- snip -
If you remain online, and if the block chain is not saturated, however, the LN is quite safe to use.
- snip -
I'm still getting up to speed on the technical details of exactly how LN works, but I thought...
1. Others will only be able to use your node as a route if your node is online.
I don't see how this is possible. After all, "using your node" means: updating your balances, and to update your balances, you have to half-sign transactions with your partners. For that, you need your keys of course. If updating your balances were possible without your keys, it would be frankly scary !
If you are Bob, and you are connected to Alice in channel 1 and to Joe in channel 2, and Alice wants to pay Joe through you for, say 0.1 BTC, then you have to exchange updated half-transactions with Alice where your balance in channel 1 increases, and you have to exchange updated half-transactions with Joe in channel 2 where your balance in channel 2 decreases. In other words, you have to pay Joe. Obviously, in order to pay Joe, you need your keys ! But also to update the state of the balance in channel 1.
I don't understand what you are saying.
Are you agreeing with me? The tone of your comment makes it sound like you are disagreeing, but the content of your comment makes it sound like you are agreeing. I'm VERY confused in my attempt to make sense of your statement.
As far as I can tell, you still haven't commented on this scenario yet.