Bitcoin Forum

Has there been some new development in the blocksize battle?
Sorry if this has already been discussed, but I've had to spend a fair bit of time on non-internet problems, and I've missed the recent activity.

New development since when? Difficult to guess what's "new" for you?

No, there haven't been any 'major news' aside from Segwit being release. Classic is pretty much dying (their node count is dropping). I've checked on my nodes, and while the number of connections did rise a bit higher (than it is usual), there are only 4 Classic nodes. The solution for this is to create a ban list with every Classic/XT node that you can find. I just haven't had the time for this and have banned one by one as they show up.

I've just upgraded to 12.1, and now all the classic nodes have gone. I'm still on public WiFi, so I've only got 8 connections. It's good to hear that classic is in the decline. :) I guess I should put the temp classic density down to local activity then.

Well, their node count was on average around 2000 (0.12.0 Nodes), and has been slowly declining. Now it is under 1700. In case that you are not aware of this, you can ban any peer for up to 1 year quite easily within the software (just click on it).

That's nice that we finally won this battle. This is good for everyone that the main version stayed the main, even for them because of the stability that it will protect.

Thats because the amount of classic nodes has went up over the last few weeks, i think there is well over a thousand now.

Wrong. It has been on the decline over the past two months. It was hovering around 2000 (0.12.0 nodes).

This "battle" will never end. The next controversial HF is just behind the corner, maybe it will be called "Bitcoin Original", or "Bitcoin Reloaded", you never know. ::)

Or maybe Ethereum :D

The count of 0.12 classic nodes rose a little recently (or maybe it's because all the core codes moves to 0.12.1 ::)

Little linguistic precision : the Core vs the others fight is the war, and the round against Bitcoin Classic was a part of the war, a battle. So we can say that we won the second battle of this endless war ;) !

That was indeed what I meant with my previous statement.

::)

It isn't really important at the moment. Node count (especially in a short time period) was never a reliable metric of anything.

After reading this, then looking at my peer list, I have a question: are the classic nodes a bad thing or good thing?  Should I be concerned?  Would my client be more efficient or something if the classic nodes were not represented in my peer list?  What is the general consensus of the forum?  Are classic nodes a bad thing, a good thing, or just irrelevant?  I'm only asking because I don't want to have to do any extra work if it's not necessary.

Nobody bothers to do that kind of 'analysis', which is pretty much pointless. Those nodes are currently operating within the same chain so should not be causing problems (under normal circumstances). You don't have to worry about it. If you're running a node you can ban them for 1 year very simply.

There's no need to ban or worry if they split off to a different chain.  That's the whole point of running a full node.  You program the rules that your node accepts as valid, and blocks and transactions which break those rules are considered invalid.  If a block has the correct proof of work and it's valid according to your rules, you accept it. If not, you don't.

There's no need to worry about what any other nodes you're connected to are doing, because everything is verified locally.  99% of the nodes you're connected to could be malicious and trying to fuck you over, but as long as you're connected to a single node who is relaying accurate information, you will stay up to date and have accurate information.

Worrying about who you're connected to is silly unless they are actively causing networking issues.  Banning nodes you don't like is even more silly.

I never said that there is a need to ban them.  

Correct.

It really isn't. It all comes down to whether you want your node to have interactions with controversial implementations or not. In either case, one is free to ban any node that they want.

Right now my Core client is connected to 12 nodes where 5 of them are Classic nodes and 1 XT node.

I have been banning them but for some reason they return to my list after a minute or so.

Weird thing is that nearly all Classic nodes seem to be hosted from one place or hosting company.

That should not be happening. For how long do you ban them (there are a few options)?

That is well known. The majority of them are located in data centers (e.g. Amazon).

I used the option disconnect as I thought it will permanently not connect me with that node anymore but for some odd reasons they are coming back each time.

Now I have banned them for 1 year they stay away from my node list.

Yes, I'm afraid I have to agree. However I hope we've gained some time to breathe after Gavin has pretty much disqualified himself as a developer. It's clear that establishing a free currency outside of governmental control can be considered a revolutionary act. A lot of currently powerful people have a lot to loose. Therefore one has to expect the full range of manipulation, betrayal, and hostility towards Bitcoin as a decentralized currency. All those interested in a free Bitcoin as it was meant to be must stay highly vigilant and unite against attacks by power grabbers.


Banning malicious nodes of altcoin implementations that parasitize on the Bitcoin network is not silly. It is a duty of everyone who cares about Bitcoin. Luckily, banning such nodes is really easy.

ya.ya.yo!

Yea... It's in Gavin's basement.  ;D ;D or a couple of virtual machines being run on Craig Wright's super computer.  ::) ... https://youtu.be/MHn0pBePN7I

The Classic vs Core fight is a myth... Classic has never been in the picture to be part of a fight. The Classic shills hyped it up and people believed it. Just go Core and you will be better off.

See, it's easy to shill for Core...  ;D .... No sweat, I am just fooling around with the whole Core vs Classic issue...  ;D ;D ;D