I'd like to help

[Graet]

Finished syncing it's just cruising now

Good work man

to try answer a couple of questions from posts above

There has recently been discussion among the dev group regarding the number of "light" wallets in the future due to ease of use and a possible diminishing number of "full nodes"

A "light client" does not need the blockchain and thus cannot pass it to other peers
A "full node" downloads the full blockchain and helps to relay the information through the network telling other full nodes and light clients about new blocks and transactions ( we all wait to see our txns confirmed - these nodes spread the news)

The concern comes in when the number of Full nodes diminishes to the point where some single entity "could" control a majority of full nodes and having that control "could" introduce incorrect data into the network possibly even a whole new blockchain. Bad bad stuff.

So full nodes relay information on the network and do help and support the Bitcoin network. Also the resources required to run a full node are negligible compared to mining, though as always I would encourage people to check with their employers before installing any 3rd party software or opening ports in corporate firewalls

The people that get "transaction fees" are the miners that include transactions in blocks, part of "including" is verifying transactions, this can be either solo or pooled miners.
hope that is a help 
Graet

[Foxpup]

So by running a node your supporting the network but not actually making anything from the node?

Yes.

I thought that people that ran nodes got some small fee from a transaction they facilitated.

No. Only miners collect transaction fees. It would be nice if we could pay nodes for their services, however there is unfortunately no way to verify their work (unlike miners, where being able to verify their work is the whole point), and therefore no way to fairly compensate them.

Also, how does more nodes help the network?

Nodes relay transactions and blocks between miners and other nodes. If all miners were connected to all other miners and everyone had a direct connection to a miner, there would be no need for relay nodes, however this is obviously not feasible. The more nodes there are, the more resilient the network is against network disruption, by having more paths to route around any damage.

[rini17]

I don't think this is really necessary. I mean, tons of people already run the client. What you should do is mine with all that equipment.

Hi,

So by running a node your supporting the network but not actually making anything from the node? I thought that people that ran nodes got some small fee from a transaction they facilitated.

I would like to know this as well! Also, how does more nodes help the network?

Running nodes does not make anything itself. You just get the advantage that your transactions propagate faster the more connections you have (helpful if you play satoshidice, for example) and it also helps with verification and propagation of all transactions in the network.

[jgarzik]

So by running a node your supporting the network but not actually making anything from the node? I thought that people that ran nodes got some small fee from a transaction they facilitated.

No, you do not receive any fees or compensation for simply running a node (besides the satisfaction of knowing you are helping keep the bitcoin network running).

[jgarzik]

Also, how does more nodes help the network?

Each bitcoin node performs the important task of verifying transaction and block chain data.

For example, if a powerful miner, one day, decided to produce a block that gave himself 100BTC, all the other nodes on the network would ignore that block, because the block reward is currently 25BTC.

Further, running a node helps the network by providing users access to bitcoin data.  If we do not have nodes on the network that accept incoming connections, it would be nearly impossible for anybody to send or receive bitcoins.

Each additional node on the network helps strengthen bitcoin.  Each node is a "vote" for good data.  If we have too few network nodes, an attacker could potentially control the data we see.

[Giftsforcoins]

Also, how does more nodes help the network?

Each bitcoin node performs the important task of verifying transaction and block chain data.

For example, if a powerful miner, one day, decided to produce a block that gave himself 100BTC, all the other nodes on the network would ignore that block, because the block reward is currently 25BTC.

Further, running a node helps the network by providing users access to bitcoin data.  If we do not have nodes on the network that accept incoming connections, it would be nearly impossible for anybody to send or receive bitcoins.

Each additional node on the network helps strengthen bitcoin.  Each node is a "vote" for good data.  If we have too few network nodes, an attacker could potentially control the data we see.

Ah I get it now. Maybe I'll set up a laptop as a node. Is it difficult? I have a few year old laptop just sitting around.

[Mainess]

Also, how does more nodes help the network?

Each bitcoin node performs the important task of verifying transaction and block chain data.

For example, if a powerful miner, one day, decided to produce a block that gave himself 100BTC, all the other nodes on the network would ignore that block, because the block reward is currently 25BTC.

Further, running a node helps the network by providing users access to bitcoin data.  If we do not have nodes on the network that accept incoming connections, it would be nearly impossible for anybody to send or receive bitcoins.

Each additional node on the network helps strengthen bitcoin.  Each node is a "vote" for good data.  If we have too few network nodes, an attacker could potentially control the data we see.

Ahh, getting somewhere.

Please exsplain more!!