[Vitani]

Bytes FAQ || Everything you need to know about Bytes

This thread will explain what HF Bytes are, how you can use them and what you can use them for. This thread was created to introduce new members to this system and will hopefully avoid repeating questions about Bytes, or features related to it.

Table of Contents

• What are Bytes
  
• How to get Bytes
  
• Bytes as a reward
  
• Bytes in site games
  
• Selling & buying Bytes
  

What are Bytes
Bytes were first introduced on June 30th, 2018 by our administator Omniscient.
The system is based on the MYPS (MyBB Points System) that was coded and first released in 2007 by Omniscient himself on the official MyBB website.
Since the release of the new feature changes were made over time. Currently it is possible for all members to earn Bytes and use them to donate to others and more. It's important to note that Bytes are not a currency and should not be used as such. It is intended as a rewards system for the site and meant for fun and entertainment only. If members do use Bytes as a currency, it is up to them, but it it's not the intention of HF and it will not be used as such in any official capacity now or in the future.
You can view your Byte history or that of another member by clicking on the Byte amount on the profile.

Hack Forums has an official symbol that is used for Bytes: β
You can use it by typing the following code in your thread title/post (remove the X's).

Code

X$bytesX

In this guide we will cover what Bytes are, how to get them, how to use them and what you can use them for. Finally we'll cover the selling & buying of Bytes and how that works.

How to get Bytes
There are several ways to get Bytes. You can earn/win them in a game, purchase them from another member, or simply make a thread/post anywhere on the forum to earn them! Below you will find every way to get/earn Bytes. All of these will be explained further in this thread.

• Earn them through one of Hack Forums Byte games
  
• Win a Byte lottery
  
• Purchase them from another member
  
• Receive a donation / quick love from another member
  
• Win the daily donation bonus
  
• Post on the daily Check-in thread
  
• Get replies on your thread
  
• Make threads & posts!
  

Bytes as a reward
Here we will go into how you will receive or spend Bytes as a rewards system. We'll go into the way donations work, what so called "Quick Love's" are, what the daily donation bonus is and how many Bytes you will receive for each thread, post and reply you will make or receive.

• Byte Donations
  The main feature of the Bytes rewards system is to donate something to another member when you think he/she deserves it for one reason or another. If and when a member donates is entirely up to them, as well as how much they wish to donate. You can donate to another member using the postbit or directly on the profile of the member you want to donate to. Simply click on the green "+" icon and fill out the form that pops up.
  
  
  
  
  
  When you click the "Donate" button the member will receive the following automated PM from your account:
  
  
• The user has sent you [amount] βytes. The reason is [reason here]
  
• Quick Love
  We've all seen the pink heart icon on the top right of every post. This is the Quick Love feature. If you like a post that a member made, or you want to quickly reward them some Bytes for any reason, simply click this heart icon and 10 Bytes will be sent to the user that made the post. The user in question will get a notification from the HF Alerts feature that you Quick Loved their post, and will be granted the 10 Bytes.
  
  
• Daily Donation Bonus
  The Daily Donation Bonus is a neat little feature that was introduced at the end of 2018 to give members more incentive to donate to others and use the Quick Love feature more often. Every day a task runs on the HF server that selects one member that donated to another member with a post association within the last 24 hours. The donation must have been 10 Bytes or more.
  If you are selected you will receive 250 Bytes and get a PM from Stanley (HF's Help Bot) with the following message:
  
  
• Congratulations, because you donated 10.00 Bytes to [user] for [link_to_post] you have won 250 Bytes as a bonus. Thank you for using your Bytes to reward other members for their quality content.
  
• Daily Check-in Thread
  Another way to earn Bytes is to make a post in the Daily Check-in thread which you can find stuck in the Lounge section.
  If you post in the check-in thread you will receive 25 Bytes. In addtion to that, one member that posted in the check-in thread will randomly be granted 500 bonus Bytes. There is a new check-in thread every day, so be sure to post in it! In addition to the Bytes you'll receive, you will also receive the Everyday Ninja award after 100 days of posting on the Check-in thread uninterrupted.
  
  
• Byte Rewards
  By far the easiest way to earn Bytes is to be active on the forum. You can earn Bytes by making threads, posts, creating a poll, voting on a poll and getting a reply on a thread made by you. You can view the current reward amounts MYPS FAQ. Note that if you are an upgraded member you will have an earning bonus. L33T members have a 150% Bonus and UB3R users have a 200% bonus! No character restrictions are placed on posts in order to be eligible for these rewards.
  
  Normal:
  1 β per reply
  3 β per new thread
  0.2 β for thread starter on each reply
  1 β default on Signup
  2 β per poll creation
  1 β per poll vote
  
  L33T:
  1.5 β per reply
  4.5 β per new thread
  0.3 β for thread starter on each reply
  4.5 β per poll creation
  2.25 β per poll vote
  
  UB3R:
  2 β per reply
  6 β per new thread
  0.4 β for thread starter on each reply
  4 β per poll creation
  2 β per poll vote
  

Bytes in site games
Hack Forums has several games where you can spend your Bytes, and also earn some if you play it right. Below you will find a list of every game that uses Bytes, along with a short explanation of what the game is and how it works. You can find a link to all the games by clicking on the controller dropdown icon on the top right of the page.

• The Hack Game
  The Hack Game is one of the first and biggest site games on Hack Forums in terms of complexity. It's an original game, losely based on another game that was aquired by Hack Forums early 2019. In the game you are a hacker trying to improve his skills by doing certain jobs online, in exchange for XP points and Bytes. You can play as a whitehat, greyhat or full on blackhat. In the game you will be able to play alone as well as against other members.
  
  This game is intergrated with the so called Crews of Hack Forums. Crews are groups of people that work together within the context of any of the (multiplayer) site games in order to dominate the game. You can join a crew by applying to one in the Group and Crew General Discussions section. If you are already in a crew, you can check out crew information within the game here.
  Crews have the ability to share / contribute their members Bytes in the Crew vault and use them for specific purposes. This feature is still in development at the time of writing.
  
  
• Hackúman
  The hackuman game is by far the most popular game around right now. It's a Pokemon Go like game, but entirely original in its own way. The goal of the game is to find an egg by posting on Hack Forums. Eggs are randomly granted by Stanley (HF Helper Bot). When you've found an egg, you can incubate it within the game and raise it using your Bytes. After the egg has hatched you will have your very own Hackuman. The hackuman will need regular feeding, which you can do using Bytes.
  You can earn Bytes in this game by killing other hackuman. If you kill another hackuman, you will get the entire bounty that was attached to that hackuman.
  
  
• Scratchcards
  The Scratchcards game is fairly straightforward. You can purchase a scratchcard for β 1000 and you can scratch the three boxes within the game. If you are lucky, the three boxes will have the same picture, and you will receive a prize! There are different prize tiers with corresponding odds to win them. You can read about that in the official release thread here.
  
  
• Blackjack
  The Blackjack game is exactly what it sounds like. It's a game that Hack Forums offers where you can use your Bytes to play blackjack against the dealer (bot). If you're good at this game, you might be able to use your Bytes to win even more of them! Fun fact, there's a random chance that you will be granted the Dicey award playing this game. You can read more about this game in the official release thread here.
  
  
• Slots
  Slots is for those that just love to gamble. There's not much to explain about this game. It's a slot machine where you can use your Bytes to play and hopefully win some more Bytes! While playing this game you may also be granted the Dicey award, like the Blackjack game. You can read more about this game in the official release thread here.
  
  
• Sportsbook
  Sportsbook is a Bytes game where you can bet on real life sports matches that are going on or will be played in the near future. There are different leaques and sports added into this game, such as NHL games and more. You can read more about this game in the official release thread here.
  
  
• Crypto Game
  The Crypto game is an exchange simulation game, where you can exchange your Bytes for any Crypto currency coin in the listing of the game. In this game one Byte are equivalent to one dollar. When the Bytes are exchanged the coins will be added to your portfolio within the game. You can exchange them again for Bytes at any time. If you are into crypto currency investing there's definitely chance for you to make a lot of Bytes in this game! You can read more about this game in the official release thread here.
  
  
• HF Lottery
  The HF Lottery system is another game where you can use your Bytes to win more Bytes. You can use your Bytes to enter a lottery by buying tickets for said lottery. After the lottery ends the system will select a winner and grant them the prize pool. The system will keep 10% of the prize pool and the Owner of the lottery will also be able to take a cut (they can set their cut beforehand when initiating the lottery). If you like your chances and you want to press your luck, the lottery is one way of doing so!
  

Selling & buying Bytes
If you want to quickly get your hands on some Bytes, or if you want to sell of your own Bytes to another member, you can do so through the Hack Forums marketplace. The community determines the rate of the Bytes, along with how many Bytes are in circulation. If you want to buy or sell Bytes, the Do's and Don'ts below are for you.

• ALWAYS use Contracts when dealing on site!
  
• If you want to buy or sell Bytes, use either the Currency Exchange or the Buyers Bay sections of the marketplace
  
• Keep in mind that Bytes are NOT meant as an on site form of currency and should NEVER be treated as such!
  
• You may PM members members who have Bytes to ask if they are willing to sell them, but PM Spam and otherwise LQ / off topic posting will NOT be tolerated.
  

[Mr Kewl]

Great job, amazing thread!

I haven't seen such a detailed thread in a while.

[Zero]

Another stickyhead?

Great job Vitani ! This is very detailed and organized. I've seen so many new members (Also old members that  got back recently) wondering about this.
Thank you so much for making this for the community!

Spoiler (Click to View) can you align your stickyheads already???

[Aedan_]

Sucks that Sportsbook isn't going on right now :( to hell with the virus.

Great thread however!

[Dorrance]

Great job with another thread. Another sticky man will be added to the 5th row for its completion.

[cig]

Thanks for the solid thread, clarified a lot for me.

[Grim]

Very informative thread! i thought i knew everything about bytes already but learned a couple new things !

[123]

Another quality thread from Thread Master itself.

Really well versed and explains everything about Bytes. Good job Vitani

[Bastille]

Nice thread man, should be read by all new members 👌

[Vitani]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys, I hope this will help people understand the system a bit more and get them even more interested in Bytes!

Quick note, I completely spaced out and forgot about the daily check-in thread rewards. I've added them to the OP.

[LoremIpsum]

Amazing thread, my man!

I gave it a read and I didn’t know you could use β code to use the official term.
Turns out it’s not for new members only, since my proud joining date of August 2019 haha thanks for this big and well educating thread :-)

[Toosii]

Very detailed and well written, hats off to you m.

[Yin Yang]

Really nice thread here on β

[Cooligan]

Great thread Vitani , extremely informative and a good read.
I never knew about the β symbol code until now either.

I'm happy to see threads like this still being created.
A1 effort my man.

[Mix]

Another sticky award is coming your way for sure. Great work on this thread!, Maybe update the footer image to the new HF logo?