Thanks for the feedback guys
to clarify as this question has come up a bitDGM fees are changing from 0 to 3%
VIP benefits for 5% donors will continue, what they will see is the amount in their donation box change from 5% to 2%, ie 3%(fee) + 2% (donation)= 5% (VIP)
PPS fees are 5% and will not changepool hashrate: I watch and when 24hour average has changed significantly I change speed in topic. Over the last week or so GPUMAX have been leasing more, we have a lot of GPUMAX miners on Ozcoin
our hashrate graph is a pretty good indication of when GPUMAX are leasing or not.
I feel the speeds in pools topics should at best be a guide, you can always look at (most) pools websites and see their hashrate/graphs etc.
But 3% of 1900 ghash/s is 57 ghash/s, which currently equals to about 9.8k USD/month. Thats a WHOLE lot of servers/traffic.
Pool maintaining requires not only servers and traffic, but also time. Possibly lots of time.
thanks Tycho. Definitely lots of time.
Also
Ozcoin Pooled Mining Pty Ltd is a registered company, there are other costs involved in running a business, I haven't just grabbed a server and started a pool.
I am yet to find an accountant that will work for free or "donations" - If anyone knows of a good one in AU let me know
The lawyer I consulted with in the early days of Ozcoin said he though Bitcoin could have a great future but "I will not accept payment in Bitcoin" - he wasn't free or pay by donation either.
It is tax time in my country, I will be spending some time with accountants shortly.
I am also almost at the point it would be good to consult with a solicitor(lawyer in my country) again, there are some issues I could do with advice on.
See I had this idea that it would be good for Bitcoin if Bitcoin businesses actually registered and followed laws, I strongly believe this will strengthen Bitcoin in the times ahead - one day there could be strong opposition, an established legitimate economy will be more robust against attack. If all we are is a bunch of nerds/geeks/trolls operating in secret thinking we are beyond laws and regulations on the interwebz Bitcoin wont get widely adopted. This would be a shame - Bitcoin has the potential to change a lot in our world (maybe even some of it for the good).
I have also already mentioned one of the reason for such a "big" fee is the
need for development to cope with upcoming changes in mining hardware. Higher difficulty shares is something we have been trying to get to for about 3 weeks - a node for testing to start. Unfortunately relying on volunteers and having had some issues crop up that need urgent attention this keeps getting pushed back. See Tycho's comment about time and my comments in other posts about compensating the coders for work they do. It isn't just my money that has kept the pool going it is
very many hours of work by an awesome crew of volunteers. Everyone mining on Ozcoin benefits from these guys work, on a couple of occasions I have been able to give these guys a few BTC as thanks, usually they work for a typed thanks and the knowledge they are helping build a great pool -
I feel some reward for effort is long overdue.
I know it will be hard for some to swallow, but legitimate registered businesses operating within the law is essential for the further adoption of Bitcoin - well if Bitcoin is to become more than an experiment and actually step out into the larger community.
none of the detractors has answered
my choices were
1: close one of the best Bitcoin mining Pools and pay miners out - so long Ozcoin
2: ask people that use the pool to pay for it and have some funds to spend on developing the pool further - long live Ozcoin
3: do what ARSbitcoin (and too many others to remember) did and neglect the pool untill it fails and leave miners with unpaid funds they will never see. - too bad cya miners
which would you choose in my position? be honest now.
yet
Would you rage so much if I just closed down - I mean you would still be losing your 0fee pool.
I can only say again this was a hard decision to make, the only reason I have taken it is to keep Ozcoin a viable Premium Bitcoin pool.From here on in I will listen to my supporters (there are many and I <3 them very much) and ignore the detractors.
As of next Sunday morning UTC Ozcoin will become a fee for service pool, the fee will be 3% for DGM and PPS will continue at 5% , miners that would like to mine on Ozcoin now or after that time will be welcome as always, those that for ANY reason don't want to are not obliged to. tho I do wonder how some people can justify the amount of rage. I have given reasonable warning, obviously they like Ozcoin, to be so upset at having to leave....but then I remember the hoppers and the rage from some because Ozcoin decided to move to a non-exploitable payout system and the forecast of how the pool would die
. I guess some folks just cant handle change well. even if it is for the better
Thanks for taking the time to read,
Best wishes
Graeme