As we all know, witnesses are the backbone of the Hive platform—the unsung heroes who ensure everything runs smoothly. They operate critical nodes that keep the platform alive and thriving. Without witnesses, Hive wouldn’t exist, and without us, there would be no content to share and engage with, which is why we need to get familiar with who our witnesses are.
That's why I've created this special edition of "Meet Our Hive Witnesses."
This interview series aims to connect with our witnesses, giving you a closer look at the people who keep Hive running. We’ll dive into their work, motivations, and insights through a series of thoughtful questions.
It is the forth edition of meet our hive witnesses interview and before I continue with the introduction of the next witness that has honoured us to be interviewed, I'd like to say that, as a Hive user who want to see this platform continue to grow and flourish, we all have 30 votes to cast for any Hive witness of our choice and I will say this is the most important 30 votes you will ever cast on this platform for any witnesses that you deem it fit.
In this episode, I am excited to bring to you an event organiser, @hivewallet.app creator, @whalefountain creator, kitesurfer, (mobile app) developer, founder of @hivefest and a seasoned hive witness.
Welcome to my interview and thanks for the honor @roelandp
Prologue from @Roelandp: Thank you for the interview. I want to invite you all to try and come to the celebration of 10 years of Hive community at HiveFest 10 in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, October 15-19 this year. Visit HiveFe.st for more information!
1. What do you believe is the single most important responsibility of a Hive witness?
@roelandp Running stable & secure infrastructure is the obvious baseline. If you're not producing blocks, you're not really a witness. Analysing and implementing forks. Then additional tasks with oracling the hbd pricefeed and several blockchain parameters. And then one can argue that beyond technical producing of blocks and upkeeping related parameters, a responsibility can be a steward of Hive’s long-term health. That means more than running a few servers; it’s about being active in governance, open in communication, and proactive in helping Hive evolve, from hardforks to grassroots ideas. In short: produce blocks, but ideally also help build the future.
2. Do you feel the witness election process is accessible and transparent? If not, how can it be improved?
@roelandp In terms of mechanics, yes. It’s fully transparent and publicly recorded on-chain. But accessibility goes beyond code. Many Hive users don’t fully understand the role of witnesses or how voting affects the chain as seen by the amount of votes on witnesses. That’s a communication issue though. This could improve by offering simple, interactive education tools in interfaces like PeakD or Ecency. A seasonal “Meet the Witnesses†campaign could work maybe. Interviews like these certainly help!
3. How do you handle the competition among witnesses, and what differentiates you from other witnesses?
@roelandp I don't see it as competition, but "collegues" as I know many IRL through meetups through the years. However competition keeps us sharp. But this isn’t a race for glory; it’s about earning trust. About what might set me apart is that I’ve consistently contributed both technically and socially. From HiveFest to infrastructure like full API nodes fun tools, setup of parts of Hive during the community hardfork away from Steem (proud claimer of Hive.io domain and designer of the Hive logo!), I try to bring balance between backend performance and frontend community building. Recent years had seen me less active then I wanted to be due to my private life being uptaken by a crazy house building venture, but with that in its final stages I am totally back!
4. Do you think Hive’s DPoS model needs modifications? If yes, what specific changes would you recommend?
@roelandp No system is perfect, and DPoS isn’t sacred. That said, it has served Hive well so far. But I’d be open to small, layered refinements. I really liked the Bitshares "Committee" where one could propose DAO funding requests to. It was like a group of "witnesses" deciding with their voting power over which projects would get funding. But on the other hand is the current model also charming.
5. What steps can be taken to ensure more transparency in decision-making, reward distribution, and governance?
@roelandp I'm not certain there is need for more transparency. Everything is on chain, and on code repository discussion forms and several chat groups. Core developers publish updates and proposals too.
6. Should witnesses have a formal mechanism for accountability? If yes, how would you envision such a system working and what should they be held accountable for?
@roelandp I'm indifferent in this, the current system is working, but I am biased as I am currently a voted-in witness. I don't have the feeling there is abuse of the system as is, and the chain's software itself is already an automated mechanism for accountability.
7. Since you became a witness, what impact have you made on the community that other witnesses have not done?
@roelandp First of, imho every witness big or small makes their impact on the Hive chain and community. But for me personally, HiveFest would probably the biggest example. It has been a bridge between the digital and physical Hive community since it's inception year as Steem in 2016. But besides that, I’ve contributed full public API nodes (like hive.roelandp.nl), launched tools like HiveWallet (now killed by Appstores) for developers, and helped maintain presence during hardforks. Additionally I am very proud to see the Hive-logo I designed (resembling a fist of revolution, an arrow pointing to the future, a block and the letter H) go all over the world in conference booths, rally cars, logo adoptions for local chapters, t-shirts, boreholes etcetera. And I try to blend reliability with a sense of community fun, because Hive should scale, but also stay human.
8. How do witnesses collaborate to solve community-wide issues, and what can be done to improve this process?
@roelandp Most collaboration happens in chat channels and GitLab repos, often fast and informal. Imho this works.
9. Do you believe there should be a structured process for witness succession or rotation to encourage fresh ideas?
@roelandp Rotation is a nice idea in theory, but decentralization means voters already can rotate. Plus not so long ago updates made votes for governance ultimately expire so stale votes get phased out overtime. The problem is more social inertia than technical limitation. I've seen the amount of support for my witness role lower as I was not so visibly active on the chain. But I do see rotation in the witness list for sure.
10. How do you handle criticism from the community, and how has it shaped your approach as a witness?
@roelandp Criticism is part of the job, especially in decentralized spaces. I try to listen carefully and respond constructively. If someone took the time to complain, it probably means they care. The key is not to take it personally, but take it seriously, although for my personality that still might be challenging.
11. How do you see the role of witnesses evolving as the Hive platform grows and changes?
@roelandp As Hive grows, witnesses will need to upgrade too. Upgrade with their nodes. And maybe their presence and support. The role could evolve from pure block production to platform stewardship, although many of the witnesses do have this role already. Actually, I can look at the list and mention for each witness his/her side/main hive projects and supportive efforts for the Hive blockchain individually. The core stays the same: maintain the network.
12. Some users feel witnesses hold too much power. What are your thoughts on decentralizing witness influence further?
@roelandp That’s a fair concern. Ultimately DPoS does concentrate power, which was displayed during the Steem fork / hostile take-over drama. But it also lets us adapt quickly (and with adjustments after that hostile fork, prevent any such thing happening again) That’s the tradeoff. However the influence of witnesses is the following. Imagine a worst case scenario where the top20 witnesses are colluding altogether to install malicious software which would do thinks you would not align with. This is the potential 'dangerous' power witnesses have. But in terms of DAO voting, every witness has just as much "say" in these kind of votes as every other user. And beyond that, every user can influence the witness list themselves too.
🌴 [save the date] HiveFest10 - 15–19 Oct 2025 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! 🇲🇾
It is so awesome finally having a chat with you @roelandp
Thanks so much for creating time for meet our Hive witness. Have a wonderful day 🤝🏻
You're welcome.
NB: those are @roelandp exact words to the interview questions. Nothing was changed.
PROMOTING AND INTERVIEWING HIVE WITNESSES IS ALL I DO
You can read more about @roelandp here
