Transcript of STEEM AMA - Bittrex Slack 17.04.2016

Below is a direct copy of the AMA from the Bittrex Slack on 17.04.2016.

bittrex-bill [6:49 PM]
joined #steem

bittrex-bill [6:49 PM]
set the channel purpose: STEEM question and answer session at April 17th, 2016 9pm PST

pr0m3theus [6:52 PM]
joined #steem. Also, @nextgencrypto joined, @wigitgetit joined, @clemahieu joined, @kushed joined.

kushed [7:50 PM]
:popcorn:

xeldal [8:51 PM]
joined #steem. Also, @stoner19 joined, @virgil joined, @asiwish joined, @freetrade joined, @steemd joined.

----- Today April 17th, 2016 -----
wigitgetit [4:49 PM]
sup sup

wigitgetit [5:14 PM]
any chance we can get some questions answered now? Not everyone is on the west coast. @steemd (edited)

valzav [5:17 PM]
joined #steem. Also, @ned joined.

ned [5:25 PM]
Hey everyone :simple_smile: Look forward to the AMA at 9pm EST. In the meantime, feel free to check out the items pinned in the Steem slack (http://steem.herokuapp.com), including the Steemit.com alpha, the Steem Whitepaper and some sneak peaks at the Steem.io website. :simple_smile:

steemd [5:40 PM]
@wigitgetit: im not in dev team, just fan :smile:

wigitgetit [5:40 PM]
I am reading the material @ned posted

steemd [5:41 PM]
make sure to join steem slack there is lots of valuable info there
1

ned [6:01 PM]
Hi there :simple_smile:

[6:01]
I am Ned Scott, co-founder of Steem, here for any questions about $STEEM

bittrex-bill [6:03 PM]
heh, people are probably not here yet because i announced the wrong time yesterday

[6:04]
@channel The STEEM team is here

clemahieu [6:04 PM]
What is this?

bittrex-bill [6:04 PM]
how about starting with the elevator pitch for STEEM and that may stir up questions.

ned [6:04 PM]
sounds good @bittrex-bill

[6:05]
For content creators who cannot make money online without using advertising ..

tcw123 [6:05 PM]
joined #steem. Also, @bittrex-richie joined.

ned [6:05 PM]
Steem is a social media platform .. where anyone can post content ..

kmillz0 [6:05 PM]
joined #steem

ned [6:06 PM]
and the more the content is appreicated (voted up) .. the more crpytocurrency the poster earns

[6:06]
and on the flip side ..

samsmith [6:06 PM]
joined #steem

samsmith [6:06 PM]
is it true that 80% was ninja mined?
https://bitsharestalk.org/index.php?topic=22125.0
if so please help me understand why?

[6:06]
"We have secured ~80% of the initial STEEM via mining. Our plan is to keep 20%, sell 20% to raise money, and give away 40% to attract users / referrers. "

ned [6:06 PM]
the earlier a voter up-votes a post that becomes popular .. the more STEEM the voter earns

[6:06]
Great question @samsmith

[6:07]
Steemit, Inc developed Steem with a specific business plan in mind

samsmith [6:07 PM]
hey @ned what your BCT username?

clemahieu [6:07 PM]
Can the dude talk?

samsmith [6:08 PM]
wow

ned [6:08 PM]
much of our steem will go towards user acquistion .. through a very innovative method

ectopy [6:08 PM]
joined #steem

ned [6:08 PM]
when we transfer steem to new users .. we transfer it into vested form …..

[6:08]
…..which means no sell pressure :simple_smile:

samsmith [6:09 PM]
ok so it was planned to ninja mined 80% so this is part of your plan

ned [6:10 PM]
we would have pre-mined ….. but we had good reason not to. see my business partner, co-author and dev’s post: http://bytemaster.github.io/article/2016/03/27/How-to-Launch-a-Crypto-Currency-Legally-while-Raising-Funds/
How to Launch a Crypto Currency Legally while Raising Funds
Join me as I explore free market solutions to secure life, liberty, and property for all.

clemahieu [6:10 PM]
Does it have it's own coin or does it use existing ones?

complexring [6:10 PM]
joined #steem

clemahieu [6:10 PM]
Does tying the platform to a specific, new CC make it harder to launch?

bytemaster [6:10 PM]
joined #steem. Also, @silver joined.

complexring [6:11 PM]
hello @bytemaster

bytemaster [6:11 PM]
Hello everyone, this is Daniel Larimer, co-founder of Steem.

ned [6:11 PM]
@clemahieu: we believe it gives steem an advantage

[6:11]
@bytemaster: hello dan :simple_smile:

samsmith [6:11 PM]
ok so instead of calling it pre-mined you simply did a ninja mined.. I guess I could see why

bytemaster [6:11 PM]
Long term plan is to distribute tokens in a more beneficial manner

[6:12]
We will be giving people free accounts when they sign up on steemit.com

clemahieu [6:12 PM]
@ned What would you say are some of the advantages? One disadvantage it seems is it limits the utility if it's centered around a specific platform.

ned [6:12 PM]
having much of the token is key to user acquisition .. increasing community size and participation

samsmith [6:12 PM]
ok I see where your going.. why trust them in the hands of miners

ned [6:12 PM]
@clemahieu:

ned [6:13 PM]
Pinned a message. See all pinned items in this channel.
ned scott ned
when we transfer steem to new users .. we transfer it into vested form …..
Today at 6:08 PM

ned [6:13 PM]
Pinned a message. See all pinned items in this channel.
ned scott ned
…..which means no sell pressure :simple_smile:
Today at 6:08 PM

ned [6:14 PM]
has everyone here seen the Steemit.com alpha release ?

samsmith [6:14 PM]
ok so I see you lock them up when you send them to a new user.. so this helps you have control over the ones unlocked

steemd [6:14 PM]
if i vote for a witness, whats my benefits ? to how many witnesses i can vote ?

clemahieu [6:14 PM]
@ned It seems the reason to do that would be to encourage new users though it raises two questions, how do you determine user uniqueness and what if you run out?

ned [6:14 PM]
email and phone number should get us most of the way there

bytemaster [6:14 PM]
When you vote for a witness you are voting for someone to maintain the network on your behalf.

freeman [6:15 PM]
joined #steem

ned [6:15 PM]
some would agree community size has the greatest correlation to market capitalization in cryptocurrencies

samsmith [6:16 PM]
well I have like the idea of deposits (locked up funds) ever since 2014 when XDN launched it

ned [6:16 PM]
as we on board new users .. we assume steem’s speculative community will grow ….. (edited)

richlie [6:16 PM]
joined #steem

complexring [6:16 PM]
i have a question: why would i have various miners that are constantly missing. i have 6 instances on AWS up and running and all of my miners that have been through the queues show blocks missing to be some positive value (near a multiple of 21)

richlie [6:16 PM]
how many steem in circulation?

steemd [6:16 PM]
@bytemaster: do i get a portion of the witness rewards ?

ned [6:17 PM]
another reason to have a large amount of steem .. is to .. create a referral program … :simple_smile:

bytemaster [6:17 PM]
that depends upon whether the witness pays those who vote for them and whether or not voters like witnesses who buy votes

clemahieu [6:18 PM]
@ned Are there bridges to existing social networks? I think one of the critical aspects of social media is critical mass adoption. While being paid for content sounds appealing, there would need to be a critical mass audience making those payments.

samsmith [6:18 PM]
o I think I'm seeing the picture.. you guys planned to ninjia mined.. to keep it out of the hands of silly miners.. to then send it to new users locked up so that your to only one with a large amount of unlocked coins?

nextgencrypto [6:18 PM]
How do you plan to market Steemit beyond the crypto community?

clemahieu [6:18 PM]
Is there a way to ignore people that ask dumb questions?

ned [6:18 PM]
There are three types of Steem

[6:18]

1. Steem

clemahieu [6:18 PM]
Oh wait I see.

ned [6:18 PM]

1. Steem Dollars

saintgermaine [6:18 PM]
joined #steem

ned [6:18 PM]

1. Steem Power

[6:19]
The steem we give away is Steem Power

[6:19]
Steem Power allows users to earn …… to earn .. by voting up good content

nextgencrypto [6:19 PM]
Steem Power = VESTS?

samsmith [6:19 PM]
yeah this sounds way to centralized for me.. good luck

ned [6:19 PM]
Steem Power = VESTS

clemahieu [6:19 PM]
Bye

ned [6:20 PM]
@clemahieu:

[6:20]
great question

[6:21]
steem pays for content similar to how bitcoin pays for mining

[6:22]
new tokens are created to recognize individual’s work .. there is a set amount of new tokens created everyday at a specific rate ..

clemahieu [6:22 PM]
What's the way to determine bonafide content versus shill content?

smooth [6:22 PM]
joined #steem

ned [6:22 PM]
great question

[6:23]
it will depend entirely on how the community votes ..

[6:24]
votes .. however .. are stake weighted .. so users who wish to protect the integrity of the platform will downvote shills

steemd [6:24 PM]
@ned: steemit.com is currently not working ? the Browse button on the corner is gone, and im not able to Post.

[6:25]
its just like stackoverflow.com i believe

ned [6:25 PM]
@steemd the link should definitely be avaialble through slack

clemahieu [6:25 PM]
How do those users determine shills or how do we know if they just don't like the content?

ned [6:25 PM]
(http://steem.herokuapp.com)

[6:26]
@clemahieu: it’s possible they just don’t like it

[6:26]
the concept is simialr to reddit.com

[6:27]
… where content must be appreciated by the community to rise to the top … content that is not found or appreciated … left at bottom (edited)

clemahieu [6:28 PM]
Agreed. The worry would be there's monetary incentive to game the vote versus Reddit where it's just for lulz, what have you planned around that?

onceuponatime [6:28 PM]
joined #steem

kushed [6:28 PM]
does every vote have the same weight or does it demand on voters stash/vests?

bittrex-bill [6:29 PM]
@ned how do you prevent vote rigging for content? bots do try to game reddit (edited)

embeddedthought [6:29 PM]
joined #steem

bytemaster [6:29 PM]
@ned, let me answer that one

embeddedthought [6:29 PM]
When is Bittrex going to support Peercoin trading?
1

ned [6:29 PM]
@bytemaster could speak more to some of the algorithms that level the playing field .. such as vote limiting .. one who votes too much … or too fast …… reduces …. or loses… their voting power temporarily ... (edited)

bytemaster [6:30 PM]
all voting is stake weighted

[6:30]
furthermore, voters have finanical incentive to downvote abuse.

[6:30]
third, there is no advantage to creating multiple accounts

kushed [6:30 PM]
it costs to vote?

clemahieu [6:30 PM]
How do we know if those with the highest stake are voting for their own content?

bytemaster [6:31 PM]
votes are free, but each account is rate limited.

[6:31]
if you vote for 1000 things, each vote counts for 1/1000

[6:31]
(more or less)

[6:31]
so someone voting for a lot dilutes their influence vs someone who votes for a little.

complexring [6:31 PM]
what EC is chosen? standard secp256k1?

clemahieu [6:31 PM]
Is creating account rates limited? How do you know if it's 1 person doing 1000/min on one account or 1 person doing 1/min on 1000 accounts?

bytemaster [6:31 PM]
standard secp256k1

[6:31]
votes are stake weighted

[6:32]
so they would have to divide their stake

[6:32]
they have more influence / rewards for concentrating their stake

clemahieu [6:32 PM]
Up until they get filtered, so they need to maximize their own return without being filtered.

bytemaster [6:33 PM]
To get maximum ROI you need to upvote yourself without others downvoting you.

[6:33]
but the payout for votes is order n^2

clemahieu [6:33 PM]
What's to stop high stake holders from downvoting adversarial content?

bytemaster [6:33 PM]
nothing

[6:33]
except their desire to maximize value of the platform

[6:34]
The analogy is that a CEO who fires everyone to maximize his pay only kills the company leaving him bankrupt

clemahieu [6:34 PM]
Right, or no one might join the company in the first place, that could be an issue.

embeddedthought [6:34 PM]
@bytemaster Any response to supporting Peercoin?

bunkerchainlabs [6:34 PM]
joined #steem

bytemaster [6:34 PM]
What does Peercoin have to do with this?

[6:35]
(I may have missed the question)

clemahieu [6:35 PM]
He's confused, he's in the wrong channel, this is about Steem

steemd [6:35 PM]
he is trolling..

clemahieu [6:35 PM]
Can we boot him?

complexring [6:36 PM]
you didn't. i think it's some overflow from #general.

embeddedthought [6:36 PM]
In all honesty I thought this was an open discussion and questions for bittrex
1

bittrex-richie [6:36 PM]
embeddedthought: come to general

[6:36]
i'll talk to you about general stuff :wink:

steemd [6:37 PM]
@bittrex-richie that wink looks like candy man

ned [6:38 PM]
we invite @all to check out the Steemit alpha release

[6:38]
at steemit.com/trending

[6:39]
and come to the steem slack too :simple_smile:

[6:39]
(http://steem.herokuapp.com)

bittrex-richie [6:39 PM]
i have a question... can anyone be a witness node, or is it a voting process?

ned [6:40 PM]
steem is hybrid POW and DPOS

bytemaster [6:40 PM]
anyone can

[6:40]
how frequently you produce blocks depends upon how many votes you get

[6:40]
but even if you only vote for yourself, you can produce blocks periodically.

[6:40]
or you can dow POW

onceuponatime [6:41 PM]
If someone, not a miner, bought STEEM on Bittrex, where would she withdraw it to?

bytemaster [6:41 PM]
your options are:

[6:42]

1. ask someone to register an account for you

[6:42]

1. wait for steemit.com free account creations

[6:42]
steemit.com should start signing up new users this week

onceuponatime [6:42 PM]
:simple_smile:

bytemaster [6:42 PM]
If you would like an account join steem.slack.com

[6:43]
I or someone there can help register an account for non-miners

onceuponatime [6:44 PM]
I bought an account from someoneiwth VESTS already in it. But I have not taken "possession" because I don't know how. I guess all just wait and watch.

steemd [6:45 PM]
What is steemit marketing paln ?

bunkerchainlabs [6:45 PM]
what format should be used to create anchor text links in posts? Just standard