Welcome Elitehash pools,
http://rvn.elitehash.netThere's practically no variance on payouts as it's PPS, and the payouts start rolling almost instantly. Balances above 5 RVN are paid multiple times per hour (ask for custom thresholds!), idle balances are paid out quickly too. The pool payout rate varies but I try not to make radical changes. Obviously nothing like going to 50% payout rate suddenly. It's displayed like that because it's been over 100% - though that's unlikely to return in the foreseeable future.
If the pool loses hashrate noticeably, payout rate is probably increased, because less variance has to be absorbed.
If the pool gains hashrate rapidly, payout rate will probably decrease, unless it seems possible & reasonable to endure the increase in variance.
If the pool hashrate doesn't move enough to warrant changes, payout rate may still be adjusted in small ticks.
These principles should help understand how the rate behaves. I have a natural incentive to abstain from making shocking changes, but that doesn't mean I'm perfect. There have been 2 or 3 situations that I would've liked to have prepared better for, when I felt like I was making changes too suddenly but was forced to anyway. That number would be double if I hadn't opted to give the pool some 'loans' to bail out from bad luck. I'm glad those have been repaid already, now the focus is on better stability so it doesn't have to happen again.
Perhaps we can return to focusing on high payout rates at some point. I thought that - having started almost a year ago - it would be obvious that I have an incentive to keep things running, and hence fix any delays in payments. These happened semi-frequently when I still tried to keep the payout rate as high as possible. Experience shows that people didn't think like that; the level of panic was higher than anticipated. Today it's the opposite, I really expected more sullen comparisons agains past rates. Of course it's only fair to compare against
real results from
current pools, but not everyone cares
It's odd how silent all miners are now. Surely there are more features people want, assuming there are no problems (there always are...)? Naturally I'd like requests for features that don't even exist anywhere else yet. Don't let that turn you down!