![](https://i.imgur.com/Unfp0Ot.jpg)

Over on the PAL discord our group has been growing faster than we ever imagined, which is excellent! **Currently we are at 10280 users** which has exceeded our goals on every level. While this is great reason for celebration and has made our community stronger, it has put quite a lot of strain on our upvote service.

## Why can't I use the upvote room?

The room is currently closed for everyone while Minnow takes a nap. She has been working hard and giving between 1700-1800 votes every 24 hours! Please let her be while she takes a well deserved vacation!

If you are getting the message *you do not have permission to send messages in this channel* please scroll to the bottom and read the message before panicking and asking why you were blocked. If minnow is down for a rest or maintenance **we will always leave a message**!


Last week we took some measures to slow down the bots power drain by instituting a 24 hour cooldown for each user and we also added filters for dmania and steepshot (read more about this [here](https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@minnowsupport/importan-changes-to-minnow-support-upvote-bot-behavior). We allowed the bot to stay open during the week hoping these new measures would help the VP stabilize... and it didn't. We got almost as low as 10% and closed the bot down to rest again until it is recharged.

## New Plan for this week

We have made the decision to allow Minnow to rest fully until she is at 100% power before reopening, the current ETA for this is approximately 87 hours. Upon reopening the vote percentage will be reduced to 0.5% as opposed to the previous 1%. At a consistently higher level of power this should give a vote of similar value! We will continue to monitor the voting power with these new parameters and rest the bot as needed. We will start doing this at a higher VP therefore future closures of the upvote room should be for shorter periods of time. 

## Plans for the future

As we continue to grow we will looking for new ways to help spread the love to the most people in the most effective way possible. This may mean further changes to the bots, resting time or new ways to increase or incentivize delegations to our project. We want to help new users who make great content grow as much as possible so we can all become stronger together!

## Community interaction is important

While the upvote from minnowsupport is a nice little boost for new users the PAL discord is so much more than that. We have an active community of knowledgable members who want to socialize and network. We also have mspwaves radio where there are live, interactive shows every day run by Steemians! We have rooms to help you improve your posts and other more niche groups for you to explore. 

**While Minnow is resting this is an excellent time to jump in and take advantage of everything the community has to offer. You will get so much further in the long run if you engage with the community and genuinely get to know people!**

## Come and join one of the fastest growing communities on Steemit : https://discord.gg/4CCCfKu

## See you in the pond!



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## Other posts you may find helpful:

How to find success as a [Steemit Blogger](https://steemit.com/blog/@inquiringtimes/how-to-find-sucess-as-a-steemit-blogger)

Guide to passwords [and how to keep your Steemit account safe](https://steemit.com/steemit/@minnowsupport/steemit-passwords-the-ultimate-guide-to-key-safety)

Why was I muted from [the minnowsupport bot?](https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@discordiant/msp-blacklist-guidelines-defined-with-examples)

How to register on [the PAL discord](https://steemit.com/minnowsupportproject/@rougebot/a-quick-guide-to-register-on-palnet-msp-minnow-support-project)