And as in Graphene based chains (Steem, BitShares, etc..): Delegated Proof of Stake DPOS.. It helps focus the role of block production on the right pool size so that it can strike a balance between profit and decentralization costs. Also provides simplicity and speed. Also much easier to upgrade the network to provide fixes and features.
Basically, instead of your money giving you the right to create blocks it gives you the right to vote for and select who you want to create the blocks. Just because you own a lot of the crypto does not mean that you are the best person to run the software for the network. So, voting makes this much better.
I understand why you think that, but you will eventually learn that this is a false tradeoff that doesn't have to be made. Stay tuned...
Btw, I looked at your code (presuming you are the coder of Steemit). You are a top-notch coder.
Voting is not a panacea.
Realize who ever controls the majority of the stake can control all of the delegate witnesses and thus can choose to pay themselves as much of our money as they wish.
And the voting system of rewards has the same flaw.
You're right to mention these things. I always live by this one simple rule: Don't get attached, be ready for change. I hope everyone lives this way. I'm still happy with what we have today. It lets us learn and adapt. More tools for reputation, trust, and uniqueness are certainly things we can use.
That whole conversation is interesting. Thanks guys!
Thanks jamesc. I agree. And we should enjoy/embrace this period of rapid change. We are lucky to be involved in the massive sea changes going on in technology.
I always learn things when I read your comments here or there, good stuff. Did you get your workout in today dude? lol
Have a nice week James.
You seem to understand really understand delegated proof of work. I never thougth delegated proof is good for anything. It makes reward too hard and un-usable for a common crypto fan. Unless I want invest my money in a delegated proof of stake coin, I can not make anything. What do you thinks are all the pro's and con's of delegated proof of stake vs mining.
Just do you know, I'm not the architect of this stuff. You're going to have to really second guess me here.. lol .. I'll comment because it is fun though. Use at your own risk!
Delegated proof of stake is about getting elected to serve blocks and get the income. Those elected don't need to spend as much, they just need to support the minimal computations, bandwidth, and storage that are actually needed to run the network. In our case, it still seems straightforward: everyone elected (the top 19 or so) does basically the same job as everyone else. This is fantastic for the reasons mentioned in my other comment, but in the end it depends on stake .. Anyone informed would be concerned about distribution of wealth and power. So naturally we need to keep seeking better reputation systems and (I would add, at scale) a individual uniqueness factor so we will have a popular vote metric. It should be much harder to buy a majority vote in something large than it is to buy a majority share in something large.
Mining is the same story. Same concerns about centralization of power and wealth. It is fun to have a mining industry and jobs but in the end it is a lot of electricity and extra hardware that is consumed. It was clear to me early on that I should look at POS .. Mining starts out with a very large decentralization but can't maintain it. It seems to be over spending. You can't upgrade a large mining network without the coin splitting and partially dividing the demand for the coin. I don't like that very much. Don't run from mining in all cases, it is still neat and serves a purpose. Steemit distributed the bulk of its initial tokens though mining for example. If you caught Steemit early on bitcointalk.org and dedicated a lot of CPU to it, you would be a whale.. In contrast, I earned my shares as a developer and early adopter and accepted shares as options in the company.
The more good ideas (sometimes alt coins) we see in the markets, the more relaxed I get about centralization of wealth and power. People are use to monopoly money where they are locked in. This is not the case now (at least it does not have to be). If some chain gets too centralized people need to be smart and get away and try something else. Even if the new chain has the same potential issue it will be a new chain potentially free of that issue at least for a while (and then one can move again). The market should identify long lasting solutions. I would diversify but not be so scared. Make good investments anywhere they can be found and always protect those investments.