There’s a maxim in some journalism circles that a reporter’s job is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. A great editor I worked for, Dave Mitchell, had this sign above his desk at the Point Reyes Light. I was reminded of this sentiment this week when the news broke that an Ethereal event in Wyoming rescinded its invitation to reporters to attend. The organizer told the New York Times the decision was made to create “a safe space” for attendees to exchange ideas. (I was quoted in the Times story.)

There are several problems with this decision. The event was organized by the crypto-media company DeCrypt and ConsenSys Mesh – both heavyweights in the Ethereum world that trace their roots to Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin. If you know the history of Ethereum you know it has been a battle from day one. Differing opinions abounded not just concerning the tech but how the project should be structured, leadership roles for developers versus non-developers, who deserved to be paid and all the way up to forking the network in the wake of the 2016 DAO hack.

Ethereum has been stronger for these conflicts. They tend to bring about the best ideas and hold dear to the ethos of public blockchains being open and welcoming to all, both in source code and community participation. To circle back, it appears lately that some in the Ethereum community believe the press is there to afflict their comfort. I haven’t seen this insofar as there being any deviation from the general malaise and scorn that most of the mainstream press throws crypto’s way.

Perception is all that’s sometimes needed, of course. But rescinding press access to an Ethereum event is a move in the wrong direction. It puts Ethereum in retreat, which is not somewhere I ever want to see it go. The organizers referred to the event as a retreat and not a public conference, but this misses the point. The press was invited, then dis-invited. That’s the issue.

There may be bad apples in the crypto press corps, but not many. And they tend to get weeded out over time as they burn bridges, a nice market-driven result. It’s also a lost opportunity to educate some reporters. There is a lot to keep up with in crypto, it never hurts to constantly reach out to journalists to make sure they understand how to cover new developments.

Lastly, the idea of a safe space – forgive me – triggered me.

There are no safe spaces here. Regulators in Ontario, Canada are turning over to the police public tweets from crypto leaders for suspicion of subverting local laws. National politicians in the U.S. are actively against crypto in all forms and would like to see it banned – looking at you Brad Sherman and Elizabeth Warren. Gary Gensler is head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has crypto in his sights and is as shrewd and ruthless as you will find at the head of a regulatory agency. His Wall Street background at Goldman Sachs meant he had zero fucks to give when bankers came to him during the Dodd-Frank rulemaking when he was head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Gensler won’t have a safe space waiting for you if his enforcement division comes knocking.

The peer-to-peer web3 blockchain crypto genie is out of the bottle, make no mistake. But it needs to keep its edge, it needs to continue to battle harden itself. Taking conferences behind closed doors isn’t the way to do this. Professional pushback, scrutiny and tough questions from the press should be welcomed and taken in good faith. I’ve attended and been on panel discussions at Ethereal events in the past, and it makes me sad that they’ve made this decision. I hope they reconsider. There is still time before the event takes place in early March.