Recently we conducted a poll on our Twitter asking what people are guided by when voting for block producers. And we would like to share the results with you…
7️⃣0️⃣ Seventy people took part in the poll — not a lot but not a little…
Because of Twitter limitations, we were able to provide just four answers though there are more possible variations. So, we also asked to write in comments if one had another answer.
As you can see, votes are divided 50/50 — I mean that 50% of respondents make a conscious choice (they do some research), and another 50% are guided by indirect signs or even choose randomly:
- Most popular — 11.4%
- Country of origin — 11.4%
- Select randomly — 27.1%
- Develop/make content — 50%
Let’s take a closer look at each answer
Most popular
Actually, it’s not a bad idea because if a block producer is at the top of the list, probably it’s a good and reliable one. And indeed, we can confirm that all top block producers are great contributors to the Proton blockchain! There are various ways block producers can do that, and we’ll discuss them further.
But, on the other side, if you vote for a block producer just because you see it at the top, you do not make a conscious choice — you rely on the majority's opinion. Yes, the majority is usually right, but we believe people should make decisions themselves.
Also, there is a factor of decentralization — there should be a lot of block producers to make Proton more decentralized and secured. If other block producers do not get votes, they have no motivation to work. But, of course, a BP has to deserve users’ voices!
Country of origin
Such a choice also has the right to exist, but it cannot be called conscious too. Why? I will try to explain…
As a Proton investor, you must be interested in its success. That’s why you should choose those producers who make the most valuable contribution to the blockchain, in your opinion. And it’s not necessarily a BP from your country… This is not the same as the soccer team you support because it represents your city and country. ⚽️
By the way, some people think that it’s similar to an internet connection — the shorter the distance, the faster the speed. In the case of Proton and block producers, this is not true — the connection speed of your WebAuth.com wallet does not directly depend on the block producers you vote for.
Select randomly
Actually, there is nothing to say here… If you have read until this point, I guess you already understand that it is not the best option.
Sure, I understand that there is not enough information about block producers and the staking process in the Proton mobile app, so many users have no idea how to make a decision. So, you’ll need to dig a little bit to make a conscious choice, and further, I will tell you what information you can use and where to find it.
As one of our followers, Eric Feely, confirmed in the comment to our poll — it’s not an easy task to choose who to vote for:
Develop/make content
Apart from the fact that all block producers must provide expensive infrastructure for the blockchain and invest money in it, many of them are also investing their time and resources in developing projects and services, making helpful content, and promoting Proton in different ways.
Proton utilizes a reputation-based consensus mechanism. It means that block producers should provide additional value — create something that helps blockchain grow and incentivize users to vote for them.
When voting for such block producers, you give them resources to bring more value — it is essential for us and the Proton ecosystem. So, don’t rely on chance in this matter!
But how can I make a choice?
First, I recommend you to read a story we wrote — you can learn more about staking and how it all works.
Ask yourself what you know about block producers you are going to vote for? Try to do your own research.
Checklist:
✅ Visit a website of a block producer.
✅ Find and view social media accounts and groups.
✅ View a BP’s Proton account.
➡️ All needed information you can find on protonscan.io.
Think twice if a block producer:
⛔️ Does not have an informative website, or you see “coming soon” instead…
⛔️ Does not have social media accounts or has inactive ones…
⛔️ Withdraws all the daily rewards (probably they don’t care too much about Proton)…
I hope this story helped you to know more about block producers and their role in Proton ecosystem, and now you can make your conscious choice!
To learn more about Proton and not to miss important updates, we recommend you:
Also, you can see the starter guide on our website to have a quick tour of Proton.
