diff --git a/ch06.asciidoc b/ch06.asciidoc index 5bfded68..364d7a15 100644 --- a/ch06.asciidoc +++ b/ch06.asciidoc @@ -260,7 +260,7 @@ Whereas the transaction and orphan pools represent a single node's local perspec === Alert Messages -Alert messages are a seldom used function, which is nevertheless implemented in most nodes. Alert messages are bitcoin's "emergency broadcast system", a means by which the core bitcoin developers can send an emergency text message to all bitcoin nodes. This feature is implemented to allow the core developer team to notify all bitcoin users of a serious problem in the bitcoin network, such as a critical bug that requires user action. The alert system has only been used a handful of times, most notably in the Spring of 2013 when a critical database bug caused a multi-block fork to occur in the bitcoin blockchain. +Alert messages are a seldom used function, which is nevertheless implemented in most nodes. Alert messages are bitcoin's "emergency broadcast system", a means by which the core bitcoin developers can send an emergency text message to all bitcoin nodes. This feature is implemented to allow the core developer team to notify all bitcoin users of a serious problem in the bitcoin network, such as a critical bug that requires user action. The alert system has only been used a handful of times, most notably early 2013 when a critical database bug caused a multi-block fork to occur in the bitcoin blockchain. Alert messages are propagated by the +alert+ message. The alert message contains several fields, including: