It has become increasingly fashionable to participate in the campaigning to be an EOS Block Producer!

With the flood of people announcing their candidacies for EOS Block Producers, there is a real element of uncertainty to the result of this election. Anyone who has resources in blockchain industry, are either participating in this election, or thinking about whether to participate.

It is definitely a good thing that many people are participating in the election. It is beneficial to the decentralization of EOS nodes. However, it also becomes difficult for EOS holders to vote. I cannot give comments on which node is better than any others. What I will do is convince you to vote for Laomao.

If you trust LaoMao and have already decided to vote for him, you can stop reading here. Please accept my sincere gratitude. It might be a waste of time if you continue reading.

The following 3 viewpoints will help you to decide whether a node is qualified or not:

1. The rating by EOSGO is just a prerequisite

EOSGO rates each node according to different indicators. The highest score is 6 points. EosLaoMao only scored 1 point, until very recently when we satisfied all 6 points at once.

The six aspects that are graded include: team introduction, official account of Steemit, technical upgrade plan, scaling plan, community operation, telegram + testnet.

Previously we got low score because we did not submit all the supporting evidence, preferring instead to focus on our technical implementation. At this time, however, we’ve submitted all of our evidence and are awaiting grading.

However, is this kind of quantified grade really enough to select a good set of validators? From my perspective, this grading is necessary but far from sufficient.

A competent programmer can develop satisfactory solutions to meet all 6 requirements in a few days. Before the main net goes live, there are uncertainties in all technical upgrade plans and scaling plans. If someone can satisfy all 6 requirements, he or she is serious about the project. But this attitude is only a prerequisite.

It will be difficult for some teams to meet the prerequisite. The candidate should have all resources ready. For example, the candidate will fail if the candidate has a clear plan already but without a competent tech team to execute it. For many teams with adequate resources, it is easy to meet all 6 requirements and get 6 points. Even though some teams score the same points, they are still different in the management capacity of the Block Producer. Some teams might face difficulties in the process of system upgrade and scaling because they lack specific knowledge. Whether they have strong knowledge of blockchain and whether they can solve problems efficiently with coding will make a big difference to the ultimate security of the network.

So, the first reason for voting for EosLaoMao:

Voting for LaoMao means you are voting for a team with strong technical knowledge and ability to solve problems efficiently.

2. Can the node survive in both bull and bear markets?

I should tell you that most organizations participated in this election entered this industry after the bull market in 2015.
Even though Bitcoin dropped from $20,000 to $6,000, these organizations still enjoy profits of the previous bull market.

I entered the blockchain industry in 2013. The super bear market in 2014 for me feels like yesterday. Many teams left the industry because of the bear market. Few teams still devoted themselves to the industry in the dark long night. My team is one of them.

If vote for only one team, you should vote for a team where their key members were able to walk through both bull and bear markets with the same determination.

If another massive bear market comes, a team with the resources and attitude to survive in both bull and bear markets will have higher chance of responsibly managing their Block Producer while many young teams without experience in extreme market volatility may leave.

So, the second reason for voting for EosLaoMao:

Voting for LaoMao means you are voting for a team who survived extreme market volatility with their faith intact.

3. Whether the team has an independent value system or not.

This point is very important.

Recently I heard that some candidates promote themselves by talking about their close relationship with the EOS foundation as if this is some kind of trump card. This strikes me as incredibly funny.

If EOS Foundation voted for 30 nodes which they are friendliest/most familiar with, it would be an absolute disaster. For a decentralized network, if all nodes are under the control of the foundation, the 30 nodes would likely serve the profits of the foundation. This kind of network will not become the largest consensus system, and users will not trust this network. The EOS foundation is therefore very unlikely to act in this way.

Therefore, I think a good node should be managed by a team with a strong technical background, a reputation for taking responsibility and an independent value system. All nodes should be independent. The candidate should focus on how to better synchronize the data rather than trying to figure out how to please the EOS foundation.

Last year yunbi.com became a key battleground in fundraising, and was overall responsible for raising about 10% of EOS’s ultimate raise. I think if I wanted to, I could establish a closer ‘relationship’ with EOS Foundation without much trouble. However, after my early cooperation with EOS foundation on fundraising, I have not had direct connection with them. We are both independent and never exert influence on each other.

Therefore, I decided to participate in the campaign for EOS Block Producer with my independent view and our independent way. I won’t regret if I fail only because EOS Foundation dislikes my independent point of view. For me, it is not a business but a responsibility without consideration of returns. My aim is to provide a reliable node for the largest value-network in the future.

The third reason for voting for EosLaoMao:

Voting for LaoMao means you are voting for a team which has an independent value system, has the spirit of being non-aligned and never follows the herd.

To ensure a higher level of security, stability, and reliability of EOS network in the future, please leave at least a vote for EosLaoMao. We are here for the long run and welcome all challenges.

12, April 2018. By LaoMao