Ninety-one votes. One opening bell.

The launch poll asked which time was most convenient. Its four choices were expressed in GMT, and 91 votes were recorded. The October 13, 03:00 GMT option received 39 votes, or 42.9%, the largest share. A modest forum mechanism helped coordinate the start of a network with no geographic headquarters.

The numbers make the beginning feel human. Ninety-one is not the population of the future Litecoin community, and a forum poll is not a complete census of prospective miners. It is a preserved record of one practical decision among people who had found the project early enough to participate.

The editorial lesson is about preparation rather than spectacle. Open participation requires more than announcing that a door is open. People need a time, a working client and enough information to arrive. A new community project can learn from that structure without pretending a poll alone guarantees fairness. Publish the choices, make the timetable explicit and leave a record that later readers can examine.