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A question I have is; is there a similar ramp-up period with PPS pools? I suspect not. So the benefit for the members of Kano come after mining with the pool for a longer duration because fees are lower here than with PPS pools. Is that correct?
All pools have a ramp up time, be it NOT the same length as Kano's. Suffice to say the ramp up time at kano is the longest I have ever seen / experienced anywhere! Saying that, it commensurately is the longest I have ever seen anywhere ramping down, thus you'll keep earning from any blocks found (if any) by the pool after you've stopped hashing for the duration it takes for your ramping down to nothing.
Saying that, at Slush (for example) the ramp up time is quite quick, but the ramp down time is twice as quick (if not faster!).