Hey Hive fam, let’s have a brutally honest chat.
You love Hive, right? You love earning rewards, commenting, posting, curating… all the good stuff that makes this place so different from every Web2 hellscape out there (you know which ones I’m talking about, books and clockish things and such). But here’s the thing… none of that happens unless people like me are in the background, doing the work that keeps this blockchain alive.
And before you zone out thinking this is some boring “sysadmin geek talk,” stick with me. Because if you’re not paying attention to witness voting, you’re literally risking the future of Hive.
No pressure.
So yeah… I’m @botlord. That’s my technical account. Some of you probably know me from my personal account, this one, @borniet, or from the tools and bots I’ve built over the years. But let’s be real: the work I do under @botlord? That’s the heavy lifting.
I’ve been around since the Steem days. My first witness was back then, but life happened (as it tends to do when you’ve got kids, a job, and about 6,000 browser tabs open). Fast forward, and last year I jumped back in full throttle on Hive:
💥 Running a Hive witness 💥 Running a Hive-Engine witness 💥 Running a VSC node 💥 Running some bots
My Hive witness runs on an AMD Ryzen PRO 3600 with 32GB RAM, 2TB disk space, latest stable Ubuntu, and all the standard Linux admin magic. Translation: I don’t just slap this stuff on a dusty laptop in my garage and hope for the best.
This is professional-grade infrastructure.
Being a Hive witness isn’t about a fancy badge or flexing on Discord (well…). It’s about one thing: guarding Hive’s decentralization and stability.
That means:
🔒 Keeping nodes online and secure 🌎 Distributing servers geographically ⚙️ Making the hard calls when they need to be made
And yeah, I nerd out on this stuff. Like, a lot. I’ve been building bots like @indeedly and @hope, tools like hiveearnings.botlord.eu (currently offline for upgrades), and working with communities like BBH, Alive, and Team Mithril.
Because running nodes is only part of the job. Building and contributing to the ecosystem? That’s just as important.
Here’s a truth bomb for you:
🚨 Tons of Hive votes are still stuck on inactive witnesses. 🚨 Some haven’t updated in 3+ years but still have millions of HP in votes. 🚨 Meanwhile, active witnesses like me are working around the clock to keep Hive online.
Witness voting isn’t “set it and forget it.” It’s your responsibility as a Hive user to support active, trusted witnesses. Without them? No posts. No comments. No curation. Just a dead blockchain.
Do yourself (and Hive) a favor:
✅ Go to https://peakd.com/me/witnesses ✅ Unvote the zombies ✅ Vote for active witnesses like @botlord who are doing the work every damn day
Hive doesn’t need explosive growth that burns us out. It needs:
📈 Sustainable growth 🤝 More community feeling 🤝 Stronger user retention 🛠️ Better onboarding tools (I’m working on some now—stay tuned) ⚖️ And witnesses & users who avoid polarizing “us vs. them” mindsets. Disagreements are healthy. Division isn’t.
This isn’t about me vs. other witnesses. It’s about keeping Hive strong. Period.
I’m not here to tell you I’m “better” than anyone else. Most active witnesses are good people doing good work. But here’s why your vote matters for me:
✔️ I’m consistent and reliable ✔️ I’ve got skin in the game (time, money, resources) ✔️ I’m transparent (check @botlord & @borniet for all my activity) ✔️ I’m still building, still contributing, still learning, and still here
Many witnesses start strong and flame out when they realize the time and cost involved. Votes on those “dead” nodes could fuel active witnesses like me who are keeping Hive alive.
If you’ve been on Hive for years and never rechecked your witness votes, now’s the time.
✅ Go here: https://peakd.com/me/witnesses ✅ Unvote dead nodes ✅ Vote @botlord
Because Hive isn’t run by some corporate overlord. It’s run by people like me, putting in the work so you can keep earning and engaging every day.
You’re welcome. 😉
This isn’t a guilt trip. It’s a wake-up call. You love Hive? Prove it. Support the people keeping it alive.
Now go vote. Or don’t. But if the blockchain stops producing blocks because nobody maintained the nodes… well… don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Just saying.
—-
Botlord is now also a Hive Witness! 🤖 Vote for @botlord
✅ Click here & vote: 👉 here.
### 📸 Captured & Edited **Shot with:** Apple iPhone 14 Max Pro **Edited using:** Lightroom Mobile & [Skylum Luminar AI](https://jo.my/lmnar) **AI Images: ** Created using Sora & Grok, using my own prompts
All photos are my own work. Dive deeper and explore more on my website or check out my links.
Curious about the gear I use?
Find out everything about my photography tools here.
Follow me on Instagram: instagram.com/bjornbeheydt
Join me there for behind-the-scenes, exclusive shots, and more!
🤖 Vote for Botlord – Because More Nodes = More Power! Hive needs strong, reliable witnesses. So, I launched Botlord—because if anyone should command the bots, it’s me. 🤖💪
✅ Click here & vote: 👉 Vote for Botlord
More nodes = More decentralization = A stronger Hive. It’s one click for you, but a giant leap for Hive stability. Botlord approves this message. 🚀
Discover the !INDEED tipping bot and add a bit of fun to rewarding your favorite creators!
Start tipping and earn tokens just by engaging with the community.
Learn more about it
https://ecency.com/hive-167922/@indeedly/introducing-the-public-beta-of
.
Spread some positivity with the !HOPE tipping bot!
Start rewarding content that inspires and uplifts with !HOPE tokens.
Learn more about it here.
Embrace the weirdness with the !WEIRD tipping bot!
Tip and share the quirky side of the Hive community with !WEIRD tokens.
Learn more about it
https://ecency.com/hive-167922/@weirdly/get-your-weird-out-introducing
.
BBH is here to support the Hive community, and every vote helps us keep growing and making a difference!
Consider voting for the BBH witness to support decentralization and the awesome Hive community.
Learn more and cast your vote here.
Voting done!
If most of the HP is delegated out, will the vote do any help?
I am a regular user of two of your services: HIVE transaction senders and earning tools! Awesome!
Thank you very much!!! appreciated!
Yes, the vote counts for the size of HP you own, without delegations ;-)
Nice to hear that you’re using them, and loving them! I’m currently working on the next version of the Earnings Tool, but have some other stuff to do inbetween as well ;-)
!ALIVE
!BBH
!STRIDE
!WEIRD
!DOOK
Just voted
Thank you!!🙏 Appreciated!!!
!HOPE
!PIZZA
!INDEED
!ALIVE
!BBH
!STRIDE
Great job! Are you on Discord?
!BBH
!HOPE
!INDEED
!WRD
!PIZZA
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
And yes, I am! Feel free to connect: bjornb999
!HOPE
!PIZZA
!INDEED
!ALIVE
!BBH
!STRIDE
Me too, thebighigg987
Just searching for you and can't find you!
View more
$PIZZA slices delivered:
@tydynrain(5/15) tipped @borniet
borniet tipped cryptoyzzy
borniet tipped hivecurious
thebighigg tipped borniet
cryptoyzzy tipped borniet
Come get MOONed!
!ALIVE
!BBH
!INDEED 👍
!HOPE
!PIZZA
!INDEED
!ALIVE
!BBH
!STRIDE
!PIZZA
!INDEED
!HOPE
!HOPE
!PIZZA
!INDEED
!ALIVE
!BBH
!STRIDE
We've got to get your nodes higher in their respective lists. By the way, I just noticed that you spelled @hopelizer incorrectly...lol!
I keep thinking that a joint Botlord/MMB/Alive Tribe witness might be a good idea at some point, as I think that it would be mutually beneficial all around. 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
!ALIVE
!BBH
!LOLZ
!PIZZA
lolztoken.com
Now there is a career in ruins.
Credit: reddit
@borniet, I sent you an $LOLZ on behalf of tydynrain
(3/10)
Oh boy ;-) Where did you spot the error???
Yeah, I would definitely not mind it getting way higher up the ranks :-) And all help to reach that is appreciated!
Totally agree, a joint witness would definitely be a nice thing! And we can start with it (almost) whenever we want :-) I would’ve started with an Alive one last year already, but then we decided on other prios. Maybe now is the time to do get started?
!BEER
!HUG
!INDEED
Hehe...up in this post, it's written as @hope. For sure, and I've noticed that it often takes quite a while for witnesses to rise notably in the ranking. I'll always help as I'm able! Excellent, and yep, it got sidelined for a bit, but I think that it would be a great idea to get that ball rolling now. We haven't had much new in the community for a while, so I think the timing is perfect. 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙
!ALIVE
!INDEED
!STRIDE