+1 theymos.  Don't use this patch, it'll make you incompatible with the network, to your own detriment.

We can phase in a change later if we get closer to needing it.

Satoshi just said it can be changed, so technically the network is capable.

You just described a whole-network upgrade.  I'd call that an incompatible change

The effort to raise the transaction rate limit is the same as the effort to change the fundamental nature of bitcoins:  convince the vast majority to upgrade.

If we upgrade now, we don't have to convince as much people later if the bitcoin economy continues to grow.

Only recently I learned about this block size limit.

I understand not putting any limit might allow flooding. On the other hand, the smaller your block, the faster it will propagate to network (I suppose.. or is there "I've got a block!" sort of message sent before the entire content of the block?), so miners do have an interest on not producing large blocks.

I'm very uncomfortable with this block size limit rule. This is a "protocol-rule" (not a "client-rule"), what makes it almost impossible to change once you have enough different softwares running the protocol. Take SMTP as an example... it's unchangeable.

I think we should schedule a large increase in the block size limit right now while the protocol rules are easier to change. Maybe even schedule an infinite series of increases, as we can't really predict how many transactions there will be 50 years from now.

Honestly, I'd like to get rid of such rule. I find it dangerous. But I can't think of an easy way to stop flooding without it, though.

Hmm Satoshi wrote that over two years ago and we still aren't actually close to needing it yet.

Still I guess it mostly depends on how many more years it is going to be before someone actually goes out there and signs up Walmart or President's Choice or A&P (are they still around?) or Sainsbury's or something and actually shows us a little of this vast flood of users they keep yelling is going to descend upon us any moment now.

So far it seems possible the volume of ranting about vast numbers of users coming at us is actually inversely proportional to the number of users the ranter actually has signed up lined up ready to bring aboard.

-MarkM-

off-topic and I am sorry but I could not help myself. Why did satoshi ever stop posting visiting us?

Isn't a huge huge amount of the increase in transactions so far attributed to what seems to be basically an app designed expressly for the purpose of artifically/frivolously spamming the blockchain with frivolous/trivial, even "dust spam", transactions?

If so it seems more to show desperation on the part of some bigger bigger bigger agenda than any real need. Especially the dust, that is pretty much an attack really, even if intended to highlight a problem existing with tiny value transactions so it can maybe be addressed.

-MarkM-

Here soon blockchain.info is going to roll soo fast you can not even see the transactions.