When someone asked me how was it to set up a witness server,
I responded with," Have you ever seen, The Shining?"
I was fortunate of having the help of other developers which is the key to my "still to be determined" success here. New comer
didn't have to take on a noob like me that barely new linux. Maybe it was just out of some curiosity, or maybe just some good of heart. took on the project to help me fire up my witness. After a week of trying to understand it and following multiple guides we started the install after the server was rented from 
.When we got the install in the server, we found that there isn't really of confirmations that show you that you won't miss a block. It was going to be trail and error, we made sure we were set and watching the witness schedule to see if we're going to catch or miss. It's frustrating to know that there wasn't much confirmation at all to let you know if you have a good install (no testing.)
Fast foward 24 hours after setup I missed my first block, after we dug into the setup we found out it was because I didn't have the right key in my conductor enable. Then we went in and switched that key to my public active key from steemit wallet. We fired it up again and 24 hours after that I missed my 2nd block. 
Now we had to back track to find all the issues in the system. So we went through all the steps to see if we had missed something. After seeing a possible issue and doing some trouble shooting we enabled the server thinking we were good to go. Last night we missed our 3rd block!
We said we were going to tear it all down and start over if we missed the 3rd block. Out of the blue
(another excellent witness you should vote for) reached out and said he wanted to help, that he doesn't want us to miss another block. We ultimately had to start from scratch, but still keeping the yunkzilla witness information in tact. After the new install and setting up the new wallet I found out that this was a total error on my part this whole freaking time!For all 3 misses was due to my lack of understanding of the private, public, and active keys. I didn't know how one key correlates with the other and where to place each one. After learning more through these install process from both
and I figured out that I was the cause to all of the misses. Both installs were perfect, I just dropped the ball on my end not putting the right keys in their respected places.I want to give a huge thanks to for baring with me. When you work with someone remotely and can't see certain things it's like trying to do something with one eye closed and a hand tied behind your back. Your patience was emphatic and I learned so much from you.
(Please check him out if you're interested in setting up a witness server.)I want to give a special thanks to for coming out of of the blue and basically did a Ninja level of troubleshooting and installing the witness server. We're now up and running and waiting for our next chance to be in the shuffle for a block thanks to you.
In my witness campaign itself, I stated that I'm no developer or a programmer. When I get the support of others like this in the community, it only galvanizes my love for steemit. It makes me committed even more so to grow this platform and build a stronger community. I hope to be a witness that helps to circulate Steem back into the eco-system here.
I want to run a Steemit witness on the premise of community and a witness for the people. Without the other witnesses or developers before us we wouldn't have have this wonderful opportunity to enjoy any of this and to achieve/earn/grow together. For the pioneers before us, WE ALL THANK YOU. You deserve your earnings for all your hard work.
I hope to help take my earnings and spread it around to the community, that's one of the ways to keep us strong and growing, it's the way I know how.
Somethings are easier said then done, actions will be what makes or breaks this whole campaign. With your early support and your witness vote we can start to pave that road for your community. The movement for an inclusive community is growing. You can be a part of it today. be a part of that growth by voting here :
vote for @yunkzilla
One of the yunks has made a guide on how to vote for witness! How to vote for a steemit witness / by
