the software they run. The author maintains that if a substantial majority of miners signal for a soft fork, individual participants still retain the autonomy to evaluate and decide whether to trust the changes introduced. In their view, these risks are part of the acceptable dynamics within Bitcoin’s ecosystem and do not warrant overprotection by certain defenders of the network.