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* Update 01-development.md Update Communication Channels channels to reflect removal of Twitter and Telegram, and emphasize SimpleX, Nostr, and Matrix chats * Update 02-languages.md Update Telegram verbiage to reference SimpleX instead. * Update 04-guides.md Update Telegram verbiage to reference SimpleX instead. * Update 05-art.md Update Telegram verbiage to reference SimpleX instead. * Update 06-outreach.md Update Twitter verbiage and reference Nostr instead * Update 00-quicks-start-guide.md Update verbiage slightly. Add more info and links. * Update 01-lightning.md Add rough draft to provide overview of Lightning Network and its relation to RoboSats * Update 02-tor.md Provide rough draft of introduction to TOR. * Update 03-access.md Add access method via Android app APK. Adjust slight typos and some wording for clarity. * Update 01-trade-pipeline.md Add TOC, swap steps and pictures placement, adjust small typos and wording. Picture was swapped with the steps because I think the picture can be slightly overwhelming versus a simple list of steps. The pictures are great but they are a lot to throw at someone right when they open the very first doc under "Understand" to learn about RoboSats. * Update 02-robots.md Clean up hyperlinks, adjust grammar slightly. * Update 03-premium.md Update verbiage, adjust grammar slightly. * Update 03-premium.md Add paragraphs on advice for choosing a premium * Update 04-bonds.md Various changes to verbiage and adding/updating information. Grammar fixes, remove reference to Telegram. * Update 05-trade-escrow.md Clean up hyperlinks, adjust some wording * Update 06-disputes.md Rough draft of disputes section. Committed changes are a placeholder for a longer and more detailed version of the dispute process. * Update 07-wallets.md Fix typos, grammar edits, add new section at bottom * Update 08-limits.md Rough draft of new content in the limits docs * Update 09-swaps.md Adjust "on-chain" to "on chain" and "sats" to "Sats" for consistency across other docs. Slight grammar fixes. * Update 10-telegram.md Small grammar fixes, clean up formatting and add table of contents * Update 12-prices.md Add verbiage note about explicit pricing method, clean up hyperlinks * Update 13-fees.md Clean up hyperlinks, small spelling fixes * Update 14-on-chain-payouts.md Add table of contents, small grammar fixes, adjust formatting * Update 07-wallets.md Change "on chain" to "on-chain" * Update 09-swaps.md Change "on chain" to "on-chain" * Update 02-tor.md Add note when using TOR and experiencing connection issues
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The Lightning Network, or simply referred to as LN, is an off chain (layer two) micropayment network featuring low fees and instant payments. RoboSats leverages the advantages of transacting off chain to provide users a quick and inexpensive experience! There are many great resources out there to learn more about how the Lightning Network works. Check out "Mastering the Lightning Network" for one such great resource.
RoboSats is experimental, and as such is currently supported by an experimental coordinator node. The upcoming federation upgrade allows anyone to become a coordinator node and support the RoboSats federation, thereby creating a decentralized but unified order book consisting of federation members competing against each other to attract traders.
Using the Lightning Network
A prerequisite to using LN is a wallet. It is highly recommended to use a non-custodial and FOSS wallet where only you hold the keys. Custodial and closed source wallets can collect information on your transactions, account information, and potentially other metadata. Also remember that any funds kept on LN are not considered cold storage, but are in a "hot" wallet connected to the internet. For the purpose of using RoboSats, it is recommended to use a wallet that plays well with Lightning hold invoices, refer to Understand > Wallets for a non-exhaustive list of LN wallet compatibility.
When using Lightning, payments are done via invoices. The receiver of Sats gives an invoice to the sender of Sats, often in the form of a QR code, requesting the sender to pay the specific amount of Sats requested by the invoice. The invoice begins with the prefix "lnbc" and can be decoded to inspect the contents of it, like the amount of Sats sent, the node ID the Sats were sent to, any descriptions that were provided, etc.
Lightning as it stands is not completely private. Users should take care to not reveal sensitive information when sending and receiving payments on LN. Do not trust a closed source and custodial wallet to respect your information, you can gain a greater degree of privacy if using a non-custodial wallet. As well, refer to Best Practices > Proxy Wallets for more information on privacy concerns when receiving Sats over LN.
Lightning Network "Shenanigans"
While very infrequent, it can happen that some intermediary routing node goes offline or the transaction becomes "stuck" while attempting a payment. Informally referred to as Lightning Network shenanigans, issues like this are due to current limitations of LN. It solves by itself after a few hours or maximum of a couple days.
When buying bitcoin (receiving Sats on LN), the invoice you provide can fail in routing and take many retries. RoboSats attempts to send the Sats three times and, if it fails, will request a new invoice to try again. Rinse and repeat until it sends! During this time, your funds are considered safe.
In the event of such a scenario, securely back up your robot's private token and check back on your order payout from time to time. If the issue persists, do not hesitate to reach out to the SimpleX support group so that RoboSats staff can investigate.
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