Steem has 20 main witnesses, but behind those, there is an infinite number of backup witnesses. Each of these produces the 21st block, they each take a turn in witnessing it, depending on their share of witness votes from users.
<p dir="auto">As a backup witness, it's as important as any, to keep an updated node and a valid price feed. Even though it's only the main witnesses that act as price feeders, a backup witness should be prepared to jump in and supply good data if necessary. <h3>Outdated witnesses with Votes <p dir="auto">At present, we have many witnesses in the 21-100 range that are either not running a witness node (Disabled) or have an old price feed. When many witnesses on the top 100 list aren’t doing all their tasks, it becomes an issue. It also shows how many users on the platform that votes once and never care to look back again. It gives new, honest and reliable, witnesses less of a chance to climb the ladder to show their capabilities, hard work, and dedication. <p dir="auto">We currently have: <ul> <li>15 Witnesses Disabled <li>10 Witnesses with outdated Price Feeds <div class="table-responsive"><table> <thead> <tr><th>No<th>Account<th>Status<th>Voters<th>Top Voters <tbody> <tr><td>#26<td><span><a href="/@bhuz">@bhuz<td>Disabled<td>2418<td><span><a href="/@pumpkin">@pumpkin <a href="/@clayop">@clayop <a href="/@smooth">@smooth <a href="/@arhag">@arhag <a href="/@abitmore">@abitmore <tr><td>#36<td><span><a href="/@aizensou">@aizensou<td>5 Months w/o Price<td>753<td><span><a href="/@pumpkin">@pumpkin <a href="/@smooth">@smooth <a href="/@berniesanders">@berniesanders <a href="/@riverhead">@riverhead <a href="/@steemed">@steemed <tr><td>#40<td><span><a href="/@joseph">@joseph<td>3 Months w/o Price<td>1476<td><span><a href="/@berniesanders">@berniesanders <a href="/@arhag">@arhag <a href="/@roadscape">@roadscape <a href="/@riverhead">@riverhead <a href="/@donkeypong">@donkeypong <tr><td>#41<td><span><a href="/@witness.svk">@witness.svk<td>Disabled<td>1699<td><span><a href="/@blocktrades">@blocktrades <a href="/@arhag">@arhag <a href="/@xeldal">@xeldal <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@fuzzyvest">@fuzzyvest <tr><td>#42<td><span><a href="/@chainsquad.com">@chainsquad.com<td>8 Months w/o Price<td>804<td><span><a href="/@pumpkin">@pumpkin <a href="/@roadscape">@roadscape <a href="/@fuzzyvest">@fuzzyvest <a href="/@eeks">@eeks <a href="/@bhuz">@bhuz <tr><td>#43<td><span><a href="/@steempty">@steempty<td>Disabled<td>1443<td><span><a href="/@blocktrades">@blocktrades <a href="/@berniesanders">@berniesanders <a href="/@xeldal">@xeldal <a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@steempty">@steempty <tr><td>#48<td><span><a href="/@roadscape">@roadscape<td>Disabled<td>2522<td><span><a href="/@arhag">@arhag <a href="/@donkeypong">@donkeypong <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@xaero1">@xaero1 <a href="/@dan">@dan <tr><td>#50<td><span><a href="/@complexring">@complexring<td>Disabled<td>1374<td><span><a href="/@berniesanders">@berniesanders <a href="/@xeldal">@xeldal <a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@steempty">@steempty <a href="/@dan">@dan <tr><td>#52<td><span><a href="/@bitcoiner">@bitcoiner<td>1 Week w/o Price<td>1934<td><span><a href="/@thejohalfiles">@thejohalfiles <a href="/@arhag">@arhag <a href="/@wackou">@wackou <a href="/@delegate.lafona">@delegate.lafona <a href="/@fulltimegeek">@fulltimegeek <tr><td>#55<td><span><a href="/@nextgencrypto">@nextgencrypto<td>1 Week w/o Price<td>418<td><span><a href="/@berniesanders">@berniesanders <a href="/@netuoso">@netuoso <a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@gtg">@gtg <tr><td>#56<td><span><a href="/@arhag">@arhag<td>Disabled<td>1528<td><span><a href="/@arhag">@arhag <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@dan">@dan <a href="/@fuzzyvest">@fuzzyvest <a href="/@roelandp">@roelandp <tr><td>#61<td><span><a href="/@datasecuritynode">@datasecuritynode<td>3 Months w/o Price<td>807<td><span><a href="/@xeldal">@xeldal <a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@pharesim">@pharesim <a href="/@delegate.lafona">@delegate.lafona <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <tr><td>#66<td><span><a href="/@au1nethyb1">@au1nethyb1<td>Disabled<td>504<td><span><a href="/@xeldal">@xeldal <a href="/@steempty">@steempty <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@dan">@dan <a href="/@bhuz">@bhuz <tr><td>#67<td><span><a href="/@bacchist">@bacchist<td>Disabled<td>649<td><span><a href="/@smooth">@smooth <a href="/@berniesanders">@berniesanders <a href="/@eeks">@eeks <a href="/@agoric.systems">@agoric.systems <a href="/@shaka">@shaka <tr><td>#70<td><span><a href="/@agoric.systems">@agoric.systems<td>Disabled<td>155<td><span><a href="/@roadscape">@roadscape <a href="/@riverhead">@riverhead <a href="/@donkeypong">@donkeypong <a href="/@xaero1">@xaero1 <a href="/@tamim">@tamim <tr><td>#73<td><span><a href="/@cyrano.witness">@cyrano.witness<td>Disabled<td>353<td><span><a href="/@xeldal">@xeldal <a href="/@adsactly">@adsactly <a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@fuzzyvest">@fuzzyvest <tr><td>#74<td><span><a href="/@kushed">@kushed<td>7 Months w/o Price<td>275<td><span><a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@kushed">@kushed <a href="/@sweetsssj">@sweetsssj <a href="/@boatymcboatface">@boatymcboatface <tr><td>#77<td><span><a href="/@inventor16">@inventor16<td>1 Month w/o Price<td>29<td><span><a href="/@jerrybanfield">@jerrybanfield <a href="/@netuoso">@netuoso <a href="/@neoxian">@neoxian <a href="/@teamsteem">@teamsteem <a href="/@dang007">@dang007 <tr><td>#82<td><span><a href="/@tdv.witness">@tdv.witness<td>Disabled<td>69<td><span><a href="/@hendrikdegrote">@hendrikdegrote <a href="/@fabio">@fabio <a href="/@anotherjoe">@anotherjoe <a href="/@lukewearechange">@lukewearechange <a href="/@falkvinge">@falkvinge <tr><td>#83<td><span><a href="/@bue">@bue<td>3 Months w/o Price<td>638<td><span><a href="/@riverhead">@riverhead <a href="/@bitcube">@bitcube <a href="/@bhuz">@bhuz <a href="/@davidding">@davidding <a href="/@sweetsssj">@sweetsssj <tr><td>#85<td><span><a href="/@adsactly-witness">@adsactly-witness<td>Disabled<td>24<td><span><a href="/@adsactly">@adsactly <a href="/@netuoso">@netuoso <a href="/@gavvet">@gavvet <a href="/@buildteam">@buildteam <a href="/@spotlight">@spotlight <tr><td>#87<td><span><a href="/@team.alpha">@team.alpha<td>Disabled<td>21<td><span><a href="/@fyrstikken">@fyrstikken <a href="/@delegate.lafona">@delegate.lafona <a href="/@cryptomancer">@cryptomancer <a href="/@jrcornel">@jrcornel <a href="/@demotruk">@demotruk <tr><td>#91<td><span><a href="/@bayareacoins">@bayareacoins<td>Disabled<td>83<td><span><a href="/@smooth">@smooth <a href="/@tomkirkham">@tomkirkham <a href="/@fbslo">@fbslo <a href="/@bacchist">@bacchist <a href="/@ballinconscious">@ballinconscious <tr><td>#98<td><span><a href="/@picokernel">@picokernel<td>Disabled<td>119<td><span><a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@rainman">@rainman <a href="/@kushed">@kushed <a href="/@steemaccess">@steemaccess <a href="/@geoffrey">@geoffrey <tr><td>#99<td><span><a href="/@silversteem">@silversteem<td>1 Year w/o Price<td>126<td><span><a href="/@steemed">@steemed <a href="/@kushed">@kushed <a href="/@badger311">@badger311 <a href="/@rea">@rea <a href="/@johnsmith">@johnsmith <h1>Vote for an Active Witness <p dir="auto">Everyone is free to vote for 30 witnesses, which at any time can be changed, without any reason. On <a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">the Witness Page a user can vote on their candidates, where the top 50 witnesses are visible for easy access. Any witness below 50 can be typed in at the bottom of the page manually. <h1>Vote for <code>sc-steemit <p dir="auto"><span>I'm an active witness, specializing in scripting and coding mainly. Supporting other projects like <a href="/trending/gridcoin"> #gridcoin, <a href="/trending/bitshares"> #bitshares, and <a href="/trending/peerplays"> #peerplays as well. With the rewards I gain as a witness, I can help these projects and people even more. <p dir="auto">I've been <a href="https://steemit.com/witness/@sc-steemit/intent-to-become-a-witness-of-steemit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">a Steem witness since June 2017, and <a href="https://steemit.com/bitshares/@sc-steemit/joining-in-as-bitshares-witness" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">a BitShares witness since July. In this time I've only missed six blocks in total on Steem, making my servers quite reliable. My price feeds have never been down, even though I'm a back-up witness. <p dir="auto">I'm actively reading and making myself aware of changes in the space and try to listen to other users and witnesses to build an assessment to go on. <h2>If you're looking for a good, reliable and honest witness; I'm honored to receive a vote from you! <h5>Sources: <a href="https://steemian.info/witnesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Steemian, <a href="https://steemdb.com/witnesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">SteemDB, <a href="https://steemd.com/witnesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">SteemD <hr /> <h1><center>Vote for me as Witness <div class="pull-left"><span><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/0x0/http://orig05.deviantart.net/0f00/f/2012/097/5/7/eye_witness_by_0x4fffwhite-d4vclzf.png" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/0x0/http://orig05.deviantart.net/0f00/f/2012/097/5/7/eye_witness_by_0x4fffwhite-d4vclzf.png 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/0x0/http://orig05.deviantart.net/0f00/f/2012/097/5/7/eye_witness_by_0x4fffwhite-d4vclzf.png 2x" /> <p dir="auto">Enjoy what I contribute to the community? Consider voting for my Witness on Steemit or BitShares. You can also vote for me as a <a href="https://steemit.com/witness-category/@sc-steemit/the-difference-of-votes-and-witness-votes-don-t-waste-your-witness-votes-on-dead-witnesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Steemit Proxy Voter. <p dir="auto">By voting for me as a witness, you will support an active witness on Steem and BitShares. I believe a witness should keep up-to-date on current happenings and be a conduit between the many users and the system. <p dir="auto"><strong>Read my Witness Posts: <a href="https://steemit.com/bitshares/@sc-steemit/joining-in-as-bitshares-witness" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">BitShares, <a href="https://steemit.com/witness/@sc-steemit/intent-to-become-a-witness-of-steemit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Steemit <p dir="auto"><strong>Support my Projects: <a href="https://www.gridcoinstats.eu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Gridcoinstats.eu, <a href="https://www.crypto.fans" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Crypto.fans <p dir="auto"><strong>Available on: <a href="https://discord.gg/RPJEsGp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">BTS Discord, Gridcoin Slack and <a href="https://t.me/gridcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Gridcoin Telegram <p dir="auto"><center> <p dir="auto"><b>Vote for <code>sc-steemit on Steemit<br /><a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link"><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNMUctDGwFLodWPEhtsNNqX49czWPTPffReVEeWcHRwmt/vote_witness_scsteemit.PNG" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNMUctDGwFLodWPEhtsNNqX49czWPTPffReVEeWcHRwmt/vote_witness_scsteemit.PNG 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNMUctDGwFLodWPEhtsNNqX49czWPTPffReVEeWcHRwmt/vote_witness_scsteemit.PNG 2x" /><br /><b>Vote for <code>sc-ol on BitShares<br /><a href="http://cryptofresh.com/u/sc-ol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link"><img src="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmZu3oUhQRQUN6VsFMuWeyPHW8Dd5es49ZCLyvdXM9jLmq/vote_witness_scol_white_2.PNG" srcset="https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmZu3oUhQRQUN6VsFMuWeyPHW8Dd5es49ZCLyvdXM9jLmq/vote_witness_scol_white_2.PNG 1x, https://images.hive.blog/1536x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmZu3oUhQRQUN6VsFMuWeyPHW8Dd5es49ZCLyvdXM9jLmq/vote_witness_scol_white_2.PNG 2x" /><br /><h4><strong>Proud Supporter of <a href="http://www.gridcoin.us" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">Gridcoin and <a href="https://wallet.bitshares.org/?r=sc-ol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" title="This link will take you away from hive.blog" class="external_link">BitShares <p dir="auto"> <p>
Who is @auzensiu ?
Nice catch, It's supposed to be @aizensou
Well, you got mine for your fine work in the gridcoin community! (and bitshares too)
I humbly thank you for your support 😊
If you were looking for my vote, this was not the way to do it.
Good job! Just voted for @sc-steemit as a witness.
Merry Christmas
Happy New York
I don't agree that disabled price feed are necessarily an issue. I don't think the price feed of the back up witnesses is taken into account and those who are the most disadvantage by not updating their price feed are the witnesses themselves.
As for the disabled witnesses some have intention to be back and those who vote for them might still care enough to keep those vote to those witnesses until they come back for many reasons.
One example is @agoric.systems whom I've contacted personally and they have let me know they will be back online soon.
Take care @sc-steemit!
Thanks for your input @teamsteem.
I find that witnesses with a price feed already set up is a sign of interest and understanding of the ecosystem. Sure, it's just one of the tasks and as long as they are not in the Top 20 range it's not necessary at all. With that said, I still think that a witness closer to the top should be ready and well versed in the technical details surrounding it.
As of Disabled witnesses, I understand that a vote may state that they wish the person that runs it to come back as they have a spot left for them when they do. Disabled witnesses just lets everyone below move up a spot, but the votes should be redistributed imho. Some have been disabled for weeks on end, even months. One solution could be witness vote decay, something that's been on the table for BitShares as well.
At the end of the day it's still up to everyone to form their opinion, that's the best part I think :)
This makes me think of @lukestokes report on voting engagement. Things are getting better at voting but far below what should make dPOS properly work.
My guess is that a lot of people still don't know what a witness is.