Hey there Hivians!
I am sure there is something like this already done, but I could not readily find it. The goal of this post is to fix that by hopefully being an easy to find source of beginner knowledge.
I am still very new to the community so this is by no means comprehensive, nor do I guarantee everything to be 100% accurate.
Outline:
1. General observations
2. Hive basics
3. Blogging/Posting basics
4. Game basics
5. Useful links
**General observations:**
- Hive is a relatively new creation that, "...was created as an independent and decentralized fork of the Steem blockchain." [1]
- Basically, Hive was created after successfully seceding from Steem.
- Patience is definitely a virtue.
- Interaction is key.
- Don't be afraid to ask questions.
- Stay out of the politics.
**Hive basics:**
- Assets
1. **HIVE** - Primary currency of the Hive ecosystem.
2. **Hive Power (HP)** - This is, "... the staked form of HIVE, is vested during a process referred to as a ”power up”. Upon being powered up, Hive Power can then be entirely or partially un-staked at will, in a process referred to as a ”power down”. Staked HIVE then returns to its liquid form (i.e. HIVE) in equal amounts over 13 weeks period, with a segment delivered every 7 days." [1]
3. **Hive Backed Dollars (HBD)** - Currency that is, "...intended to be pegged to the United States Dollar (USD) at a one to one rate." [1]
- Resource Credits (RC)
1. Think of this as your energy level for doing things in the Hive ecosystem.
2. Replenishes, "... at a rate of 20% per 24 hours." [1]
3. Amount of RC is calculated based on your HP.
4. Accounts at 0 HP may still have limited transactions
- Delegation
1. Basically, think of it as borrowing.
2. Ownership is always retained
- Decentralized Hive Fund (DHF)
1. Think of this as a pot of money dedicated to user proposals, a.k.a projects.
2. "Support for a proposal is calculated based on the total stake (HP) in support of that proposal." [1]
- Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS)
1. This is the consensus algorithm behind Hive [1]
2. "In a DPoS algorithm, the selection of block producers (called ’witnesses’ on Hive) and all other consensus-based functions are decided based on the weight of staked funds supporting them." [1]
- Witnesses
1. These are the block producers on Hive.
2. " Blocks are produced at 3 second intervals and are signed by “Witnesses” selected based on the total weight of the Hive Power supporting them through individual approvals. There are 20 consensus witnesses that are granted block signing operations on a rotating schedule." [1]
3. Every user can give their approval (like a vote) to up to 30 witnesses. These are not permanent and can be removed at any time.
- Hive Key Hierarchy
1. Owner Key: Used for recovering accounts and regenerating other keys as well as setting a new password.
2. Active Key: Used to transfer and manage funds, vote for witnesses or approve DHF proposals.
3. Posting Key: Used to broadcast posting transactions.
4. Memo Key: Used for decrypting encrypted messages within the memo parameter of fund transfers.
- Rewards Distribution
1. "The reward pool is used to distribute funds to those who actively participate in creation and/or curation of content. The funding for the reward pool is composed out of 65% of the inflation. When a user submits a post it initiates a 7 day curation window during which it may be upvoted or downvoted until its final evaluation is reached at the end of 7 days. Upon reaching final evaluation, 50% of the earned rewards are granted to the creator and 50% are proportionally split between the curators who have voted for the post with a positive value. Voting with a negative value does not generate curation rewards. Distribution is carried out in a manner that automates partial staking. A modifiable percentage of each distribution is granted as HP. The remainder is granted as either HIVE or HBD, depending on the market value of HIVE to HBD." [1]
**Blogging/Posting basics:**
- Blogging
1. Your blog is your space. Do or say whatever you want!
2. If it includes any NSFW material, make sure to "tag" it as such in the Topics section.
3. Make sure to source anything that is not your original work. As simple as what I have done here.
4. Make use of the topics section to draw more attention.
5. Don't recycle your content. One and done!
- Posting
1. This is like a blog, but is intended for a specific community.
2. Posts are initiated on the community page.
3. Make sure you are aware of any community rules.
4. Posts can also be added to your blog.
**Game basics**
- There are more and more blockchain based games popping up all of the time. They can be fun ways to pass the time and/or earn some extra crypto. Below are some of the games that I interact with.
1. Splinterlands - Incredibly popular card based game. This is what actually got me started and how I found Hive. https://splinterlands.com?ref=gatticus
2. Rising Star - Fun game that allows you to grow from a lowly street musician (busker) into a superstar. https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=gatticus
3. Cryptobrewmaster - Brew beer and earn crypto. Enough said! https://www.cryptobrewmaster.io/game/invite?ref=405390cab9654260b86f14b710898e62&code=AlphaBonus
4. dCity - Basically crypto Sim City https://dcity.io/info
5. Exode - In it's early alpha. I do not have the words to do it justice, so I will use their tagline. "Explore. Colonize. Earn Real Money." https://exodegame.com/?ref=7ef3f03
**Useful links:**
1. Hive Homepage - https://hive.io/
2. Hive-Engine - This is the exchange I use. https://hive-engine.com/#
3. Hive Keychain - Awesome browser extension that I use to login to most Hive powered websites. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hive-keychain/jcacnejopjdphbnjgfaaobbfafkihpep
4. Hive Blog - https://hive.blog/
Well that is all for now. I hope this helps any newcomers to the Hive community :)
Special thanks to the @ocd and @hivebuzz communities for helping with the onboarding process!
**** Please let me know if anything is inaccurate! ******
[1] Hive Whitepaper https://hive.io/whitepaper.pdf
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