Comment by johnmw

I was sad to read this and thought "this is why we can't have nice things."

But following the links was fun and educational:

"The end goal here [of the Tea protocol] is the creation of a robust economy around open source software that accurately and proportionately rewards developers based on the value of their work through complex web3 mechanisms, programmable incentives, and decentralized governance."

Which lead to:

"The term cobra effect was coined by economist Horst Siebert based on an anecdotal occurrence in India during British rule. The British government, concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi, offered a bounty for every dead cobra. Initially, this was a successful strategy; large numbers of snakes were killed for the reward. Eventually, however, people began to breed cobras for the income. When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped. When cobra breeders set their snakes free, the wild cobra population further increased."

Which lead to:

"Goodhart's law is an adage often stated as, 'When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.'"