This is a story about Hivers helping each other, hopefully for the good of the chain at large. There's a bit of technical talk, not much, that's not really what this is about. You can skip the mild tech talk if it bores you. Imagine now that you're sitting around a campfire, marshmallow-on-a-stick slowly roasting...
Well, this story all started way back in, let me think...ah yes, it was Tuesday, October 11, way back in 2022...yes, I remember it well. It was Hive Hard Fork 26 day...
Mild tech talk
Immediately after Hard Fork 26 (HF26), the LUV and HBIT tokens struggled mightily. Watching the bots behind the scenes, I saw various errors. At first, they seemed to be RPC (node) related issues. These are not uncommon and usually work out. I thought the switchover might just need a little time. After 24 hours, I worried. I looked around a bit. Scratched my head. After 48 hours, I really worried. Token commands went through very, very seldomly. Yet, they did go through, at rare times. Hmm.
What's more, I began to see errors I'd never seen thrown before: "post not found!" I was stumped. Being mid-week, I didn't have time to dig into code to try to figure things out with my limited skills. I seriously worried that, if the bots won't jive with HF26, an entire code re-write might be required. Such an endeavor would be beyond my abilities. This actually might be the end of LUV and Hivebits.
And then...
...out of the blue I got a couple of messages. @captaincryptic and @wesphilbin had been in conversation with one another and they kindly reached out to me. captaincryptic asked if I was having trouble with @LUVshares and @Hivebits, said that he had been having issues with the @lolztoken (LOLZ), that he thinks he had a fix, and offered help if I desired any.
Do I want a fix? Umm...yes!!! 😀
captaincryptic had figured out that there was a timing issue going on. The fix was actually very simple: a short delay was inserted in the bot's script. And then...it worked.
I see irony in all of this:
- Normally, devs try to find ways to speed up the back end, not slow it down.
- HF26 made the Hive chain's speed different, faster, I think. This speed change muddled the bots processing order. Like pushing the gas pedal before the car is put in drive, the bot tried to move forward before all the info was set for it to move forward.
- Delaying the bot allowed for all the info to be set to then move forward. The delay allowed the car to shift from neutral to drive, then go!
- And the real irony: the entire process is much faster! Even with a built-in delay, the command-to-token-sent process is considerably faster after HF26!
To me, it was clever that captaincryptic saw this. I relayed to him that such a fix likely would not have crossed my mind. He suggested 30 seconds as a delay, though it possibly could be shorter.
After starting with the 30 second delay, I wondered, "How low can we go? Less delay is better, right?" I cut the delay in half, down to 15 seconds. Seemed to work fine. Then I went to 5 seconds. That seemed fine. Let's get low! I got greedy and went all the way down to 1 second..."post not found!" resulted. Then up to 2...nope. Then to 3. It seemed to work. I thought it might have to do with the new One Block Irreversibility (OBI) and Hive's 3 second block time. At 3 seconds, it mostly worked, but not always. There were still some "post not found!" errors. So, I went to 5 seconds. Same result: mostly worked, but not always. Currently, it's set at 10 seconds and seems stable.
Even with the built-in delay, it's faster! Before HF26, it took almost exactly 60 seconds between someone clicking "post" with a !LUV command and when the LUV token and confirmation reply were sent. After HF26, the time was cut down to about 16 seconds! See the example below:
! command to token sent in about 16 seconds!
FYI: I believe the delay was set at 5 seconds when this animated gif was made. It might be a little longer now. Still, it's much faster than pre-HF26.
Hive community helping one another
This story is less about the technicals of getting a bot to run, and more about people working together. It's an example of Hive users helping Hive users to help the chain in a larger sense. And, it's about putting tools out to the Hive ecosystem that allow all Hive users to share something positive with one another.
@wesphilbin describes what he does as "building positive bridges" between people. I think that's a good description of his skills. If he hadn't reached out to @captaincryptic, I know that right now, at exactly this time, I would have been digging through code. Knowing myself, I most assuredly would have been frustrated and stumped. The drywall next to my head might have a dent or two.
Instead, I'm writing this. And, people are able to give LUV to one another. The mission of LUV is to spread love on the Hive blockchain...to share something positive with another person and expect nothing in return. Combined with a real comment, I think this is a good thing.
And there's a bit more to this story.
In a post or two I mentioned concern about Resource Credits (RCs) and HF26. RCs are a constant concern with bots because they continually use them. With HF26 changing RC formulae, I worried. wesphilbin had been doing what he does...some behind the scenes connecting of people. The upshot, as I understand, is that wes connected @bambukah and captaincryptic and they collaborated to create an RC delegation tool. It's located on bambukah's Superhive at https://delegate.superhive.me
I'm learning about this change, but my understanding follows:
Delegating RCs is a way to allow other Hivers to use your extra network "fuel" (your Resource Credits). Pre-HF26, you had to delegate your HP to help someone. Now, you keep your HP and all of its voting power etc. stays with you, only the RC fuel is delegated.*
*I'm not 100% sure on the info above, but this is my current understanding. I'm learning too. In the comments, maybe someone can correct me if I'm wrong or concur if this is correct.
Below are screenshots from https://delegate.superhive.me where you can delegate Resource Credits (RCs) to another user.
Summary
During these conversations...
- Connections with wesphilbin and captaincryptic were strengthened. Many thanks to you both.
- I joined bambukah's Discord, had a little "Hello" and met someone new.
- A tool got built to help others with Resource Credits...good for the chain indeed.
- LUV got saved and Hivers can still share love on chain.
A couple of months ago, I made The Hive Story Animation and ended with the conclusion that Hive is mostly about the people using it. To me, these past few days and events reinforce that belief.
Please consider the projects by these good Hivers:
- @wesphilbin: Thoughful Daily Post
- @captaincryptic: LOLZtoken.com
- @bambukah: Superhive.me and RC delegation tool
Not on Hive yet? Watch the animation I made: The Hive Story Animation and you'll learn all about it. The top benefits of the Hive blockchain: (1) no ONE person/group runs it, (2) YOU own and control your content, and (3) YOU earn the rewards that your content generates. Learn more or consider using my referral link to get your free account here and I'll support you as you begin. Alternately, you can see other options here.