I was looking for something in bitcointalk archives and I came across this 2011 thread where people first start to wonder if Satoshi is gone. It's amazing to read how people were thinking about Satoshi's role at the time. Also, it contains the very first Satoshi impersonator.
Satoshi posts for the last time on bitcointalk on 13 December 2010.
On 12 January, kiba starts a thread with this:
Guys, I think Satoshi left us. Last active: December 13.
The first responses are mostly jokes (He's Amish, no internet, planning world domination, works for the CIA, a p2p virtual entity) but then the next day jgarzik posts
It has now been exactly one month since satoshi was "last active" on these forums.
And grondilu posts
He hasn't shown any life sign since december 15th. We have good reasons to worry. Has anyone heard from him recently ? PS. I also have to point out that his disappearance occured only a few days after the wikileaks article mentionning bitcoin ...
But most people seem to think it's nothing too different. MoonShadow posts:
Winter break, perhaps? Working on his thesis? Or simply watching from another identity? Or too busy coding to bother with the debate. Perhaps he just decided to sell some of his bitcoin now that each is worth so much more than when he started, and felt he deserved a holiday to someplace warm. You people worry too much.
This is one of the stupidest thread of the century.
In true bitcoiner fashion, bittersweet posts
Fortunately Bitcoin works just fine without Satoshi.
And then in response to an argument about whether Satoshi is male or female
Yeah, I prefer to imagine Satoshi is a hot girl
On 14 January, brocktice posts
And now Gavin has it in github anyway. Whoever Satoshi is, (s)he published the paper and the code, and we can take it from here without any further interaction.
2011.01.13 <gavinandresen> I got email from Satoshi about a tricky bug today. He's just busy.
Quite a few people express relief, and the thread quickly descends into a ridiculous discussion of anagrams for Satoshi Nakamoto. There is one particularly good story by ShadowOfHarbinger explaining how Satoshi is actually the Terminator.
By 28 February, after Satoshi still hasn't returned to bitcointalk, people start getting worried again:
Maybe we should come to serious talking again. I mean, has anyone seen any life sign of satoshi ? Accidents happen all the time ...
To which ribuck responds with a surprisingly prescient answer:
It's fairly clear that Satoshi planned this absence. Before he became inactive, he asked Gavin to take over the build process. He also removed the part of the code that allowed him to send a PGP-signed message that would put Bitcoin clients into safe mode. So I don't think Satoshi's absence is due to having met with an accident. It would be quite OK if Satoshi has chosen to melt away into the background, and if his identity is never discovered. The idea of an invention as great as Bitcoin having been unleashed by an anonymous benefactor is quite cool. It will lead to some great speculation in the future though. Is Satoshi Hal Finney? Is Satoshi Peter Gutmann? Is Satoshi Bruce Schneier? Is Satoshi Gavin Andreessen?
ShadowOfHarbinger responds:
I mean what creator would resign completely from watching his creation grow ? After some time passes, he surely will show up and start developing Bitcoin himself again under different credentials. The point is, the guy just wants some privacy. And this is good, because that shows clearly that it's not the fame he is after, but ideals. IMHO we should respect that and leave his identity alone.
Which leads to more (mostly ridiculous) guesses about who Satoshi is: Bill Gates?, Ben Bernake?, Julian Assange?, Neal Stephenson.
And we get the first Satoshi impersonator on 10 March. The impersonator quickly gives everyone instructions:
Why don't you guys believe I am Satoshi? I am here to give direction to the client and the bitcoin network. First, we must use 1024-bit encryption to secure the network from Russian hackers. Next, we must contact Barack Obama to replace the American dollar with Bitcoin. Finally, I want you to stand up right now and yell, "Bitcoin!!!" at the top of your lungs. This works best in a cubicle work environment. Once we accomplish these little things I will give further direction. Satoshi out! P.S. I am Japanese.
I wonder if Craig Wright has a future in claiming to be this first impersonator of Satoshi (although, the impersonator clearly had a great sense of humor, so it may be equally difficult to prove...). Also, I wonder if Frankie MacDonald was inspired by this post...
The thread mostly peters out after this, although the 2011 Tohoku tsunami that hits Japan generates a few somewhat illogical concerns about Satoshi.
What struck me most about this thread is the way that even in 2011, when I'm sure Bitcoin must have felt much more ephemeral, most bitcoiners were firm on the idea that it did not matter if Satoshi disappeared, and even that it was a good thing.