by @cryptoctopus and @clains
Last week we had the first edition of this series. As stated, the goal is to inform the community on what the people who are the backbone of Steemit are doing, to glorify the good actors and to expose the not so good.
Apart from those updates, remember that they had a hardfork this week that requires work on their part.
Caveat
This was brought forth in the comment in the first edition and it's important for everyone to take this into consideration:
The payout of Witness is more akin to stock options than a salary or fee for service, because it is tied to the future value of Steem and can't be cashed out (more than 1% per week). This is a good thing because it means the interests of witnesses are aligned with the interests of Steem in terms of long term value (and increasingly so as witnesses are more vested). However, it does mean that you can't reasonably say to witnesses, "You are being paid all this money, so you better go and spend it every week" because no one is receiving that in actual, spendable, payments. Expecting strong qualifications, competence, engagement, attention and effective representation are entirely reasonable expectations however.
There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty as to how much they will truly profit in $USD.
Witness Update
@joseph
I just got on the top 19 list a few days ago. I have done some work before even getting there. But for the next few weeks I am putting a plan to hire and send Steemit reps to the Content Marketing World Conference and Expo. I was at first thinking of Vegas or LA tech expos, but I found out one of the biggest expos is going to be held right here in my own backyard in Cleveland Ohio.
I will submit this plan proposal to the community for support and sponsorship.
The conference will host 5000+ attendees and over 200 Guest speakers from around the world. With 100's of big companies participating.
@riverhead
Really just the one answer: I've implemented steemit.chat so the community has an unrestricted chat engine (no history limits, no fees, better day control, etc.) Cass has updated some of the look and feel of steemit.chat to make it feel more like home.
@bhuz
Hi clains. As you can check, I was voted in only few days ago, so I don't think anyone can really expect something from me yet. Anyway I plan to make a post about my intentions if I keep the witness in the top #19 - https://steemit.com/findandreward/@bhuz/let-s-find-and-reward-steem-s-contributors
@wackou
1 ) What have you done this week?
I accidentally deleted my seed node (d’oh!) so had to rebuild it from scratch took advantage of this to dust off my deploy script implemented world map view of connected peers, see: http://seed.steemnodes.com/peers
(was a long time in the making, had to clean it up)
2 ) What are you working on?
want to release my deploy script once it’s cleanup and more versatile (ie: can deploy seed nodes, api nodes, witness nodes, etc.) and preparing a post with a list of bounties that I’m gonna pay out of my witness pay
mostly work on the bts_tools and the deploy script, security-related
3 ) How it's going to benefit the ecosystem?
It benefits the ecosystem because witnesses are able to do better their (sysadmin) job, with fewer efforts -> can lead to better reaction times in case the network has problems (forks, client crashing, etc…)
@nethyb
Hi clains, I've been pretty good at contributing to the 'witness update log' so you can see a good history of what I've done and are doing to help steem etc...
The key project I'm working on now is a collaborative effort with xeroc to provide an easy way for bloggers to start using steemit withough having to change any of their blowing workflow - see https://steemit.com/steem/@au1nethyb1/easy-steeming-for-55-million-blog-posts-per-month#@au1nethyb1/re-au1nethyb1-easy-steeming-for-55-million-blog-posts-per-month-20160531t141716006z for some background - the tool is called streemain (streemian.com) and uses the native capability of most blogging platforms - wordpress etc to provide rss feeds. (edited)
Specifically this week we've been continuing to test the registration process for new users - do call out to your readers if anyone wants to be a beta-tester and tell them to get in touch with me - I've got beta registrations codes and would be really keen to get their perspective on the signup process and what makes sense and what does not...
Apart from that this week - I've just updated the amazon EC2 servers that host the witness and seed nodes that I run to keep up with the demands that the incredible growth in steemit has put on the underlying blockchain infrastructure.
@roadscape
Updates to Steemd.com:
New tx pages: https://steemd.com/tx/c222c8419461ecd3b8df6a1541f9e3ccebcb0f5f
-New block pages: https://steemd.com/b/3345678 (incomplete, waiting for a node API change)
-To help with account recovery/debugging, added owner key history page and filed an issue to get recovery --operations returned in user account history.
-Node updates to keep up with the latest versions & improvements.
-Minor UI improvements to witnesses page, distribution page
-Misc "easter egg" reports from the last few weeks
-https://steemd.com/checkpoints (witness fork tool)
-https://steemd.com/tools (liquidity rewards)
-https://steemd.com/richlist
Next for Steemd.com
-I'll continue working through a backlog of feature requests. Also starting to strategize potential next projects, which include block indexing, tx/op indexing, and post indexing.
-The main goal of my work on steemd.com is to share interesting internal blockchain data and process it in useful ways for users, developers, and witnesses. And of course to show the world how awesome our blockchain is.
@abit
1 ) What have you done this week?
- code review for v0.12.x
- Upgrade nodes to 0.12.x and testing
- Detected an too-big-transaction issue and reported to the dev team
- Chinese community development
-> Communications in WeChat and QQ groups
-> Write Chinese tutorials
-> Review the Chinese translation of white paper (not finished)
2 ) What are you working on?
- Chinese community development
3 ) How it's going to benefit the ecosystem?
- By code review and node monitoring, we guarantee the system is working fine. China is a big market. More adoption in China means better growth of the ecosystem.
@arhag
1 ) This past week, July 17, 2016 to July 23, 2016, I have worked on the following:
I have reviewed the code changes made by the devs for the 0.12.0 hardfork, in which several issues were discovered during its development that I pointed out and the devs corrected prior to the final release. In addition, I submitted a few other bugs to GitHub discovered in the Steem code (some of which have been fixed already in 0.12.0 and some which still need to be fixed):
-The posting authorities for the first three special steem accounts were incorrect, which allowed anyone to post under those names (e.g. https://steemd.com/test/@temp/test1). This has been fixed with this commit.
-@void discovered a bug with the JSON serializer that I quickly investigated the root cause of and proposed a solution. This solution was implemented in time for version 0.12.0.
-After trying to investigate the root causes of some user complaints, I discovered two problems with the cli_wallet. First, the way it tries to determine which keys are necessary for signing a transaction prevents certain operations from succeeding when according to the documentation they should succeed (https://github.com/steemit/steem/issues/165). Second, it incorrectly serializes user-specified enums in such a way that using
update_account_auth_keywith a incorrect role string will cause the wallet to think they are trying to modify the owner authority (https://github.com/steemit/steem/issues/172). This could potentially be quite dangerous for the user if their wallet has their owner key imported. These two bugs have not yet been fixed.
-I submitted this issue to both request the code be fixed to match the documentation and to hopefully obtain a more convenient API for witnesses that regularly update their chain properties and block signing key that will lead to slightly less blockchain bloat.
Finally, after several months of nagging the core devs about the need for machine-generated passwords by default, they have finally (seemingly due to recent brute force hack by the whitehat hacker) been convinced to update their password policy. I am very happy with the change, but I think there is more to be done. So I have written out my detailed plan for what further changes I believe are necessary to further improve security for the users of the Steemit website.
2 ) What are you working on?
I plan to continue to review any code changes made by the devs for bugs and problems. In addition, aligned with my goal to prioritize my efforts on security features/tools for the time being due to the recent hacks, I am also working on the design for a future blockchain feature that enables: a last will and testament / dead-man switch smart contract that distributes funds / mechanism in a predefined way in order to allow a user to recover their account with the help of a recovery agent after some period of inactivity (as a last resort mechanism to help people recover accounts even if they lose all their passwords) as well as securely give away their wealth to their beneficiaries after their death.
3 ) How is it going to benefit the ecosystem?
My ongoing efforts to review code changes by the devs have caught bugs or potential issues before they went live which could have possibly been a major inconvenience for the Steem community if the devs were not able to catch it in further testing (requiring for example another emergency hardfork right after to fix the issue). It also goes without saying how discovering and investigating (and in some cases fixing) various bugs in the steem codebase helps the ecosystem. In addition, my efforts to focus on better security features and tools can benefit users by better protecting their funds from theft (or their posts and reputation from defacement). The password policy changes implemented by Steemit (that I have been pushing for months) are a great step in the right direction, and I believe the other changes I have outlined in my recent blog post on security would further help protect users if implemented by Steemit. I think the last will and testament / dead-man switch features that I am designing will eventually also help improve security and let users rest a little easier knowing that a mistake of losing their owner password need not necessarily lead to permanent loss of their funds or account, and as an additional bonus, that should something bad happen to them, their loved ones will not be left poor due to being forever locked out of accessing their wealth on the blockchain.
@jabbasteem (coder behind steemle.com)
1.a) working on steemle
1.b) Asked ned and vandeberg for an update of the post payout and voting history (get_content) api extension suggestion i've made a couple of weeks ago. Currently all votes that are made in the following payout round are replacing the old votes with the same account name which is bad. Old votes should be displayed seperatly in array without being overwritten by new ones. If a post had more than two payouts then you cant see the past payouts before the last payout in the get_content query and also not what the amount was. All payouts should be displayed in an array including the payout amount. These changes could benefit 3rd party devs very much. It is very much needed for steemle to work properly.
2.) Working on a Smart voting bot.
3.) As far as Steemle goes. Steemle won't be continued to be developed unless the api changes get implemented.
@steempty
sorry i couldn't work on something new recently and in the near future, some personal matters to take care of. you can see in my github and in my witness post what i did until now. I hope i can continue to contribute soon...for now i am out of top 19, from next week i won't be available at all for couple of weeks but i'll be back and continue my projects ASAP.
@xeldal
Most of my time has been spent maintaining and enhancing market making and arbitrage bots for all steem related markets; connecting the markets. Like every other witnesses I've upgraded witness/seed/backup/redundancies etc. and assessed conditional witness parameters for proper operation. I've provided feedback for market mechanics and economic incentives. Applied earned SP for curation to best benefit the overall success of the platform. Scouted and sponsored various top quality blogger/youtubers/facebook content creators. New money, new interest, new users; stable/liquid/connected markets; reliable/transparent/trustworthy/fully dedicated service; theses are the benefits. Any funds earned have been used to provide liquidity to the markets. If you have any other specific questions don't hesitate to ask. : )
@bitcube
-Fixed Steem 0.9.x - 0.11.x compilation problems on Windows VC++.
-Released Windows Wallet for v11.0 and 0.12.0
-Released guide for Recovering hacked accounts with Windows Wallet. See bitcube's Steemit's blog."
@datasecuritynode
as much as I understand and appreciate the effort.. I can't go saying what we are doing publicly as of yet you will notice though that right now.. datasecuritynode has not withdrawn any funds .. unlike most witnesses it has not 'powered down'
@smooth
My ongoing initiatives are:
- Provide free accounts for members of the cryptocurrency community who do not have or do not want to link reddit/facebook accounts via the web signup.
- Provide direct support and individual and public education for both new and existing users in slack, steemit, bitcointalk and twitter.
- Funding and co-directing marketing and onboarding efforts with Kushed.
- Development of services adding value to the SBD ecosystem.
- Providing funding for market making in the internal and external markets to enhance liquidity.
@complexring
I've reviewed the latest code, attempted to stop centralization of liquidity rewards funds to one person, provided insight into liquidity reward algorithms and how calculation of points need to be be fair and not favor large stake holders, hired a web developer to work on steemgrants and steemscholarships the Mutual Aid Societies that I proposed to sponsor as part of my witness funds, was aware of my hosting service losing electricity immediately and asked several members to unvote me while my hosting provider was fixing the issue, flag spam, provide insightful help to new members on steemit and on slack ...i will do a post later but rest assured there is much going on in the background that is being done analyzing security concerns from a mathematical perspect, etc.
@blocktrades
1- this week we got SBD -> STEEM re-enabled after we fixed the delayednode code for the steem client (get_transaction_history code would give us bad data about transaction hashes temporarily and cause us to see a transaction as two separate ones),
2- we also reported the error in the get_transaction_history code to Dan (who was able to fix it),
3- we updated our ethereum clients after the ethereum hardfork so that our users can buy steem with eth (this was more work than it sounds, since w have custom modifications to geth to allow us to provide unique input addresses to each customer),
4- we're working with Dan to figure out the problems exchanges are experiencing with occasional transfer failures,
5- finishing up getting OPEN.SBD trading on bitshares (only thing remaining is to update the web wallet code, but we've got some new changes that have held that back), 6) adding support for sending memos with steem when doing withdrawals from OpenLedger (this will allow direct withdrawals from OL to bittrex and poloniex, for example)
Other than that, just normal support and assistance to a lot of steem users who are new to crypto, steem, and bitshares. This weekend we're going to make some tweaks to the network code to see if they can help with some of the transfer fails, but they should make the network more solid in any case.
As to the benefits:
1- increasing reliability of the steem client is important for exchange support (and means users will have fewer problems with withdrawals from exchanges),
2- the memo changes will make it easier to send funds back and forth between exchanges without having to go thru a steem wallet,
3- support for ETH means more funds to support the Steem development,
4- adding SBD to OL means a 3rd exchange supporting the currency
@pharesim
I worked out the anti spam bot with anyx. He coded most of it already, so i paid him something and will enhance it where necessary. Curation, hard forks and stuff don't need to be mentioned i assume. I do a lot of support. Providing answers, scripts, whatever necessary, on several different channels...
Working on Pevo. We now have a dedicated chat for Pevo, where we will gather scientists helping us to design the optimal publishing experience https://chat.pevo.science. We partnered with @coinbitgold (#academiaspotlight, chinese science community), check it out here
I also looked at svk's node.js lib and will port it to native js, think i got most together for it. That's basically it for this week.
@svk
I have updated witness, seed node, steemex.com, I answered a lot of questions concerning steem-rpc and steemjs-lib. I’ve also helped with code review at steemit.com
I have also updated the market at steemit.com and fixed various issues.
Missing Updates:
It doesn't mean that they aren't doing anything but somehow they haven't felt it was important to give an update to the community.
Witness Proposal
@originate
Read his witness proposal here: https://steemit.com/witness-category/@originate/witness-application-for-originate
@anyx (developer behind @cheetah , the beloved anti-plagiary bot)
Read his witness proposal here: https://steemit.com/witness-category/@anyx/witness-application-anyx
@gazm
Read his witness proposal here: https://steemit.com/steemhelp/@gazm/witness-proposal
Comments
Those response were gathered by @clains manually and very few actually made a public update on their blog. This is disappointing. For the amount of rewards they are getting I was (@cryptoctopus) expecting a bit more.
Nevertheless, if you read through the update you can see that some of them made some very important work in the backend, especially when it comes to security. Those change may not be apparent for most people but they are fundamental to the long term viability of the platform.
Vote with your conscience
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
Does some of the update above inspire confidence and competence to you? Please vote for them. Since, it's the first real edition of this, I would ask you not to be too harsh (as we are) since it is really the first update. We will increase the pressure for detailed updates as time goes on. We will demand competence and RESULTS from our witness to ensure the best long term success of this platform.
Wow, this is a super high value post, thank you, I'm sure I'll be reading this again and again.
EDIT: Actually what I'd love to know is what the witnesses think about the 12 hour/30 day payouts. I'm worried that the Trending page, may start to be populated by old posts that gain traction, meaning they will be up there for 30 days.
Is there anyway to tweak the Trending page (if need be) and not effect the rewards?
Cg
I was thinking the same and opened a bug for this on GitHub. The Devs responded and it seems this will be resolved via a new Feature:
https://steemit.com/steem/@riensen/new-steemit-feature-trending-30-days-category-will-be-added
Hi!I am deng,Welcome to my space
https://steemit.com/@changli-deng
Yeah, that could most definitely become an issue. I already don't like how it lists posts.
https://steemit.com/witness/@cryptoctopus/witnesses-exposed-what-witnesses-has-done-for-us-this-week-first-edition read the first edition
Have a read through this. It should help you out.
https://steemit.com/steemitguide/@jeissonquiroga/a-full-steemit-user-s-guide-to-steem-witnesses
yes, cos they make so much money
and they provide a service without which you and I wouldn't have this conversation without.
Can someone point me in the direction of some bot guides and more info on the piston.rocks api. I've been out of the development game for a while and used to use a proprietary language for my job. So hopefully picking up and learning JS and python won't be too difficult.
btw my status has changed since clains asked me.
1.) I will bring back the stats on steemle plus i will add a couple of new stuff.
I will just not display the "posts payout history" since that is still a problem for me to figure out.
I also found out that you now really cant vote again on posts you have previously voted on after payout. Which also solves part of my previous problem.
2.) I have asked some of my voters to unapprove my witness so im not an active witness anymore.
I think the witness system needs to be changed. One day you get around 800 $ a month , then several thousands a week. Witnesses should get payed it SD and there should be an option to set the maximum SD amount for a witness.
If the amount gets changed then the witness should lose its votes.
I didn't catch the first edition, but I'm headed back to read it now that I know it exists. Thanks for keeping everyone updated and putting it into a newsletter type of post. Eternal upvote.
"but I'm headed back to read it now that I know it exists."
and exist it shall, forever on the block-chain! :)
Which is really convenient because last night involved a little too much wine;)
Thank you, thank you so much for following up and posting this detailed list. This is some of the most transparent information I've seen to date on the happenings within this community.
As someone who's also been working hard on steem related projects I've felt in somewhat of a bubble. As much time as I spend here, I still had no idea what anyone was really doing or helping with. I completely understand it, when people have time to breathe, they don't have time to talk to everyone (me included).
This is some of the most valuable information I think I've ever seen on steemit.
Great work!
It's important to remember that this is a shared resource, and expecting transparency and accountability from those performing witness functions is essential to have a successful venture.
Witnesses who consistently fail to communicate with the community should have it reflected negatively in their votes.
Thanks for all the effort required to make these posts.
Sorry for missing this. I think I need to give a quick update here.
You believe that?
Hello @clains, I think this is a great initiative. I have always stated that Witnesses play a very important role in the growth of steemit. Because they are voted in and they are getting paid a very good amount of money they should be held accountable by the community.
Having said this, feel free to check out my witness post, I am only a back-up witness (currently in the 42 spot) but I still do my best to help steemit grow. My focus is to get the spanish-speaking community together and promote the platform in latin american countries where steemit can be a valuable source of extra income for people in need.
Wow, this is an awesome post! It's always great to see what is going on behind the scenes with steemit development!
This is why this network will succeed. High value post.
great post, and i like your series. this is very helpful, so the witnesses are a key component of the ecosystem, and they secure the integrity of the steemit blockchain and system?
Isn't @masteryoda a witness too?
Not voted in atm. But it can change rapidly. Only top 20 are active:
https://steemd.com/witnesses (lafona just came in though!)
To expand on that a bit, anyone can be a witness if you run a properly-configured node and get just a single vote (even just yourself). However, only the top 19 witnesses are considered primary or full-time witnesses who sign a block (and get a reward) during each round of 21 blocks (63 seconds).
Why do you want to do expand on that a bit, anyone can be a witness if you run a properly-configured node and get just a single vote (even just yourself) so much?
Regarding @smooth
Why is there @smooth-b @smooth-c @smooth-d etc
Seems a bit strange
I sometimes use them for some automated processes, trading strategies, and to organize funds.
@smooth I am voting for you as a witness , After Ive seen you downvote this vegas girls showing her boobs to win some money while every other whale went on ignoring the matter You won all my respect, all of it , all of it take it its yours all yours lol. Respect!
Thank you for the words of support
Interesting gossip: .
This is great info because it gives us peace of mind.
Cheers,
Thanks for the all the hardwork, and keeping us updated.
love the news, hope really soon have more time to get into it 8]
Thank you
nice to see the man working for steemit :) good job :)
This is good work. Transparency will continue to build trust and success.
I agree. It is nice to have the type of transparency that steem has and blockchain in general.
I love the fact that steemit is growing around me. Its like a child, but far more interesting and without the shitty nappies :) #Winning
Such witness, many witnesses.
I honestly wished I understand what exactly a witness is, does and what are the qualifications to become one? Cough
https://steemit.com/witness/@cryptoctopus/witnesses-exposed-what-witnesses-has-done-for-us-this-week-first-edition - Especially read the comment of @smooth
I did. Thank you. I am now reading the post.
@cryptoctopus I am wondering do you have to download some software to be a witness? I understand now that they are the backbone and probably are using their computers to power the blockchain?
Yes, it's like running a server with some software:
https://steemit.com/steemhelp/@steemed/become-a-steem-witness-essentials
@psylains so one must know how to run a server and know some programming language?
No programming is required but you do need to know how to run a server, secure it properly, manage updates, etc. Some scripting may be useful (for example many witnesses use custom scripts to update the feed or for other procedures).
Some may 'Some scripting may be useful (for example many witnesses use custom scripts to update the feed or for other procedures), but not all.
Like insider trading? haha I still don't get it.
Knowledge is power.
Very good! Very good work. Don't stop here. You could start to bring us individual posts about each one. (I could help if you want)
Keep going!
Great work @clains & @cryptoctopus keeping us up to date on the witnesses. Really appreciate this.
Many Thanks to all the Witnesses.
A thorough research!
Thank you @clains and @cryptoctopus. Out of all the interesting things I've read today, this was the most important (IMO). It's really encouraging to see such a dedicated group of people working hard for the long-term success of Steem.
What the witnesses are going to do with upvoting-bots army?
I've noticed yesterday that payout history became more detailed. That's very good!
Hey, nice work. Your post got in the TOP 10 Trending articles on Steemit. Because you're in the top 10 I've added your article to the Flipboard Steemit Trending Magazine for everyone to see it.
Nice post, I am very interested... Thanks
He was voted out most of the past few weeks. As I write this, I'm happy to see that he is back in. Hopefully that continues and Kushed provides updates going forward.
I would do your taxes any day. (-_-)/~~
Congratulation to the new witnesses, Thanks for his work!
I have managed to get an error message and now my steem miner won't work. Went from
to
I know I probably should not have tried running multiple instances.
Thanks for gathering all these updates. What a valuable post you've got us!
TL:DR Pokemon GO is much more fun than scrolling pages for minutes.
Very well, but if nothing is done here, is what will happen to steemit: Read this is very important https://steemit.com/steem/@stea90/read-very-important-why-the-market-volume-and-value-of-steem-continue-to-decrease-what-will-happen
Great job guys! It's show our central banks (validation & issuance of coins) are actively and positively participating in the growth of the community. I support this updates and upvote.
Hi @abit, sorry to disturb you. Do you think Steemit can overcome the Great Firewall of China in the near future? No doubt opening up the China market will be a wise move for the Steemit community, it'll be such a shame if all the work done would simply be foiled by the Great Firewall.