Meet the Human nodes - Kicking off with MLH

Who are human nodes? The simple answer is that they are unique human beings who have chosen to stake their biometric identity to participate in the Humanode network, as a validator, and as builders of the community.  Some are engineers, some are researchers, some are just interested in the concept or ideals, and some just want to participate more in the world of crypto and Web3.

But who are they?  The Humanode media team decided to reach out to some of the human nodes that have been running nodes from mainnet launch, or even before.

Today, we asked MLH, a human node who has been running his node from early testnet.

Hi, MLH.  So, who are you?  Could you share a little bit about yourself?

MLH: I’m a retired university professor, but before that I was an educational TV director and producer. Although I understand the basic principle of electronics, I do not really understand the digital world… I’m a 77-year-old analog sort of guy.  I’ve never been able to learn programming, nor do I understand the process at all. It’s like magic to me!  This is me trying to learn more about the world we live in, and what is to come.

Before becoming a human node, had you ever acted as a Validator in other blockchains?

MLH: No, this is my first experience.  

So, what triggered your interest in Humanode, and why choose to be a human node?

MLH:  I was doing research on various blockchain projects, and was introduced to the Humanode Whitepaper.  Although I did not understand much about the technology, I do believe in the core values of Humanode which were values that I have been working most of my adult life to implement as part of the human family. It was exciting to find others who are working toward the same principles.

How has your experience as a human node been so far? What makes this experience unique?

MLH: It’s been both challenging and interesting. Challenging because steps and words that seem normal to the programmers are not intuitive to me. Interesting, because there are many words and phrases that I’m learning as I go along.

What are your hopes and expectations as a human node?

MLH: I hope that I can help in some small way to bring about the beginnings of a just and equitable financial system.

How do you see the future of Humanode unfolding? 

MLH: As a more grass-roots system, I think it will build slowly until it hits the tipping point. Then, the Humanode platform will seem to be ubiquitous but generally working unseen in the background. More and more like-minded people will want to become human nodes and even work to become part of the governance of Humanode.

What are the challenges in running a human node for you?

MLH: Probably for me as a non-tech guy, learning what to do if my node has a problem, which fortunately doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, the tech support has always been stellar and has quickly solved my issue. The only other challenge is remembering when to bio-authenticate.  

What would make the user experience better?

Perhaps some online seminars for dummies? Humanode has its git-book of how-to’s but with some of your really good tech people taking time to help the non-technical but deeply interested newbies, there will be fewer individual node issues. Sort of a YouTube How To Set Up Your Node that could be referred to again and again (for some of us slower learners).

Would you encourage others to become human nodes? 

Actually, I have recommended it to other family members. So far, none have taken it on for one reason or another…mostly they seem to be too busy on too many other projects related to their work-life. I plan on talking to my daughter and her husband soon. He is an IT tech and understands computers like I understand how to eat. It’s totally natural to him. My daughter is like me…very non-tech surrounded by a digital world, but they are both working towards the same goals for humanity and with the same set of core principles.