1. This was a cool project.
2. You can not get a valid patent on something you already put into the public domain. (the system is somewhat broken, you may very well be able to get a patent, but it would not hold up)
I hadn't heard that (and I've been doing my own research for something else), but there is a 12 month window from the time you start using it in public, that's interesting

The Top 5 Mistakes Inventors make with their Invention - IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
The first step toward commercializing an invention is usually pursuing a patent. On the way to a patent there are mistakes inventors make unwittingly, some of which will ultimately make it impossible to obtain a patent.