ELI5 Masternodes and can I be one
Hi Pbleak, good to see you around! Is funny to see you ask Dash noob questions. I hope you can help us out again soon and write some articles.
Heh yes, I was being a bit cheeky about how much I wanted a masternode as opposed to expecting a real answer
I doubt I could afford one now!
It gets really hard here to remember who is who, LOL
But the question is actually a pivotal one for me. I was looking into BitShares because I really liked what they were doing. But the way their setup works is so easily turned into a good ol boy network, I just couldn't get into it. Their "masternodes" are people who apply and are approved, not just anyone with collateral. Sure, it's hard for the average joe to get funds for the MN collateral, however that doesn't matter. What matters is that ANYONE is ALLOWED to purchase and run a Masternode.
And the services that are out there, of which I know we h ave at least 3, but I think there are 4 reputable companies running services, is not the most ideal in theory, but in practice, their services are still helping a minority number of people who only wish to invest and not run the actual nodes. So it's hardly a threat to our decentralization.
Frankly it's brilliant and sustainable - creating no good ol boy networks. God, I love how Evan thinks and how the rest of you awesome guys have helped and contributed to the direction Dash has been going in. It's been taking the best possible roads and making the wisest decisions. I think this is a combination of our team's talent as well as the fact that our leader, despite the fact leadership as very much been allocated to many individuals, is not afraid to scrap work already done for a better way. I think he's amazing that way. He's not married to his first idea and the code he wrote for it. In fact it seems to be part of his process at working out ideas.
So, yah. More confessions of a Dash Cheerleader. Why I can't get excited over any other coin. Ethereum is making complex contracts possible. Interesting, but Dash wants to be the worlds monetary medium. Think on that! Think of the original hopes and dreams Bitcoin brought to us, but can't deliver. Now I believe Dash is the only way those hopes and dreams can ever be achieved. And they coincide with my hopes and dreams for the future, for my kids and future grandkids.