🚀 Using Ureka - A Hive-Powered Social Network
Welcome to Ureka, a fully decentralised social networking platform, powered by the Hive blockchain!
This page is your guide to resolving common issues, understanding how Hive works, and getting the most out of your experience.
🔐 Getting Started with Ureka & Hive
Q: How do I create an account?
🛑 Note: Ureka does not currently offer account creation functionality. A comprehensive account creation system will be added soon.
✅ To use this site, you must already have a Hive blockchain account.
👉 You can create a Hive account through trusted third-party services like Ecency, Inleo or PeakD.
Q: What is Hive?
Hive is a decentralized blockchain and social ecosystem that empowers users to publish content, earn cryptocurrency and interact without centralized control. It was formerly the Steem blockchain, the world's first decentalized social software system (created in 2016). Steem was at one time the cryptocurrency with the third largest market cap in the world (over $2 Billion USD). Hive was forked from Steem due to unfortunate political events and a hostile takeover attempt. Hive is battle tested, trusted and designed to respect individual sovereignty and autonomy. You can find Hive's cryptocurrencies listed on many of the best known rypto exchanges. Hive supports many types of decentralised apps, not just social networking platforms. To learn more about Hive you can visit Hive.io, browse the Hive community on Ureka or join one of the many Discord/chat spaces dedicated to Hive.
🔍 Common User Issues & Fixes
1. I Can't Log In
Ensure you're using a supported login method, which currently means Hive Keychain. Some login issues are due to browser plugin settings or outdated extensions.
Fixes:
- Make sure your browser extension (Hive Keychain) is installed and unlocked. Note: See the section on Hive Keychain below for more information.
- Try disabling browser privacy blockers for this site.
2. My Post Isn’t Showing Up
All posts on Hive are recorded on the public and decentralized blockchain, so they may take a few seconds to appear.
Fixes:
3. I’m Out of Resource Credits (RC)
Every action on Hive uses RC, a system that limits spam without fees. New or low-powered accounts may temporarily run out. Your Resource Credit level constantly regenerates, but at a rate relative to the amount of Hive Power you hold in your wallet. You can check your Resource Credit level via the stat readout on the dropdown menu in Ureka.
Fixes:
- Power up more Hive tokens into 'Hive Power' (HP) to access more resource credits.
- Only a small amount of Hive Power is needed to start to increase your RC generation. You can earn Hive Power by making posts and receiving upvotes.
- Ask a friendly Hive user to delegate HP or RC to you.
- Wait a few hours — RCs regenerate automatically.
🔁 Reblogging, Voting & Earning HIVE
Q: How do upvotes work?
Upvotes on Hive give both social and monetary rewards. The more Hive Power you have, the more you can increase the rewards that are paid out to authors of posts that you upvote. Reward payouts do not come from your wallet, they come from a reward pool that is generated every day via inflation. New tokens are created constantly to pay out rewards.
Q: Can I undo a reblog or upvote?
- Upvotes: You can remove or change them within 7 days.
- Reblogs: Yes, click the reblog button on a post you have already reblogged to cancel the reblog.
💰 Post Rewards and Voting Mechanics
Q: How do post rewards work?
Posts on Hive can earn rewards in HIVE and Hive-backed Dollars (HBD) based on upvotes received over a 7-day payout window. Rewards can be paid out in a variety of ways. By default they are split between the author (typically 50%) and curators (those who upvote, typically 50%). The rewards may be paid out in liquid Hive tokens, Hive Power and/or HBD.
Authors can choose how much of the Hive component of their rewards will be paid out in Hive Power (Staked Hive) via the advanced options area on the post creation page. Additional options exist to decline rewards for a post, send the rewards automatically to the DHF (Hive's DAO fund which pays for community projects), to destroy the rewards (burn) and to send a percentage to nominated recipients (beneficiaries).
Q: How do upvotes and downvotes affect rewards?
- Upvotes: Each upvote adds value to a post’s potential reward payout (proportionally to the voter’s Hive Power (HP) level). Higher HP means a more valuable upvote.
- Downvotes: Downvotes reduce a post’s potential reward payout (also based relatively to the downvoter’s HP level). They’re used to discourage spam or low-quality content. However, downvotes don’t directly take money from the author's wallet — they only reduce the overall payout for the individual post.
- Mechanics: The reward pool is calculated dynamically based on voting activity. After 7 days, the final payout is distributed. Authors can choose payout options (e.g., 50% HIVE/50% HBD or 100% Hive Power) when posting.
Q: Why didn’t my post earn much?
Low rewards may result from limited upvotes, low voter HP, or downvotes. Posting quality content, engaging with the community, and building your own HP can increase rewards over time. Be sure to explore the community to better understand what kind of conent is currently valued and who has the larger wallets if you want to increase your payouts.
🔐 Hive Account Security
Protect Your Keys!
Hive accounts use multiple keys:
- Posting Key: For posting, voting, following.
- Active Key: For transfers, powering up/down.
- Owner Key: Highest-level recovery key. Store offline.
- Memo Key: Used to decrypt encrypted messages and for other related functions.
Use only the Posting Key for day-to-day interactions on social platforms. You can even give your Posting key to trusted people if you want them to vote and post on your behalf, without them having access to your money/wallet. Anyone who has your Active key can take your money - So be very careful with it!
🔑 Using Hive Keychain Securely
Q: How does Hive Keychain keep my keys safe?
Hive Keychain is a secure browser extension and mobile app that stores your Hive account keys locally on your device. Unlike some platforms that store keys on servers, Hive Keychain ensures your keys never leave your device, reducing the risk of hacks or unauthorized access. When you perform actions like posting or voting, Keychain signs transactions locally and sends only the encrypted result to the blockchain.
Q: How do I install Hive Keychain?
Hive Keychain is available as a browser extension for desktops and a mobile app for iOS and Android.
Follow these steps to install it:
Windows, macOS, or Linux (Browser Extension):
- Use a supported browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Brave.
- Visit the Hive Keychain website or search for "Hive Keychain" in your browser’s extension store (e.g., Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons).
- Click "Add to [Browser]" and follow the prompts to install.
- Once installed, open the extension, set a password, add an account and import your Hive keys securely.
iOS:
- Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
- Search for "Hive Keychain."
- Download the official app by Hive Keychain.
- Open the app, set a password, add an account and import your Hive keys.
Android:
- Open the Google Play Store on your Android device.
- Search for "Hive Keychain."
- Install the official app by Hive Keychain.
- Open the app, set a password, add an account and import your Hive keys.
Important: Always download Hive Keychain from official sources (Hive Keychain website, Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons, App Store, or Google Play Store) to avoid phishing scams. After installation, back up your keys and Keychain password in a secure offline location.
🔖 Bookmark System
Q: How does the bookmark system work?
Your bookmarks are encrypted and stored directly on the Hive blockchain for maximum privacy and permanence. Unlike traditional bookmarking systems that rely on centralized servers, your bookmarks are truly yours - they can never be lost, censored, or accessed by third parties. Each bookmark is stored as a separate encrypted operation, ensuring unlimited scalability and cross-device synchronization.
Q: Are my bookmarks private?
Yes, all bookmark data is encrypted using your account credentials before being stored on the blockchain. While the bookmark operations are publicly visible on the Hive blockchain, the actual content (which posts you've bookmarked) remains completely private and can only be decrypted by you.
Q: How do I access my bookmarks on different devices?
Simply log into Ureka with the same Hive account on any device. Your bookmarks will automatically sync from the blockchain. On new devices, it may take a moment to index all your bookmarks from the blockchain history, especially if you have many stored.
Q: Is there a limit to how many posts I can bookmark?
No, there's no practical limit. Unlike traditional systems that store all bookmarks in a single large file, each bookmark is stored as a separate micro-operation on the blockchain. This means you can bookmark as many posts as you want without hitting storage constraints.
Q: What happens if I lose access to my device?
Your bookmarks are safely stored on the Hive blockchain, not on your device. As long as you have access to your Hive account credentials, you can access all your bookmarks from any device by logging into Ureka. Your local device only caches bookmarks for faster access.
📈 Hive Glossary for New Users
- Hive Power (HP): Staked HIVE used for influence and voting power.
- Resource Credits (RC): Energy needed to perform actions on-chain.
- Delegation: Temporarily lend HP to another user.
- Curation Rewards: Earned by voting on posts that others also like.
📞 Need More Help?
Join the Hive support community:
- Hive Discord
- Hive Telegram
- Create an introduction post and friendly Hive users will say hello - you can ask them questions too. Be sure to tag your post with #introduceme and #introduceyourself.