FAQ.py

import discord

links = [
'https://boinc.berkeley.edu/', #0
'https://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php', #1
'https://gridcoinstats.eu/project', #2
'http://www.gridcoin.us/', #3
'https://www.grcpool.com/', #4
'https://boinc.berkeley.edu/download.php', #5
'https://t.me/gridcoin', #6
'https://grcinvite.herokuapp.com', #7
'https://www.reddit.com/r/gridcoin/', #8
'https://cryptocurrencytalk.com/forum/464-gridcoin-grc/', #9
'https://github.com/gridcoin/Gridcoin-Research', #10
'https://discord.me/gridcoin', #11
'http://gridcoin.us/Guides/gridcoin-install.htm', #12
'http://download.gridcoin.us/download/downloadstake/signed/snapshot.zip', #13
'http://wiki.gridcoin.us/FAQ#Sync', #14
'http://gridcoin.ch/', #15
'https://www.gridcoin.science/', #16
'https://www.whatisgridcoin.com/', #17
'https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/gridcoin/', #18
'http://wiki.gridcoin.us/Main_Page', #19
'https://gridcoinstats.eu/index.php', #20
'https://gridcoin.network/', #21
'https://grcexplorer.neuralminer.io', #22
'https://www.nuad.de', #23
'https://grctnexplorer.neuralminer.io/', #24
'https://delta1512.github.io/BOINCOS/', #25
'http://www.boincitaly.org/supporto/boinc-distro.html', #26
'https://boinc.berkeley.edu/wiki/User_manual', #27
'https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/the-greatest-official-boinc-faq.17347384/', #28
'https://www.facebook.com/gridcoins/', #29
'https://twitter.com/GridcoinNetwork', #30
'https://steemit.com/trending/gridcoin', #31
'https://www.grcpool.com/account', #32
'https://youtu.be/jm2E6pQ-Ifw', #33
'https://github.com/gridcoin/Gridcoin-Research/issues', #34
'https://coinomi.com', #35
'https://holytransaction.com', #36
'https://www.coinvault.io', #37
'https://walletgenerator.net/?currency=GridcoinResearch', #38
'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bitshares.bitshareswallet', #39
'http://gridcoin.ch/faucet.php', #40
'https://gridcoinstats.eu/faucet.php', #41
'', #42
'http://uscore.net/', #43
'https://bittrex.com/Market/', #44
'', #45
'https://c-cex.com/', #46
'https://tradebytrade.com/', #47
'https://bisq.network/', #48
'https://flyp.me/', #49
'https://bitshares.org/', #50
'https://bit.btsabc.org/', #51
'https://openledger.io/', #52
'https://market.rudex.org/', #53
'https://gridcoin.ml/', #54
'https://gridcoin.io/', #55
'https://gridcoin.tumblr.com/', #56
'https://grc.arikado.ru/#faucet', #57
'https://www.southxchange.com/Market/Book/GRC/BTC', #58
'https://fold.it/portal/', #59
'https://www.vodafone.co.uk/dreamlab/', #60
'https://csgrid.org/csg/wildlife/video_selector.php', #61
'https://voice.mozilla.org/en' #62
]

# What is Gridcoin?
what_is_grc = discord.Embed(title='What is Gridcoin?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
[Gridcoin]({}) is an open source cryptocurrency (Ticker: [GRC]({})) which securely rewards volunteer computing performed upon the [BOINC]({}) platform in a decentralized manner on top of Proof Of Stake (POS) and a new protocol known as Proof Of Research (POR).

Unlike typical currencies that compute (arguably) useless mathematics to produce hashes and secure their own chain, the Gridcoin ecosystem uses the environmentally friendly POS protocol in addition to incentivising the computing of real-world problems that help solve humanity’s greatest struggles such as cancer, protein fabrication, prime factoring and even searching for alien life.
'''.format(links[3], links[18], links[0]))

# What is BOINC?
what_is_boinc = discord.Embed(title='What is BOINC?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
[BOINC]({}) is an open-source volunteer computing network which combines the processing power of all individual users for the purposes of scientific research. It's free, production ready and many projects already harness volunteered computing power to attempt to cure cancer/AIDS/Ebola/malaria, map the Milky Way galaxy, search for extraterrestrial signals and [much more]({}).
'''.format(links[0], links[1]))

# How is GRC staked/mined?
how_to_stake = discord.Embed(title='How is GRC mined/staked?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
Stakers are people that hold Gridcoin and earn a constant reward of 10 GRC for every block validated through POS. Likelihood of gaining these rewards is dependent on your balance.

Crunchers (AKA Miners) are individuals that participate in [BOINC]({}) computing and earn rewards from Gridcoin through Proof Of Research (POR). To be eligible for GRC rewards, miners must have a minimum of 100 Recent Average Credit (RAC) from BOINC for any [whitelisted project]({}) and an existing GRC balance.
'''.format(links[0], links[2]))

# Technical staking explanation
how_to_stake_technical = discord.Embed(title='How is GRC mined/staked? (technical version)', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
Staking looks at your Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs, the sets of coins in your wallets that you can spend). Even though your wallet may say 1k GRC, there might be 250GRC in one UTXO and 700 in another and 50 in another and so forth. The amount of coins in one UTXO relates to how likely you are to stake a block and earn the block reward with it.

In GRC, basic POS operates meaning that you can earn the block reward once you stake any of your UTXOs. This process is similar for research too, one UTXO will simply stake all crunching rewards along with the constant block reward (ie, block reward + research in one stake).
''')

# Do I need GRC to earn mining rewards?
initial_grc = discord.Embed(title='Do I need GRC to earn mining rewards?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
Yes. Solo mining rewards are received by staking, which requires an existing balance of GRC. However, when mining for the pool, you do not need any existing GRC.
''')

# Should I join the pool or do solo mining?
pool_or_solo = discord.Embed(title="I'm new to Gridcoin, should I join the pool or do solo mining?", colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
If you do not want to invest a small amount of money to perform staking and earn research rewards, you should join the [GRC Pool]({}).
The pool allows you to crunch projects and earn rewards without having any existing GRC to stake with. To learn how to join the pool, see `%faq 7`.

If you have an existing amount of GRC (see `%faq 6`), you may want to start solo mining.
Solo mining is where you crunch your own work and earn rewards through validating blocks via POS on the Gridcoin blockchain. To learn how to do solo mining, see `%faq 8`.
'''.format(links[4]))

# How much GRC is enough to start staking?
how_much_grc = discord.Embed(title='How much GRC is enough to start mining/staking?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
A good amount of GRC to hold in your wallet is about 1000-5000 GRC and will allow you to stake on a regular basis. Time to get rewards depends on network difficulty (the collective amount of GRC online and trying to stake) and the amount of GRC you own.
''')

# Where can I report issues and where can I get help?
additional_help = discord.Embed(title='Where can I report issues and where can I get help?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
The following links are various Gridcoin community locations and you will surely find someone that can help:
- [Telegram]({})
- [Slack]({})
- [Reddit]({})
- [Cryptocurrency Talk]({})
- [Github]({})
- [Discord]({})
'''.format(links[6], links[7], links[8], links[9], links[34], links[11]))

# How do I get started with pool mining?
pool_mining = discord.Embed(title='How do I get started with pool mining?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
1. Visit [the GRC pool]({}) and create a new account

2. Download and install the [BOINC software]({})

3. In your BOINC manager click View > Advanced View...

4. Navigate to Tools > Use Account Manager…

5. In the “Account Manager URL” section type: https://www.grcpool.com/ and press next

6. Type in the credentials you used for step 1 and click continue, then finish

7. Click Tools > Synchronise with grcpool.com

8. On your [pool account]({}) click your account name in the top-right and then click hosts

9. Click on your computer name and select a project in the drop-down menu below, then click the save button at the very bottom

10. Repeat step 7 in your BOINC manager and then move to the projects tab to see the new project

The official pool guide can be found [here]({})'''.format(links[4], links[5], links[32], links[33]))

# How do I get started with solo mining?
solo_mining = discord.Embed(title='How do I get started with solo mining?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description=r'''
1. Download and install [BOINC]({}) and choose a project in the [whitelist]({}) to begin crunching from.

2. In your BOINC manager click View > Advanced View..., then click the projects tab.

3. Go to the site for your associated project, login and set “Gridcoin” as your team, then select the project in the BOINC manager and click update.

4. Download and install the [GRC client]({}) or [compile it from source]({})

5. Configure the client according to the prompts or follow the [guide]({})

6. After configuration, close the client completely and then open your configuration folder (Windows: C:\\[User]\\Appdata\\Roaming\\Gridcoinresearch\\) (Linux: ~/.GridcoinResearch/)

7. Delete everything in this folder apart from the wallet.dat, gridcoinresearch.conf and the walletbackups folder.

8. Download the [snapshot]({}) (warning, file over 1.5GB) and extract it directly into the configuration folder (official instructions [here]({}))

9. Re-open the GRC client and wait for it to synchronise with the rest of the chain.

10. Click the “Receive” tab to find your GRC address and get some coins to stake and beacon with.

11. Once you have some coins and your client is fully synchronised, in the GRC client go to Help > Debug Window > Console and type “advertisebeacon”.

12. If the return message says “SUCCESS”, then you must wait about a day for your client to be recognised for your crunching. If it says “FAIL” Then make sure you have over 100 RAC and a small GRC balance before contacting a Gridcoin community member to help you troubleshoot issues.
'''.format(links[5], links[2], links[3], links[10], links[12], links[13], links[14]))

# Terminology
terms = discord.Embed(title='Terminology', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
**POS**: Proof Of Stake. A consensus protocol used in cryptocurrencies that allows the creation of blocks through the balance owned by individuals.

**POR**: Proof Of Research. A protocol unique to the Gridcoin blockchain that determines research rewards for users who crunch BOINC projects.

**CPID**: Cross Project IDentifier. A unique ID used by your BOINC projects to identify your hosts across any project. This identifies you on the Gridcoin network.

**Beacon**: This is a form of contract made on the Gridcoin blockchain that advertises your CPID and allows you to be eligible for research rewards.

**RAC**: Recent Average Credit. This is a value calculated by BOINC and represents your average credit computed over a period of time. This is what Gridcoin looks at in order to calculate magnitude.

**MAG**: Magnitude. Is the value used by Gridcoin in order to calculate your entitled research rewards. It is proportional to your RAC.

**Coin/Stake Weight**: The likelihood of your coins being used to make a block and earn interest/research rewards.

**Net Weight**: The stake weight of all users on the Gridcoin network who are actively trying to earn interest/research rewards.

**Difficulty**: A measurement of how hard it is to make a block and earn your interest/research rewards so that the network makes a block approximately every 1.5 minutes. This is based on net weight.

**Whitelist**: The set of projects that the Gridcoin network considers eligible for rewards. To earn GRC, you must be crunching for one of these projects. The chosen projects are determined by network voting.

**Voting**: The mechanism built into the Gridcoin protocol that allows for the creation of polls and the collection of votes.

**Superblock**: A block generated roughly every 24 hours containing MAG values of all active beacons.

**Neural Network**: A collection of computer nodes that download project data and gather RAC values of Gridcoin users in order to calculate their MAG values.
''')

# List of equations
equations = discord.Embed(title='Useful equations', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
**Many thanks to Jim Owens for developing these equations!**

Net weight = `10000000 * Difficulty`

Estimated time to stake (ETTS no cooldown) = `(10000/Balance) * Difficulty`

Estimated time to stake (ETTS with cooldown) = `(1/960) * (net weight) / Balance`

UTXO size for max efficiency = `15000 * Difficulty * (1/E - 1)`
Where E is the desired efficiency % as a decimal, i.e. 95% is 0.95

E can also be = `(ETTS no cooldown) / (ETTS with cooldown)`
''')


# Third-party wallets
other_wallets = discord.Embed(title='Third-party wallets', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
- [Official Wallet]({})
- [Core Source Code]({})
- [Coinomi wallet]({})
- [Holy Transaction]({})
- [Coinvault]({})
- [Paper wallet]({})
- [Bitshares wallet]({})
- [Delta's GRC Discord bot]({})
'''.format(links[3], links[10], links[35], links[36], links[37], links[38],
        links[39], links[11]))

# Faucets
faucet_list = discord.Embed(title='Faucets', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
- [GRC Switzerland]({})
- [Gridcoin Stats]({})
- [Uscore]({})
- [Delta's GRC Discord bot]({})
- [Gridcoin Faucet Android App]({})
- [Arikado Pool Faucet]({})
'''.format(links[40], links[41], links[43], links[11], links[54], links[57]))

# Supported exchanges
exchanges = discord.Embed(title='Supported exchanges', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
- [Bittrex]({})
- [C-CEX]({})
- [Trade by Trade]({})
- [Bisq]({})
- [flyp.me]({})
- [Bitshares]({})
- [BTSABC]({})
- [Openledger]({})
- [Rudex]({})
- [Southxchange]({})
'''.format(links[44], links[46], links[47], links[48],
            links[49], links[50], links[51], links[52], links[53], links[58]))

# Useful links
useful_links = discord.Embed(title='Useful links', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
Information:
- [Gridcoin Official Site]({})
- [Gridcoin Swizerland]({})
- [Gridcoin.Science]({})
- [Gridcoin.io]({})
- [What Is Gridcoin]({})
- [Coinmarketcap]({})
- [Wiki]({})
- [Github]({})

Block Explorers:
- [Gridcoin Stats]({})
- [Gridcoin.Network]({})
- [GRCExplorer.Neuralminer]({})
- [Nuad.de]({})
- [GRC Testnet]({})

BOINC Related:
- [Boinc Main Site]({})
- [BoincOS]({})
- [Boinc Italy Linux Distro]({})
- [Boinc Wiki]({})
- [Overclockers Boinc FAQ]({})

Media and community:
- [Discord]({})
- [Facebook]({})
- [Twitter]({})
- [Slack]({})
- [Reddit]({})
- [Steem]({})
- [Cryptocurrencytalk]({})
- [Tumblr]({})
'''.format(links[3], links[15], links[16], links[55], links[17], links[18],
            links[19], links[10], links[20], links[21], links[22], links[23],
            links[24], links[0], links[25], links[26], links[27], links[28],
            links[11], links[29], links[30], links[7], links[8], links[31],
            links[9], links[56]))

# Do I need to put the GRC client on all computers running BOINC?
client_on_many_pc = discord.Embed(title='Do I need to put the GRC client on all computers running BOINC?', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
No, you simply need to ensure that all your BOINC computers use the same email and are crunching for the Gridcoin team.

Running the GRC client on multiple machines with the same CPID may get you temporarily banned by the network, will not increase your chance of research rewards and could have implications on the integrity of your wallet.
''')

# Example GRC config windows
example_windows = discord.Embed(description=r'''```
email=YOUREMAIL@example.com
boincdatadir=C:\ProgramData\BOINC\
boincappdir=C:\Program Files\BOINC\
addnode=la.grcnode.co.uk
addnode=london.grcnode.co.uk
addnode=miami.grcnode.co.uk
addnode=node.gridcoin.network
addnode=node.gridcoin.us
addnode=node.gridcoinapp.xyz
addnode=toronto01.gridcoin.ifoggz-network.xyz
addnode=vancouver01.gridcoin.ifoggz-network.xyz
addnode=www.grcpool.com
addnode=is.gridcoin.pl # Iceland
addnode=nl.gridcoin.pl # Netherlands
addnode=de.gridcoin.pl # Germany
```''')

# Example GRC config linux
example_linux = discord.Embed(description=r'''```
email=YOUREMAIL@example.com
boincdatadir=/var/lib/boinc-client/
addnode=la.grcnode.co.uk
addnode=london.grcnode.co.uk
addnode=miami.grcnode.co.uk
addnode=node.gridcoin.network
addnode=node.gridcoin.us
addnode=node.gridcoinapp.xyz
addnode=toronto01.gridcoin.ifoggz-network.xyz
addnode=vancouver01.gridcoin.ifoggz-network.xyz
addnode=www.grcpool.com
addnode=is.gridcoin.pl # Iceland
addnode=nl.gridcoin.pl # Netherlands
addnode=de.gridcoin.pl # Germany
```''')

# Other ways to contribute to STEM fields
other_science = discord.Embed(title='Other ways to contribute to STEM fields', colour=discord.Colour.purple(),
description='''
- [fold.it]({})
- [Dream lab]({})
- [CSG NN training]({})
- [Mozilla common voice]({})
'''.format(links[59], links[60], links[61], links[62]))

index = [{'What is Gridcoin?': what_is_grc},
        {'What is BOINC?' : what_is_boinc},
        {'Do I need GRC to earn mining rewards?' : initial_grc},
        {'Should I join the pool or do solo mining?' : pool_or_solo},
        {'How is GRC mined/staked?' : how_to_stake},
        {'How is GRC mined/staked? (technical version)' : how_to_stake_technical},
        {'How much GRC is enough to start staking?' : how_much_grc},
        {'How do I get started with pool mining?' : pool_mining},
        {'How do I get started with solo mining?' : solo_mining},
        {'Do I need to put the GRC client on all computers running BOINC?' : client_on_many_pc},
        {'Example GRC config windows' : example_windows},
        {'Example GRC config linux' : example_linux},
        {'Where can I report issues and where can I get help?' : additional_help},
        {'Terminology' : terms},
        {'Useful equations' : equations},
        {'Third-party wallets' : other_wallets},
        {'Supported exchanges' : exchanges},
        {'Faucets' : faucet_list},
        {'Useful links' : useful_links},
        {'Other ways to contribute to STEM fields' : other_science}]