Hey everybody,
I've finally gotten around to making my post to promote my validator, sps-node-001. I'm not even sure if it will make a difference, as most of you have never heard of me, and this is essentially a popularity contest. If anyone reading this is also struggling with self-promotion, like me, I can honestly say: don't look for inspiration in other posts—it can be discouraging.
For those wondering who I am, my name is Jef, as most of you likely guessed, and I'm from Belgium. I'm aware that I don't have specific skills that might sway votes, but I'm determined to prove my dedication. I'm operating this validator entirely on my own, and I'll use every tool at my disposal to guarantee its consistent operation.
My day job is as a process operator in a chemical plant, which doesn't offer much relevant experience. However, I am a hobby coder. I didn't attend any fancy schools to learn it; I'm self-taught. I've worked with more programming languages than I ever thought possible, but most of my projects are personal, so I don't have anything I can showcase. Just like with running a validator, I'll use every available tool to get the job done and hope that, in the future, I can create something that benefits our community.
I joined this community in January 2022 after watching videos by Luke-WTP, which reminded me of Hearthstone. While I wasn't a hardcore player, I enjoyed it enough to become interested in Splinterlands and then fell in love with the Web3 space. I now own land, licenses, SPS, DEC, and cards worth far more than I ever imagined.
As I mentioned, most of you won't know me. I've been around for a while and have contributed to the game and the DAO, but I prefer to work behind the scenes and don't seek public attention. My goal is simply to help improve the game and its economy.
I'm running the validator software on a dedicated mini PC that I purchased specifically for this purpose, as a full archive node. Below are the stats and an image of the Dell Optiplex 7060, the mini PC I'm running the validator on. I'm running this from home and have taken measures to ensure my API remains accessible, even after modem updates or periodic IP changes.
Is this setup better than using a VPS? I think it depends on your perspective. For the network, it's arguably better—if my internet or power fails, only one validator goes offline. However, it's riskier for me. If multiple validators rely on the same hosting service and it experiences an outage, it's worse for the network.
We use similar mini PCs at work, and they run 24/7, requiring reboots only for Windows updates. However, I'm running Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS, so I'm not worried about that.
You can check my validator's status here: https://api.sps-node-001.eu/status. As you can see, it's a secure public API. The other endpoints are available in the validator-nodes channel.
I understand that you might not be impressed yet, so I'll add this for everyone to see. Below are some stats that anyone can find in the validator database. I gathered this data after block 93932726, which was the last block where the SPS price feed came from Steemmonsters. Since then, the SPS chain has provided the price feed.
The validator software is designed to use the DAO's built-in feed and two external sources. This is done by providing API keys for CoinGecko and/or CoinMarketCap. If all three sources are available, the SPS price is determined by taking the median, ensuring the most accurate price on the SPS chain.
As you can see from the data, since the validators took over, the top 10 validators have provided the price feed 37,301 times, solely from the DAO feed. I have both API keys set and can provide the price from two external sources.
I hope I can gain more votes for my validator. Perhaps this post isn't the best way to promote myself, as I'm not skilled at self-promotion. I hope to prove my worth through my actions over time, rather than words. You can vote for me here:
and search for sps-node-001 or use
If you're not convinced to vote for me, or if you have extra votes, please consider voting for louis.sps and ctrpch.sps. I believe the original testers of the software deserve a vote, perhaps more than those who are simply well-known in the community.
