The initial selection for Orange Group VII BetaNet node operators can be found here.
We apologize for the delay. We have been busy getting ready for the launch of the xx messenger and technical MainNet. We will publish the final selection and open registration on Thursday, February 25th.
As in all our previous selections, our main goal is to accept the most complete applications that indicate they could meet the hardware and bandwidth requirements and that provide thoughtful answers to the questions posed. Other factors that play an important role in the decision are the comments the applicants receive in the BetaNet forum and their willingness to respond to questions or provide additional information.
In this initial selection, we have rejected nodes that have not provided their specs or that have not indicated they can meet the previously announced minimum requirements. We have reached out to a number of nodes to ask for further clarification and are offering them the opportunity to provide more information before making the final decision. As always, if no response is received, these nodes will not be accepted.
We encountered a series of new issues this time around. There were a large number of nodes from Canada and from Turkey who seem to be related. On the Canada side, we know these nodes have been brought in by a very active node operator and have verified they all act independently, both technically and financially.
We have not identified the group of Turkish applicants, but given they are smaller, we have not taken any actions yet. If you are part of this group, please contact us at [email protected]. We would like to know more.
If such relationships grow to encompass a significant majority of the network, they can become a problem simply due to the possibility of them acting in unison, but at the current scale they are not an issue. Ultimately, diversity between nodes helps strengthen the network because it helps ensure that various events (political, social, economic, natural) will have a smaller impact on the network. As a result, even if not malicious, too many similar nodes can negatively impact the network. We will ask for who referred you to the network for future applications.
As such, we want to address the issue of datacenter nodes. Many node operators have become increasingly hostile to node operators who apply to run in datacenters, in large part due to the impact of Hetzner nodes which have repeatedly impacted the network. This is a complex issue, and while we want to encourage at home running on nodes, we do not want that to be the sole mechanism.
While datacenter nodes can overcentralize the network, they also provide higher stability and reliability to the network and at times are not subject to service interruptions that self hosted nodes experience. We like the current ratio (~¼ of the network) and as long as no datacenter is overrepresented and they do not crowd out at home runners, they can be advantageous. We want to point out that co-location in a datacenter is very different from running on a VPS, which we feel is not as beneficial to the network.
If you were not selected, please keep in mind that this is an initial selection and is subject to change. We strongly encourage participation in the forum and welcome your responses so please let us know why we should reconsider your application!
Thank you,
xx network node team
