ightweight client-only users who only do transactions and don’t generate and don’t participate in the node network. They wouldn’t need to download blocks, just the hash chain
It's very unfortunate that this narrative persists, even in this community. There is no such thing as a "non-mining full node" in bitcoin. It's a late invention used to attack bitcoin.
Started as a small mistake by Gavin, when he removed the "Generate" option from the Satoshi client, and later utilized as an attack vector by bitcoin's enemies.
It was never planned, and didn't really exist until 2011. Satoshi himself used the terms "node" and "generator" interchangeably, referring to what we now call "miner".
I blame core. I got to see first-hand how the concept of "non-mining full node" was accidentally born, and then gradually twisted until blockchain size became a serious "problem".
It's insidious, because it sounds so altruistic to run a node for the good of the network. But then all of a sudden bitcoin has a tragedy of the commons that just wasn't there before.
Even if I shutdown it for 2~3 days ? Is it still delivering a good user experience ? (Having to wait for sync ..) I thought you were talking about setting up a special server for that
You miss my point entirely. I didn't say that everyone should run a node, only that you should run one if you are capable (have the required hw and broadband).
3 days on sustained 125MB would be 54GB data to catch up with (size of the avg PC game). IT people usually have capable hw just collecting dust and good broadband that could handle it.