What is witness?
Some people might not realize especially new users, but steemit is just a nice website for a large network called Steem. Which works similar to bitcoin network.
''A STEEM witness is a person whom operates a witness server (which produces blocks), and publishes a price feed of STEEM/USD to the network.''
The first and most important task is to produce blocks (blocks process all the steem transactions).
The second most important is to produce a price feed, which is how STEEM Dollars are always worth 1 US Dollar in STEEM (does not apply to outside markets like poloniex/bittrex).
Top 19 witnesses have a choice whether to agree with a proposed hardfork or not. If hardfork refused by witnesses then it has to be re-designed.
Why should I care?
A witness is paid as to how high they are in the witness ranks.But how do they get to those ranks? They get votes by peoples like me an you.
You can see the witness ranks, and vote for witnesses at
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
I am not a witness, and i not offering to vote for me or anyone else.
Just a basic plain explanation what where and why.
