Quote from: akaman on January 21, 2016, 05:43:38 PM

Quote from: Taek on January 21, 2016, 05:14:08 PM

Quote from: akaman on January 20, 2016, 12:57:38 AM

In v0.5.0 coming soon you will be able to set your own period. So, you could increase the default 6,000 blocks to something much higher.

That is incorrect. The big change is that files will automatically re-upload, meaning that they'll stay online so long as you continue running the daemon. For v0.5.0, files will go up for 4 weeks by default and renew when there are 2 weeks left. The numbers are small so we can see how the hosts + renters behave on a short timescale in a live environment before switching to bigger file contracts. For v1.0, I think the upload time will be 6 months (26 weeks), renewing when there are 12 weeks remaining. We will probably add customizability to those numbers, but those customizations are not ready for v0.5.0.

In that case you should update your v0.5.0 API documentation. In the section /renter/upload/{siapath} [POST] it states:

Code:

'duration' is the number of blocks for which the file will be available. If the renew parameter is true, this parameter will be ignored.

Source: https://github.com/NebulousLabs/Sia/blob/master/doc/API.md

My interpretation was that 'duration' therefore is customizable to any number of blocks.

oh. Technically, you can edit the duration, but if you pick a duration that's too long, hosts will reject all of your file contracts. I think the hosts are set to max out at 8 weeks by default. It might be 12, but especially while the number of total hosts is low, it's probably better not to play with that number.

Quote from: Scalextrix on January 21, 2016, 08:06:50 PM

I thought there was no debate, leaving the hosting wallet permanently unlocked is a risk to the extent a non-authorized actor can operate core functios of the wallet. Whether I keep 0.0000001 or 1,000,000 SC in there, there is a risk. Sorry if my chioce of words was poor, no offence intended, but if Im going to use Sia to store my files, host for others I dont want to be shuttling funds away/back to a cold wallet all the time.

A non-authorized actor can operate the core functions of the wallet only if malware has access to the machine. For the most part, it's not a concern. The feature was added for high-priority targets like Poloniex, and wasn't really aimed at everyday users. The host, especially further in the future, is going to need to be able to spend funds out of the wallet, and therefore must have access to the wallet's keys. (the host will need to put up collateral to get file contracts - collateral is important to the security model).

--------

New release candidates are ready. This means that they might be buggy, so use with caution. It is believed that all components work, including the miner.