Quote from: franky1 on November 25, 2016, 10:51:52 PM

Quote from: AgentofCoin on November 25, 2016, 09:21:39 PM

if the BU and other developers figured out a mechanism to "incentivize nodes"
in the same manner that Miners are incentivized to verify Bitcoin txs/blocks, then not only would they
provide one of the greatest services to the Bitcoin community, but also allow a more secured future for
forked upgrades, since the node system can grow and not diminish.

incentivising them is not easy or even advantageous..

all that will happen is 1-2 corporations running 20,000 nodes all running on AWS each, to grab the incentive.. then the 5000 oldtimers who are left with nothing, will feel that they are not being paid and (unknowingly) think the network is secure with 20,000 nodes.. so they would switch off.

leaving the network in the hands of 1-2 entities and the copies of the blockchain in a centralized single location (amazon service).

the problem with incentives is. rich guys pool their resources to get a leader advantage and claim a majority of incentives.
just take a look at the future industries that 'invested' in trump and now going to become the leaders of their industry with nice large government grants heading their way.

incentives do not mean better security.

No, what I meant is figuring out how to create an "incentive node" network that can't be gamed.
This is very hard to do and thus why I said it was a puzzle. But if solved, would be a monumental feat.
If the 5000 oldtimers don't want to join, they don't have to, they can continue as is because they love it.
My reasoning is getting new people into the game because they would be paid to do so.

Bitcoin's blockchain only works because Satoshi knew it needed an incentive to mine.
Mining, as you know, is both verification of transactions and PoW and a systematic dispersal system for the token.
The whole system only works because the miners are "forced" to verify/do work to get the "award/fee".

The proposed incentive for this node network would be very small and not compensate the full cost of a node,
but would allow average people to get bitcoins the same way members of this forum get some bitcoin from
signature campaigns. It may even be possible that the incentive could cover the costs, I haven't done the math.
As the number of "incentive nodes" increase in this proposed network, the incentive shared decreases.
The point is not profit, but to "incentive" people to want to run a node.

When you see how many people sig spam on this forum for their 0.0010 btc or whatever per week or two
(I seriously have no idea how often they are paid and what the average amount is), imagine if all those
people were running this incentive node platform that can't be gamed. It would usher in a new era for Bitcoin.
An era where the Users can be more than just Users, they participate in a way Satoshi originally intended.
Though he understood that over time it would become centralized, I believe he meant around 2050 to 2080
when the system would be institutionalized and not within the first decade of its whitepaper release.

This proposed incentive network would obviously be designed to prevent the exploitation that Franky has
stated as well as others that could occur. Its possible we could make centralized server companies such as
amazon or other cloud storage restricted within this proposed "incentive node" network.
If an attacker wanted to spin up many nodes in a single location, they would need pay the costs of
personally housing those devices and etc, and when the incentive is not substantial, would be a major
financial loss to do. The point is we can design this system if we really wanted to.

Solve the puzzle. Your prize is ensuring a strong future for Bitcoin.