How do I choose which EOS Block Producers to vote for?

We know you've probably been through dozens of articles about what EOS is and why it's the next big thing. We won't be talking you through all of that again.

We'll be cutting right to the chase with this one. With so many EOS Block Producer candidates out there, how are you supposed to decide on 30?

Also, how are you supposed to pick one over the other, and why should you trust us, a Block Producer candidate, to tell you all of this?

First things first - how to choose block producers.

EOS Block Producer Selection Criteria Checklist

We could probably write a book on the different elements involved in voting in what is essentially a decentralised election and why one criteria should theoretically outweigh another, but we also know that many voters wouldn't have the time to go through that sort of thing.

We figured the path of least resistance would be the path of least words, and have therefore put together the EOS Block Producer selection checklist below. Please note, however, that this is by no means an exhaustive list, there may be errors and elements of it are subject to opinion.

What you have here is what we believe to be some of the most important criteria to consider when casting your votes with the good of EOS, the EOS community and EOS's future in mind.

We're open to criticism and feedback, in fact we encourage it. So if you feel something should be changed, added or removed, go ahead and leave a comment or get in touch with is on [email protected].

Now then, the list.

1. The EOS Block Producer Checkmark Criteria

That's right, the first criteria on our list is actually another criteria list. EOS Go published a list of six checkmark criteria to which another two criteria were later added. The list includes:

PUBLIC PRESENCE
A public website URL and at least one social media account.

ID ON STEEMIT
Links to the following information, all posted to the Steem blockchain:

• Official Block Producer candidate name.
• Location of company headquarters.
• Expected location of servers.
• Server type.
• Current employee list and pictures of at least 67% of staff.
• Relevant background qualifications for at least 67% of staff.

TECH SPECS
Estimate of technical specifications and total expenditure for resources by June 3, 2018 - posted to Steem blockchain.

SCALING PLAN
Estimated scaling plan for hardware after June 3, 2018 - posted to Steem blockchain.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT
Community benefit project outline, only for projects expected to be public by June 3, 2018 - posted to Steem blockchain.

TELEGRAM & TESTNET
Listing of Telegram and test-net node names for community testnet participation.

ROADMAP
Block Producer Candidate Roadmap on values, community project timeline, finances, transparency, or any other topic the candidate deems important.

POSITION ON DIVIDENDS
The sharing of Block Producer inflation rewards with unaffiliated voters, AKA "vote buying''.

Each Block Producer candidate would have, or at least should have, ticked all the boxes above - that's the first thing you should look out for - whether or not they've checked all the Checkmark Criteria.

For those willing to dig deeper and really do their proper due diligence on delegates, you can then look into how much effort they've put into ticking those boxes and why.

For example, if Block Producer Jupiter answered 'we'll add an email address to our website for people to contact us on', while Block Producer Saturn set up an inter-galactic EOS events series, they'd both have technically ticked the Community Benefit criteria box, but one would be putting loads more effort in. It's yours to gauge.

Source: https://steemit.com/eos/@eosgo/eos-block-producer-candidate-report-10-may-30-2018

2. Governance

While elements of a Block Producer's intended style of governance should be available through the Checkmark Criteria above, they're unlikely to paint the whole picture of how that Block Producer is likely to act.

So, what should we be looking for? In short, good intentions. We should be looking for Block Producer candidates who have the good of the network and the ecosystem in mind. But that's easier said than done. It's difficult enough to work out the intentions of people you've known for years, how on earth are you supposed to figure out the intentions of a Block Producer?

Truth is, you never really will. But there are things to look out for which can give you an idea of whether one's intentions are selfish or EOS-friendly.

For instance:

- How transparent are their governance models?
Do they state their proposed governance models?
How in depth are they?
What do they promise?
Can the promises be fulfilled?
How easily understandable are they?

- How accessible are their financial records?
How often do they publish them?
What are they doing with their BP revenue?
Have they engaged in any sort of vote-buying?

- Do they undergo 3rd party audits?
Are they testing their security?
Are they auditing their infrastructure?
Are they publishing the results?
Are they spending on improvements?

This is fairly unchartered territory we're venturing into, both for voters and Block Producers alike, but let's not forget that there are humans with very human needs and wants behind the names. In real life, as in EOS, temptations do exist and people may well act in their own interests over the interests of the community as a whole.

In that respect, it makes sense to look out for evidence of malpractice. For instance, while cooperation between Block Producers all over the world is to be encouraged, we need to draw a line between cooperation and collusion.
Working with other Block Producers to manipulate governance for the good of a few is collusion. That's a no-go. Similarly, if a Block Producer offers you anything in return for your vote, red flag it. Let the community know.

3. Geopolitical Diversity

To be dispersed is to be spread far and wide - not all from, say, Iceland, Hawaii or Nauru. Not that we have anything against any of those places, but if all 21 Block Producers came from the same place and that place got hit by a hurricane or a case of severe political unrest, a huge blackout, or a government that wanted to completely ban blockchain technology - well, we'd have a problem.

Being spread all over the globe helps mitigate against such risks. It also brings lots of different ideas and skill-sets to the table. It adds that extra layer of decentralisation and helps make EOS into a global community.

Source: https://steemit.com/eos/@eosgo/eos-block-producer-candidate-report-10-may-30-2018

4. Technology

The reason technology isn't listed as number one is because it's already listed in the Checkmark Criteria list. We're listing it again because it deserves more in-depth analysis.

As part of the Checkmark Criteria, Block Producer candidates should have listed their technical specifications and their plan to scale their system. Now that you are (or should be) aware of that, what does it mean?

Firstly, what hardware are they using and is it good enough? Here are a few things to look out for:

• Enough RAM (=/>250 Gb)
• Powerful CPUs (=/>24 cores)
• Adequate Bandwidth (=/>10G Switches, =/>10G Fiber Uplinks)
• Strong Firewalls (a network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic)
• Reverse Proxies (a type of proxy server that retrieves resources on behalf of a client)
• Geo-Redundancy (having a back-up in a different location)

Technological Diversity

Another aspect worth looking out for is technological diversity. It's important that not all BPs are using the same system for similar reasons to why we encourage geopolitical diversity. If all Block Producers are using Amazon services and something were to happen to Amazon - someone launches a decentralized Amazon alternative on EOS and Amazon has to close down, for instance - it could cause problems.

5) What are they promising to do with the money?

… and once the mainnet is up and running …

6. What are they doing with the money?

For the time being point five is most relevant since no Block Producers have been elected yet and therefore, no money has yet been spent. So right now Block Producers are promising all kinds of stuff and it's important to adopt an analytical, objective view on whatever they're promising. Questions you could ask include:

• How will their choices impact the community?
• Is it all hot-air? Can they realistically fulfil their promises?
• Are they in line with the constitution?
• Are they acting in their own interests or the interests of the EOS community?

In a few weeks time point five will become point six. This isn't a one time vote, it's an ongoing process. In the same way it's in our interest to check that politicians voted into power stick to their promises, the community need to keep the pressure on Block Producers to keep theirs. Unlike in standard democracies, however, if voted parties fail to maintain their promises they can be voted out of a position of influence very, very quickly.

Among the promises we hope to see Block Producers making and keeping are that they will reinvest into infrastructure growth, community support and education, as well as support for EOS-related projects.

7) Team

None of the above would be possible without the people behind it all. The decision makers, the techies, the admins, the writers, the community managers.

EOS is bringing together teams from all four corners of the globe to both collaborate and compete against one another. All of these teams come from different backgrounds and possess different ideas, levels of expertise, morals, skillsets and plans.

How to make sense of it all - enough to judge who's better than who?
What should you be looking out for?

Here are some pointers:

-Expertise
Are they new to the industry?
What's their technical background like?
What's their track record/experience?

-Funding
Where is their funding coming from?
Is it sustainable?
Do they have enough of it?

-General
Are there enough people on board?
Will they be available when needed?
Do they fill all the required roles?

Now that we've been through different criteria to consider when selecting which Block Producers to vote for - how are you supposed to pick one over the other? How can you track who's done what and how and then compare it with dozens of other options.

We understand that's not an easy process, so we've put together this Block Producer Score Sheet to help you. This is based on the criteria listed above - which is still subject to feedback and criticism, so consider this Block Producer Scoresheet V.1. Feel free to add, remove or change anything on the template.

TEMPLATE:

https://eosnetwork.io/assets/docs/Block_Producer_Selection_Sheet.xlsx

It's a simple tool, but it could help organise your thoughts given the amount of criteria and Block Producers to go through. We'd be willing to work on a more elaborate scoresheet tool of the feedback on this is good .
And in case you'd like to do some Block Producer and events research of your own, here's a great tool by EOS Go:

https://bp.eosgo.io/

Why listen to us?

Now for possibly the most interesting part of all of this - why listen to a Block Producer candidate to tell you all of this?
In a typical election, if a candidate were to tell you what to look for in a candidate and then design a method by which to grade candidates, it would raise an immediate red flag.

But this is not a typical election. This is a socio-economic-political experiment unlike anything ever seen. It's a toast to the potential of digital decentralization.

In this election you won't be voting for candidates to run a local, centralised government. You'll be voting for delegates to run a global, decentralised business infrastructure.

The beauty of all of this is that it is in the interest of candidates to act with the good of the network and community in mind, because failure to do so will almost guarantee that their chances of election will go up in smoke.

We created the voting criteria and scoresheet with the intention of having other Block Producers and community members criticise, adapt and improve on it, for the good of everyone in the ecosystem. We're by no means saying THIS is how you should judge Block Producers and THIS is the only way to calculate a vote. Quite to the contrary.

So take this article with a pinch of salt. In fact, don't just take this article with a pinch of salt - keep your eyes peeled, dive deep, weigh the pros against the cons, discuss with other voters, interact and engage with Block Producers. Ask questions.

EOS network by Advanced Blockchain AG

Speaking of interaction with Block Producers, here's a bit about us and a few links for you to get to know us better and get in touch with any feedback or criticism.

EOS network by Advanced Blockchain AG is a Block Producer candidate from the crypto-capital - Berlin, Germany. We're powered by two Berlin-based companies, Advanced Blockchain AG - who focus on real-world implementation of Distributed Ledger Technology, and nakamo.to - who focus on research, development and education on all things DLT - with a special interest in novel technologies.

Here's our official application:
https://steemit.com/eos/@ad-blockchain-ag/eos-network-by-advanced-blockchain-ag-announcing-our-eos-block-producer-candidacy

And our two additional criteria:
https://steemit.com/eos/@ad-blockchain-ag/eos-network-by-advanced-blockchain-ag-roadmap-and-position-on-dividends

In case you'd like to contact us directly or keep up to date with what we're doing, you can do so through the following channels:

Website: https://eosnetwork.io/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EOSnetwork_io
Steemit: https://steemit.com/@ad-blockchain-ag
Telegram: @EOSnetwork

We've also just set up the EOS ONE Event Series together with fellow Block Producer candidate EOS42. More about that here:

https://steemit.com/eos/@ad-blockchain-ag/the-eos-one-series-bridging-communities

If you represent an EOS Block Producer, an EOS community or an EOS project/company and you're interested in forming part of the EOS ONE series, you can leave your details here:

https://goo.gl/forms/jrmOWTGfTrkYB8nT2

That's just about it from our side.

We hope this helps!