[TOOL] ⭐Bitcointalk BRDb score

[LoyceV]

I’m looking for a VPS – do you know of any free VPS services?

I would avoid the free ones, and just get a good offer. I've used several different providers so far, paid with crypto, without KYC, and found good offers on Lowendtalk.com. Note that not all are equally good, and some have disappeared without a trace.
What specs are you looking for? RAM and storage just got a lot more expensive recently due to the AI demand.

[*Ace*]

I’m looking for a VPS – do you know of any free VPS services?

I would avoid the free ones, and just get a good offer. I've used several different providers so far, paid with crypto, without KYC, and found good offers on Lowendtalk.com. Note that not all are equally good, and some have disappeared without a trace.
What specs are you looking for? RAM and storage just got a lot more expensive recently due to the AI demand.

I’ve never bought one, but I reckon a small one might do the trick for me – it just needs to keep the scraper running. Or perhaps a better solution would be a service like a cron job.
In short, I need a service that’s always online and keeps the scraper running smoothly. Unfortunately, Termux drains my smartphone’s battery.

[LoyceV]

I’ve never bought one, but I reckon a small one might do the trick for me – it just needs to keep the scraper running. Or perhaps a better solution would be a service like a cron job.

A cronjob is quite standard on any Linux VPS. If you're not demanding in terms of RAM or CPU, any cheap VPS should do.

In short, I need a service that’s always online and keeps the scraper running smoothly.

If "always online" requires enterprise levels of uptime, you should probably ignore anything offered at Lowendtalk.com. But then you'll be looking at a much higher price range.
At the absolute bottom of the barrel you can read this topic:

So I deposited $1 with a low-fee altcoin.

That should give you enough time to know if this is what you need.

Note: keep your own backups

[*Ace*]

I’ve never bought one, but I reckon a small one might do the trick for me – it just needs to keep the scraper running. Or perhaps a better solution would be a service like a cron job.

A cronjob is quite standard on any Linux VPS. If you're not demanding in terms of RAM or CPU, any cheap VPS should do.

In short, I need a service that’s always online and keeps the scraper running smoothly.

If "always online" requires enterprice levels of uptime, you should probably ignore anything offered at Lowendtalk.com. But then you'll be looking at a much higher price range.
At the absolute bottom of the barrel you can read this topic:

So I deposited $1 with a low-fee altcoin.

That should give you enough time to know if this is what you need.

Note: keep your own backups

Thanks so much for the advice!
I’ll have a look at the various suggestions out there.
The alternative would be to buy another Raspberry Pi and set up the cron job, or to wrap up the project and hand it over to someone who can keep it going
I’ve got plenty of time, though.
The data I’ve collected has already been backed up, so it’s probably safe xD

[TryNinja]

Hi everyone, I need some advice.
I’m looking for a VPS – do you know of any free VPS services?
One without KYC and, most importantly, one that doesn’t require a credit card?
My Raspberry Pi has decided to give up the ghost and, unfortunately, I can no longer run my tool.
At the moment, I’m using Termux on Android to run the cron job, but it’s not a long-term solution.
Thanks to everyone who replies.

Free is normally already very hard (there is no such thing). Then we have the AI boom which increased all RAM costs. Then you also do not want to do KYC, Credit cards, or any kind of verification to prevent abusers. That's a hard ask.

If you want the cheapest one possible, take a look at https://vpspricetracker.com

For a good VPS which is fairly cheap and I can recommend: netcup.com

You can also keep track of offers at https://lowendtalk.com

[dkbit98]

Hi everyone, I need some advice.
I’m looking for a VPS – do you know of any free VPS services?
One without KYC and, most importantly, one that doesn’t require a credit card?
My Raspberry Pi has decided to give up the ghost and, unfortunately, I can no longer run my tool.
At the moment, I’m using Termux on Android to run the cron job, but it’s not a long-term solution.
Thanks to everyone who replies.

I don't think free VPS is a good long term option, but there is always Oracle Cloud, AWS, micr0s0ft azure and similar services.
As far as I know they ask for some kind of registration and credit card identification even if you are using free tier.
Only free VPNS without asking for card info are vpswala and GratisVPS, but their service is questionable.
There are plenty of other no-kyc VPS services you can buy and pay with bitcoin, monero and other coins:
https://kycnot.me/?categories=vps

[*Ace*]

Thanks so much, guys, for the advice. I’ve never used a VPS before, but the ones I’d looked at and considered all required a monthly payment – quite a high one, at that – as well as a credit card.
I realise that the word ‘free’ can make people a bit wary when it comes to certain things, but I’m not making a single penny from this project and I don’t want to have to pay anything to keep it running – that’s why I was looking for something small and free.

[LoyceV]

the ones I’d looked at and considered all required a monthly payment

What offers did you find? Racknerd used to start from $10.60 per year (last Black Friday), but now it starts from $21.99. So far my existing servers haven't been increased in price.

[libert19]

...but I’m not making a single penny from this project and I don’t want to have to pay anything to keep it running – that’s why I was looking for something small and free.

Well, tbf this extension that you have made (certainly, no arguing about it) allowed you to earn quick merits, which allowed to rank up, and that allowed you to be in signature campaigns and signature pays are more compared to what you'll be paying for VPS. No?

[*Ace*]

the ones I’d looked at and considered all required a monthly payment

What offers did you find? Racknerd used to start from $10.60 per year (last Black Friday), but now it starts from $21.99. So far my existing servers haven't been increased in price.

I’d found deals starting at $5, but they were monthly payments, so more than $60 a year – and in any case, for a VPS with poor performance. I’m not sure whether it’s good value or not.

$22 is definitely cheaper, and I’ll bear that in mind

...but I’m not making a single penny from this project and I don’t want to have to pay anything to keep it running – that’s why I was looking for something small and free.

Well, tbf this extension that you have made (certainly, no arguing about it) allowed you to earn quick merits, which allowed to rank up, and that allowed you to be in signature campaigns and signature pays are more compared to what you'll be paying for VPS. No?

I don’t doubt that my extension has earned me Merit and helped me rise through the ranks, but I doubt that’s the only reason I now hold a high rank.
Furthermore, I don’t agree that just because I’m part of a petition campaign, I should have to pay for the server I need for my tool.
The petition campaign pays me for other reasons – certainly not for my BRDb; the same goes for my employer – they pay me for my work, not for BRDb.
But none of this means I’m obliged to buy a VPS; I’ve made the tool freely available to everyone – I don’t pay and I’m not paid – but if I have to pay without receiving any financial return, then I’d rather look for a free solution; if that doesn’t exist, I’ll find an alternative way.

[libert19]

...

...

I don’t doubt that my extension has earned me Merit and helped me rise through the ranks, but I doubt that’s the only reason I now hold a high rank.

It's significant reason. I mean, it's obvious looking at thread. But, please dont take me in a wrong way — you created something, community liked it. All good. I was merely pointing out the benefit that you might have overlooked.

Furthermore, I don’t agree that just because I’m part of a petition campaign, I should have to pay for the server I need for my tool.
The petition campaign pays me for other reasons – certainly not for my BRDb; the same goes for my employer – they pay me for my work, not for BRDb.
But none of this means I’m obliged to buy a VPS; I’ve made the tool freely available to everyone – I don’t pay and I’m not paid – but if I have to pay without receiving any financial return, then I’d rather look for a free solution; if that doesn’t exist, I’ll find an alternative way.

Certainly, you are goddamn right.

[Lillominato89]

Hey mate, never give up!
You’ve always managed to find a solution or an alternative, so you’ll pull it off this time too.
Follow the advice you’ve been given – I’d say it’s very valuable – and make up your own mind.
It’d be a shame if you decided to shut down the project, because so many people are using it all the time now

[libert19]

Hi there, I would like to have 5 rating on my account (current rating is 4.2), how do I increase it?

If you want to improve your score, the only thing to do is write as little as possible and earn lots of Merit; the more Merit you earn, the better off you’ll be

Yo, I got wicked/stupid idea. What if you delete your posts which hasn't earned merit and only keep those which has — will doing such gymnastics improve score? It should technically, but I am still seeking confirmation.

[*Ace*]

Hi there, I would like to have 5 rating on my account (current rating is 4.2), how do I increase it?

If you want to improve your score, the only thing to do is write as little as possible and earn lots of Merit; the more Merit you earn, the better off you’ll be

Yo, I got wicked/stupid idea. What if you delete your posts which hasn't earned merit and only keep those which has — will doing such gymnastics improve score? It should technically, but I am still seeking confirmation.

It’s a good idea – a stroke of genius! But I think it’s impossible to put into practice, as the tool doesn’t check whether a post was deserved or not; it only checks the number of posts written and the Merit points received.
So deleting posts – assuming it’s even possible – would work to increase your score, but a moderator would have to delete your posts; I don’t think you can do it yourself.

[Mitchell]

So deleting posts – assuming it’s even possible – would work to increase your score, but a moderator would have to delete your posts; I don’t think you can do it yourself.

Not sure what you are talking about. In most sections you can just remove your post. I can remove this post right now and that as nothing to do with my staff position

[*Ace*]

So deleting posts – assuming it’s even possible – would work to increase your score, but a moderator would have to delete your posts; I don’t think you can do it yourself.

Not sure what you are talking about. In most sections you can just remove your post. I can remove this post right now and that as nothing to do with my staff position

I know it’s possible to delete a post in a thread yourself, but I’m not sure whether deleting a post also changes the post counter.
Let me try to explain this clearly: suppose I’ve written 1001 posts, for example. With this post, the counter goes from 1001 to 1002, but then I delete three from old threads – does the counter stay at 1002 or drop to 999?
If the counter updates and recalculates the total to 999, does that mean the brdb score could be manipulated!

[Mitchell]

I know it’s possible to delete a post in a thread yourself, but I’m not sure whether deleting a post also changes the post counter.
Let me try to explain this clearly: suppose I’ve written 1001 posts, for example. With this post, the counter goes from 1001 to 1002, but then I delete three from old threads – does the counter stay at 1002 or drop to 999?

The post counter is instantly updated, so it drops to 999. IIRC, Theymos also does recalculations of the post counter once in a while to make sure they stay up-to-date.

[*Ace*]

I know it’s possible to delete a post in a thread yourself, but I’m not sure whether deleting a post also changes the post counter.
Let me try to explain this clearly: suppose I’ve written 1001 posts, for example. With this post, the counter goes from 1001 to 1002, but then I delete three from old threads – does the counter stay at 1002 or drop to 999?

The post counter is instantly updated, so it drops to 999. IIRC, Theymos also does recalculations of the post counter once in a while to make sure they stay up-to-date.

OK, so that means you can manipulate the BRDb score.
But it wouldn’t make sense to delete posts that haven’t received any Merit just to boost the score, as many posts are interesting even if they haven’t received any Merit! There are plenty of them on the forum.

[Lillominato89]

I know it’s possible to delete a post in a thread yourself, but I’m not sure whether deleting a post also changes the post counter.
Let me try to explain this clearly: suppose I’ve written 1001 posts, for example. With this post, the counter goes from 1001 to 1002, but then I delete three from old threads – does the counter stay at 1002 or drop to 999?

The post counter is instantly updated, so it drops to 999. IIRC, Theymos also does recalculations of the post counter once in a while to make sure they stay up-to-date.

OK, so that means you can manipulate the BRDb score.
But it wouldn’t make sense to delete posts that haven’t received any Merit just to boost the score, as many posts are interesting even if they haven’t received any Merit! There are plenty of them on the forum.

Yeah, mate! If you delete posts, the post counter updates too and removes the deleted post from the count.
Unfortunately, this is a flaw in your tool that can be exploited, and sadly there are already a few cases on the forum – for example, this user here: https://brdbscoreapi.ace-d89.workers.dev/profile/3477513

Just to show you that what libert19 suggested has already happened – though not to boost their own score, but for other reasons, and even before brdb was launched.

[*Ace*]

I know it’s possible to delete a post in a thread yourself, but I’m not sure whether deleting a post also changes the post counter.
Let me try to explain this clearly: suppose I’ve written 1001 posts, for example. With this post, the counter goes from 1001 to 1002, but then I delete three from old threads – does the counter stay at 1002 or drop to 999?

The post counter is instantly updated, so it drops to 999. IIRC, Theymos also does recalculations of the post counter once in a while to make sure they stay up-to-date.

OK, so that means you can manipulate the BRDb score.
But it wouldn’t make sense to delete posts that haven’t received any Merit just to boost the score, as many posts are interesting even if they haven’t received any Merit! There are plenty of them on the forum.

Yeah, mate! If you delete posts, the post counter updates too and removes the deleted post from the count.
Unfortunately, this is a flaw in your tool that can be exploited, and sadly there are already a few cases on the forum – for example, this user here: https://brdbscoreapi.ace-d89.workers.dev/profile/3477513

Just to show you that what libert19 suggested has already happened – though not to boost their own score, but for other reasons, and even before brdb was launched.

I’d never checked this possibility before; thank you for pointing it out.
So there are already cases where some users have deleted their posts, and indeed the score is high because the posts are deleted but the Merit points remain.
Theymos should also delete the Merit points if a user deletes their post; otherwise, the count would be seriously skewed.
Thank you very much for pointing this out.