[CHALLENGE] Run A Bitcoin Node: 14 Days To 14 Merits

~~[REMOVED IMAGE]~~

To incentivize people to run a node, ~~I am running~~ the wonderful folks at BC.Game are sponsoring a merit challenge. Run Bitcoin Core on your computer for 14 days, to receive 14 merits from me!

Challenge Rules:

This challenge is open for anyone with <1000 merit, subject to the requirements below.
You must have at least 30 activity and 50 posts to participate.
"Brand New" rank accounts are not allowed to particpate.
You need to download Bitcoin Core (~~any~~latest version ~~from this decade~~is strongly recommended) and run bitcoind, the bitcoin daemon, for at least 14 days.
The node must be running on mainnet, which is the default setting. Alternative blockchains like testnet are not allowed.
Every 24 hours, you need to run bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo and paste the output here in code-blocks like below. This is to prove that you are actually running a node.

Code:
{
  "chain" : "str",
  "blocks" : n,
  "headers" : n,
  "bestblockhash" : "str",
  "difficulty" : n,
  "mediantime" : n,
  "verificationprogress" : n,
  "initialblockdownload" : true|false,
  "chainwork" : "hex",
  "size_on_disk" : n,
  "pruned" : true|false,
  "pruneheight" : n,
  "automatic_pruning" : true|false,
  "prune_target_size" : n,
  "softforks" : {
   "xxxx" : {
   "type" : "str",
   "bip9" : {
   "status" : "str",
   "bit" : n,
   "start_time" : xxx,
   "timeout" : xxx,
   "since" : n,
   "statistics" : {
   "period" : n,
   "threshold" : n,
   "elapsed" : n,
   "count" : n,
   "possible" : true|false
   }
   },
   "height" : n,
   "active" : true|false
   },
   ...
  },
  "warnings" : "str"
}

If running the GUI version of Core, you MUST use the console to run gtblockchaininfo:

1. Open Bitcoin Core or run bitcoin-qt.
2. Go to Window > Console or press Ctrl - T.
3. In the console, type getblockchaininfo and copy the output to your Bitcointalk post. The text you need to copy is the white (or black) text under the word "getblockchaininfo":

Please do not copy any of the other text in the window. Only the output.

Screenshots are no longer accepted as of now. Please do not post a screenshot - I'll just ignore it/tell you to copy the text output.
It is alright if you forget to do a 24-hour update but don't give me just one or two updates and expect a reward for that.
"Merit begging" posts will be deleted.
You may run with any other configuration options as you like, such as pruning.
Nodes that have synced at least 99% of the blockchain (verificationprogress field in the output) will be given 14 merits. You will not get any merits unless your chain is near-fully synced.
Do not enroll alt accounts.
To join, start a bitcoin node and paste the output of bitcoin-cli getblockchain info here. That will be considered the first day.

If your account gets banned by the administration, you will be removed from the challenge.

Warning: If you are caught Photoshopping or otherwise falsifying your report, you will be removed immediately and I will give you a negative tag.

Failure to post a report within 30 days may lead to your removal from this challenge. Please communicate all delays/absentia to me to avoid being removed.

.
~~I reserve the right to end this challenge at any time, with immediate effect, for whatever reason.~~FAQ:

~~Good luck, and happy node~~Can I join this challenge even if I am already running! a node?

Yes, subject to the conditions above.

Help! I don't have enough disk space to download the blockchain!

Open a file browser, go to Bitcoin's data directory, create or edit a file named bitcoin.conf and add the following contents:

Code:

# Prune blockchain to 20,000MB (you may use a different value)
prune=20000

Then restart Bitcoin Core.

My node crashed! Do I have to start over?

Yes, but the progress day will be preserved.

How can I make Bitcoin Core sync faster?

If you have 16GB of spare RAM or larger, open the bitcoin.conf file and add the following line:

Code:

dbcache=16384 # 16GB

Then restart Bitcoin Core. You should notice much less disk activity.

Bitcoin Core is showing a small window with a message that says "Replaying blocks".

You must wait for it to finish. It is fixing up its block database from an abrupt shutdown. This screen does not count towards your progress.

Do I need to create a wallet with my username on it before I can participate?

No, you don't!

I reserve the right to modify the rules or end this challenge at any time, with immediate effect, for whatever reason.

Good luck, and happy node running!