SnowLeopard

I modified an existing command line bitcoin/litecoin blockparser for it work with MinCoin instead of Litecoin. https://github.com/SnowLeopard71/blockparser Should compile without issues and expects to find the MinCoin blockchain in ~/.mincoin/blocks/ (the only way to override without recompiling is setting the HOME environment variable but it will still need .mincoin/blocks). I have not tested all the functions thoroughly but for the most part it appears to work quite well.

Continued efforts to be listed on as many exchanges as possible. There is the obvious benefit of exposure -- I'm sure some people pick their coins based on what their favourite exchange carries, and I also think it might help mitigate pump-and-dump attempts.

An orphan block occurs when two minors find a block at almost the same and the network chooses one over the other. I'm not sure about investigating one though... You might be able to use the blockchain explorer (http://mnc.cryptoexplore.com/) to find more details.

Orphan block?

Every pool is susceptible to various kinds of downtime in spite of every effort made by the operator... it's just the nature of the internet, a bit like catching a cold is part of being human. No one wants to waste mining time because their favourite pool is unreachable, but since it will probably happen at some point, I recommend configuring at least one backup mining pool (MNC of course). First sign-up to a different MNC pool than the one you already use and create a worker account. Adding a failover pool from within cgminer/sgminer: From the main cgminer/sgminer screen hit 'P' to access the Pool Management menu. If it says "Failover only disabled", hit 'F' to enable failover only. Press 'A' to add another pool. Enter the information that it asks for. Complete URL including port, ie: You can save the new config ('S' from the main menu, then 'W'rite config file) If you make a mistake, you cannot go back but you use the 'R'emove function and start over. Add additional lines to your cgminer/sgminer .conf file: If you prefer to edit the config file by hand, add the backup pool below your primary pool (order is important): "pools" : [ { "user" : "USERNAME.WORKER", "pass" : "PASSWORD" }, { "user" : "USERNAME.WORKER", "pass" : "PASSWORD" } ] Also make sure the failover setting is set true: "failover-only" : true,You can even add a third and fourth backup using the same instructions. If the primary pool fails, the miner will try the backup pools in order until it finds a working one. When the primary pool becomes available again, the miner will automatically switch back. Unfortunately for those using cudaminer for NVidia cards, it does not [yet] have fail-over support built-in, but it is on the author's TODO list.

Which repo on github? All the p2pool repos I've found use the wrong ports by default, therefor you need to specify them on the command-line: python run_p2pool.py --net mincoin --bitcoind-rpc-port 9335 --bitcoind-p2p-port 9334 That being said, cryptovein is the only code that actually works. The other 2 I've found (dynius/p2pool and p2pool-altcoins) hang at Testing P2P connection, but it is NOT a mincoind problem as the same behaviour is shown on feathercoin and litecoin.

Just to point out you need specify the ports as the defaults your code has don't match the client defaults. python run_p2pool.py --net mincoin --bitcoind-rpc-port 9335 --bitcoind-p2p-port 9334

Which p2pool version are you using? Does it have built-in MinCoin support or must you specify the individual worker, rpc, and p2p ports on the command line? With the only information provided so far being it doesn't connect, the best guess is an error in the port numbers being used.

I mined MNC on p2pool.org for a couple days last week (or was it week before) and not withstanding connection issues you've brought up, I do NOT recommend using them or any other pool using p2pool software for MinCoin. Don't get me wrong! P2Pool is excellent software, P2Pool.org run nice stable pools as far as I can tell. The problem arises when you want to spend your mined MinCoins. The p2pool software is "pay-as-you-go" -- as soon as you have a share of income from mining it is payed out. This means you will receive dozens if not hundreds of little transactions, then when you want to spend your coins, several of this transactions must be combined to create your payment which generates an oversized transaction requiring extra transaction fees. Other pool sites accumulate your income in order to make fewer larger payouts (thereby reducing transaction fees). Shameless self plug: You are more than welcome to try my new pool, nicely christened SnowLeopard's Hashery.