How Engaged Are Steem Users in Voting for Witnesses?
That's what this monthly report is all about!
This month's engagement rate for accounts with 100,000 VESTS or more is:
30.08%
That's up 9.9% since last month, with a 13.6% increase in new accounts.
The percentage of VESTs actively voting is:
69.71%
If you're not sure what a witness vote is, or why it's important, please see my older post Steemit is Free, But Your Witness Vote Determines its Future.
Witnesses, within a Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) blockchain like STEEM, are very important because they protect the blockchain and add new blocks with validated transactions to it. Unlike Bitcoin or other Proof of Work (POW) blockchains, there is no concern with centralized mining farms controlling or forking the protocol into something the users don't want. With DPOS, the largest stake holders get to pick who controls the protocol and those stake holders can change the witnesses at any time by changing their witness votes. For a detailed explanation of DPOS, see DPOS Consensus Algorithm - The Missing White Paper. You can also see this post of mine for why I'm such a fan.
This report uses @arcange's STEEMSQL. You can now pay for access via https://steemsql.com/ for 1 SBD a day or 10 SBD for a month. Check it out and give him a Witness vote if you haven't already.
MV stands for Million VESTS.
VESTS are like vested shares in Steemit and relate to Steem by a ratio (486.871 Steem per MV as of this report).
VESTS impact the weight of your vote on posts and the influence of your vote for Steemit Witnesses.
Here's how I'm filtering the data:
All Accounts: No filter applied, includes all accounts.> 100,000: Accounts with 100,000 or more VESTS.> 0 Posts: Accounts which have posted at least once.> 100k & > 0 Posts: Accounts with 100,000 or more VESTS who have also posted at least once.Active: Accounts which have voted, commented, and posted a root post in the last 30 days.
The percentage values in parentheses show the change since last month's report.
The total VEST numbers listed below don't include accounts belonging to Steemit, the company, which are not currently participating in witness voting.
Overview
This shows the total number of accounts and VESTS.
| Filter | Accounts | % Accounts | VESTS | % VESTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Accounts | 879,356 (13.6%) | 100% | 200,621 (-3.2%) | 100% |
| > 100,000 VESTS | 35,793 (4.5%) | 4.07% (-7.9%) | 195,395 (-3.2%) | 97.4% (0%) |
| > 0 Posts | 399,730 (11%) | 45.46% (-2.2%) | 148,801 (3.8%) | 74.17% (0.6%) |
| > 100k & > 0 Posts | 26,327 (6%) | 2.99% (-6.9%) | 146,220 (3.8%) | 72.88% (0.6%) |
| Active | 99,720 (-14.4%) | 11.34% (-24.7%) | 76,836 (-1.2%) | 39.32% (4.4%) |
Voters
This shows the total number of accounts and VESTS which have voted for a witness or set a proxy.
| Filter | Accounts | % Accounts | VESTS | % VESTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Accounts | 40,094 (14.4%) | 4.56% (14.3%) | 139,859 (3.6%) | 69.71% (3.6%) |
| > 100,000 VESTS | 10,767 (9.9%) | 30.08% (9.9%) | 139,450 (3.5%) | 71.37% (3.5%) |
| > 0 Posts | 35,121 (15.4%) | 8.79% (15.5%) | 111,675 (4%) | 75.05% (4%) |
| > 100k & > 0 Posts | 10,245 (10.2%) | 38.91% (10.2%) | 111,291 (4%) | 76.11% (4%) |
| Active | 20,231 (4.4%) | 20.29% (4.4%) | 60,784 (1.3%) | 79.11% (-1.2%) |
Voting For Inactive Witnesses
This shows the number of accounts which are currently voting for witness accounts in the top 100 there not currently active witnesses. Ideally, this number should be close to 0 so that active witnesses benefit from voter support.
| Filter | Accounts | % Accounts | VESTS | % VESTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Accounts | 9,395 (52.9%) | 23.43% (52.9%) | 54,381 (20%) | 38.88% (20%) |
| > 100,000 VESTS | 2,670 (42.7%) | 24.8% (42.7%) | 54,288 (19.9%) | 38.93% (19.9%) |
| > 0 Posts | 8,969 (53.6%) | 25.54% (53.6%) | 53,770 (19.6%) | 48.15% (19.6%) |
| > 100k & > 0 Posts | 2,631 (43.1%) | 25.68% (43.1%) | 53,680 (19.5%) | 48.23% (19.5%) |
| Active | 4,616 (56.4%) | 22.82% (56.4%) | 30,886 (22.5%) | 50.81% (22.5%) |
These are the inactive witnesses in the top 100 as of this report, but keep in mind some of them may only be temporarily inactive (especially now that we've recently surpassed the 32G memory limit and some may be upgrading their servers):
bhuz
steempty
joseph
witness.svk
delegate.lafona
complexring
roadscape
datasecuritynode
bitcoiner
theprophet0
arhag
bacchist
cyrano.witness
blockchained
blueorgy
kushed
tdv.witness
Have You Voted for a Witness?
If you haven't voted yet, please consider setting @lukestokes as your proxy voter. Otherwise, go vote for some Steemit Witnesses you respect who you believe will do what's in the best interest of the network. I hope that includes my witness, @lukestokes.mhth. If you're not sure who to vote for, take a look at some witnesses you respect and see who they are voting for via their account on steemd.com or steemdb.com. Some witnesses are very active behind the scenes supporting important projects, but not as active as bloggers, so keep that in mind when you vote. This should not be a popularity contest favoring those who are the best communicators (though communication as a witness is certainly important). It's meant to put in place the best people to support the STEEM blockchain. That includes multiple dimensions from technical expertise to economic theory to community building.
For more on what witnesses are doing each week, follow @timcliff's weekly Reports from the Witnesses post.
Again, if you're not sure what a witness vote is, or why it's important, please see my older post Steemit is Free, But Your Witness Vote Determines its Future.
Thank you! I hope you found this useful.
Previous Reports:
- 2018-02-23
- 2018-01-18
- 2017-12-21
- 2017-11-15
- 2017-10-18
- 2017-09-20
- 2017-09-13
- 2017-09-06
- 2017-08-30
- 2017-08-24
- 2017-08-16
- 2017-08-08
- 2017-08-01
As @fow remarks below, would you care sharing your thoughts on the steem node surpassing 32 GB of RAM (for a simple witness node; more for a full API node if I'm not mistaken) ?
Why is the RAM requirement increasing, is the need of RAM expected to plateau at some point (at what level) and do you I see this increase as problem ?
On Discord a french witness @evildido complained about this increase and said he's losing money and is considering stopping witnessing. Those are valid concerns, I would be interested in your take on this issue.
Can something be done via configuration (e.g. increasing the percentage of rewards allocated to witnesses so it becomes economically more attractive) ? Is there a possibility to optimize (maybe work is already ongoing) ?
It's certainly something to keep an eye on, but as I mentioned to @fow, it's being addressed. Depending on the witness ranking, getting a 64 GB server should still be okay, but if you're way low on the rankings, it could potentially be a problem. I think Moore's law will continue and new hardware options will meet this demand at cheaper and cheaper prices. As long as we have enough backup witnesses to keep block production decentralized we should be totally fine. The Steemit, inc team is working on improvements as well, so there are plenty of options for optimization.
You’ve got the point but my fear is on full node.
I’m currently using some of them for my bot (dtube community support) and I can see that few of them are reliable.
Another point. We need more full node. steem Blockchain is too centralized because spec requirements are too hights.
This is a big issue for the security plus if it not adressed, we will never catch even 10% of Facebook traffic.
Hear hear, I am a witness, but I keep waffling and procrastinating on launching a full rpc because of the cost, and frankly my projects dont require an rpc in either case. So, it would be an expensive public service, and I'm not that wealthy.
I am starting to fear that, in the long run, the top witnesses would have to be companies.
Is witness RAM a potential limit to the growth of STEEM? Your article just brought that thought to my mind.
Potentially, but it's being actively discussed between witnesses and Steemit, inc. The main issue right now is running full nodes because the hardware for 256MB+ RAM is... quite expensive. There are some things coming out in the future which should help along with some code changes the Steemit team is working on.
For sure, you had my vote long ago. I wish I can re-vote for a second time, I will still vote for you. You are putting smile on the faces of minnows like me.
❤️😎
Thank you for your support. :)
I may have a very limited visibility of who does what but the witnesses I have voted so far are the ones which I think have done great service to Steem. I have never used a proxy and it is one thing I am considering after reading this post. I'll set you as my proxy and see which witnesses you support.
I already have voted for your witness account so there's no change required in that department.
This point needs more emphasis. I have not covered the topic of witnesses yet and I think I will need to read a lot more to be able to but at least my followers can get to know about witnesses. So, I will do it soon.
I would request anyone who is reading this to vote Luke (@lukestokes.mhth) for witness. He's one of the best persons to take Steem in the right direction in my opinion.
Thank you as always for your continued support and positive outlook on STEEM.
I will vote for @arcange on your recommendation. I won't just vote for anyone- they have to be someone I either know and trust or be highly recommended.
Thank you for your support. Really appreciated =)
I trust @lukestokes judgement, if he's behind you that's good enough for me.
second for arcange... He's good people.
SirCork
-witness 71
=)
You just got one too!
Thank you very much!
Hmmm I think I still have bacchist on my list- will have to fix. I did vote for arcange on your advice.
Thanks for your support. Really appreciated!
excellent post and nice photography dear @lukestokes..♥♥♥
There is no photography in this post. Please stop bloating the Steem blockchain as witnesses have to pay to store meaningless comment spam like this.
oh ok sorry please..
I also voted witness i know the value of adds.
Thanks for your share.
This steem platform is working because of people like you who are guiding us on every step of our path. Very well done such a organized and helping post. Got it all
Thanks! And keep it up
Thank you. :)
this is very informative blog .thanks to you for sharing..i praise
you..
Carry on
I vote only witnesses I trust and that adds value here..@lukestokes , you are one of them...wish you more success- Also I mentioned you on my latest post, feel free to see it. Happy holiday season.
You got my vote as a witness @lukestokes i respect your contribution here
I don't really understand the point of voting someone as witness. Can you make me understand what is the whole idea.... And how can we vote someone as a witness ?
Did you read the post I linked to (twice) in the article for those who want to understand more?
I want to ask .
I hope you answer my question.
what is witness function?
is there any benefit to us?
Thank you very much @lukestokes
Nice post
A great report! Shifted a witness vote your way.
I am all in, it’s great project
Wow... I am happy at the stat. The engagement is improving unlike the previous updates. This report was what gave live to my Show Us Your Witnesses Weekly Contest.
I suspended the contest temporarily because I needed money to organize STEEMUP OWERRI MEGA MEETUP, which later took place on the 17th of March, 2018.
Now that the meetup had come and gone, I would consider restarting the contest.
Thanks for the update @lukestokes.
5
thanks for the update, but is witness a yard stick to the growth of steem ???. just thinkg.
I want to ask .
I hope you answer my question.
what is witness function?
is there any benefit to us?
Thank you very much @lukestokes
I'm very particular about how much knowledge steemians have about what witness is. More reason i often try to encourage voting for witness at the end of @steempeninsula blog - even if that's the only way i can contribute to steemit, i will keep doing it.
I have read your post about the importance of witness and i know more now. I'm going to make a post every week to ensure people imbibe the habit of voting for witnesses.
Thank you for keeping steemit going.
I am now learning about "Witnesses" after 5 1/2 months on Steemit and I have voted for you as one of my Witnesses. Keep up the good work.
To answer one of your questions, I think new minnows don't vote for witnesses as they are just trying to read and post blogs and comments. And understand how the financial system works. That is a big enough undertaking at the start. Most aren't interested in learning and understanding the Steemit platform itself. And there is a lot to learn and understand once someone like myself does get more involved.
I think the designated proof of stake is a very good way of maintaining the platform.
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad to hear you decided to learn more and am grateful for your support.
I've got some very interesting information forming from the past couple of weeks of digging around. That will be coming soon, with a nod to some plot twists around dead witness voting and sp behind them.
We already knew that voter apathy is the main problem of dPOS. I think there is a better awareness of the witnesses roles. Congrats to all the new and old witnesses for the hard work. I know some of us hit the 32GB wall but luckily there are some solution like using ZRAM.
Small remark: maybe you could, instead of looking at accounts with more than 100,000 VESTS look at some $$ value. 50 Steem was harder to get in December than now.