Proof of authority

Okay, imagine that you and your friend are playing a game and you get to be the leader. But being the leader means you have to make sure everyone follows the rules and behaves themselves. That's kind of like what proof of authority is.

Proof of authority is a way of keeping track of who gets to make decisions and who has the power in a group. In a computer network, there are lots of different computers connected to each other. But some of those computers have more power or authority than others.

For example, imagine there are three computers in a network. One of them is the "authority" computer, like the leader in your game. This computer has special privileges and is allowed to make decisions about how the network works.

The other two computers in the network have to follow the rules set by the authority computer. They can't do anything without the authority computer's permission. And they have to keep checking with the authority computer to make sure they're doing everything right.

This system helps keep the network running smoothly and prevents people from doing things they're not supposed to. It's a way of making sure everyone is playing by the rules and that nobody is cheating.

So that's basically what proof of authority is: a system for keeping track of who has the power and making sure that person is using it responsibly.