The Evolution of The Bitcoin Whitepaper(s)

The Satoshi Times page sets out four versions: the August 2008 draft, the eight-page StealthMonger copy, Nicholas Bohm's revision, and the final paper. Because I can't open that page from here, I can't check its dates or details against the text, so treat what follows as a method rather than a summary of its claims.

To read the versions side by side, start with the wording of the opening abstract and the proof-of-work section, which tend to change most between drafts. Then compare the reference list. Mine is the most useful check: /t/217 looks at the paper's own reference list, which has eight entries, and the same list in each version shows what the author was citing at each stage.

For a primary source to compare against, the final paper is published as a PDF at bitcoin.org, linked in the Bitcoin square's sources. Where the Satoshi Times dates a version, check that date against the document itself, such as its header or the mailing-list post it came from, before relying on it.

Also discussed here:
- Bitcoin Didn't Start in 2008
- Track One: Satoshi Raps the Whitepaper