Update 07/01
The hard fork went through, 0.5 is only a memory now. Coming next (07/04): the decision between 0.8.2 and 0.8.3
@arhag created a post showing the differences for curation payouts (numbers are in MVESTS as seen at steemd.com/@accountname)
The two versions will split in 2 chains at the first payout, so we're in a very difficult situation. An official post by the Steemit team has been announced to come out today, keep your eyes open!
Original post 06/29:
Those that are not in slack may have missed the discussions completely, and even those who are present certainly had a hard time following everything.
This post is to update you all on the latest developments regarding the pending hard fork.
Witnesses are running 3 different versions at the moment. The hard fork is scheduled for Thu, 30 Jun 2016 14:00:00 UTC (visit https://steemd.com/witnesses for details).
17 blocks have to be produced with a version after the scheduled time for it to become active, that means at least 15 of the top 19 witnesses (plus the runner up and the miner).
The different versions are:
0.5.x: the current version. none of the announced changes will happen if this version wins
0.8.2: contains all the announced changes except discussion rewards (because they may incentivize spam), with retroactive changes to curation rewards (see the two curves at @steemitblog/latest-curation-reward-solution).
0.8.3: like 0.8.2, but curation rewards are only changed after June 24th, for curations before that date payouts follow the old algorithm. Some of those getting more than with 0.8.2 because of that offered to donate parts of the difference to the ones receiving very low rewards if this version goes through.
It is a very hard decision, both routes will cause anger with someone. Choose your witnesses wisely!