I get that they are the ones doing the actual mining but does that mean I can pick a delegate and then I no longer need to keep my BitsharesX application open and I'll still technically be mining?
If so, that's wunderbar!
Yes, you do not need to keep the wallet open to earn profit from the DAC. The delegates are mining the blocks and the network fees (dividends) are divvy'd up according to how many BTSX each person owns.
Beyond that do delegates differ in any particular way? I see that some have different pay rates (does that mean they are keeping the difference for themselves?) and reliability ratings.
Yes delegates differ in the ways that you mentioned. Different delegates charge different rates, anywhere from 0% to 100%, it is up to them to set it how they want. Some of them are for charity, some are for development projects, some just do it for a little extra money, etcetra. Having a purpose helps get a delegate elected.. such as the BTSX multipool project which will make it so people can actually mine BTSX with mining hardware. Everyone is pretty supportive of that, so I think most people vote to approve causes like that.
The reliability ratings are so everyone can tell if the delegate is doing a good job or not by having good up time. If they are crashing all the time or offline all the time, it harms the security of the network and they are likely to get their approval taken away.
Approval I'm assuming is the result of the voting but is there anythign else, active delegates do?
I think most delegates run their instances on Linux and on a VPN or a separate box out of their home, so that is one difference from probably most other users. Other than that it is just their job to try and keep their node online as often as possible, and also keep the client up to date when there are updates published on Github.
I noticed that some have a "bitasset" in their info section, for example USD at a certain price. What exactly is that referring to? How does that asset and price interact with being a delegate?
This is a temporary task of delegates that is only needed when the bitasset markets first launch. Basically the delegates get the current value of BTSX/USD and BTSX/CNY and publish it to the network. This needs to be done only when bitassets are launched until there is proper market depth. After market depth is established in the markets, the price will be determined by people buying and selling the assets and going short or long.
Sorry for all the questions. This is obviously new and I am a journalist with Bitcoinist.net
It's all good
I already wrote one article just on BitsharesX leapfrogging competition but I'd love to do a follow up where I explain this stuff to my readers in a contextual manner so they can understand exactly how it might impact them (or the markets).
Yep, I believe I saw that article.. thanks for that.
I'm also tempted to start asking about the asset trading system but I will hold off on that for now (unless anyone wants to say something about it).
Thanks guys and congrats on making it so far up the ladder!
Go ahead and ask away, I will do my best to answer. I'm not as good with the economic stuff but I am starting to understand it better. It is new territory for most of us.
Looks like these guys beat me to it.. at least you'll get a few answers.