0.9.2.16. Let's Get This Done!Some Brief BackgroundA little over a month ago, 8bitcoder proposed some changes to be incorporated into the next release - 0.9.2.16. There was some lively discussion about the proposed changes, and broadly speaking a community consensus was reached on them.
Then, inexplicably, 8bitcoder went to ground. For the past month there's been no activity on his accounts on reddit, bitcointalk or github.
Has he "gone satoshi" on us?
What next for Myriad ?A month is a long time in crypto. During that period, Myriad has been adrift in an ever increasing sea of shitcoins. The silence in the subreddit and bitcointalk thread has been deafening. Things have stagnated.
We can no longer continue to collectively sit on our hands and wait for 8 bit to return sometime/maybe/never.
The good news is that, prior to departing on his open-ended summer vacation, 8bit committed all the code for the proposed changes to the dev branch on github. Yesterday I cloned the dev branch to create the following fresh repository:
https://github.com/depboy/myriadWe can use this repository to go ahead with the 0.9.2.16 release. 0.9.2.16 will include a hard fork at block 1400000 (a little under 3 weeks from now), to make the following changes:
1 - Implement auxpow and enable for sha and scrypt algosThis will make the ASIC algos to be merge minable. The benefits should be improved network security and a more even distribution of blocks found on these algos. AFAIK, Myriad will be the first to be part auxpow, and simultaneously be both a parent and merged.
2 - Increase block time from 30s to 60sThis one seemed to have popular support so I've included it. Note that it does nothing to affect the overall supply of MYR. All this does is slow down the emission rate.
3 - Modify the chain work calculation to use a geometric mean instead of an arithmetic mean across algos.There are security advantages to using this method, as previously proposed by MentalCollatz.
4. Change all instances of Myriadcoin to Myriad, to drop the "coin" from the name. I've made this change in a subtle effort to differentiate Myriad as more than "just another coin".
With the exception of number 4, I've tried as far as possible to reflect the consensus that was reached a month ago. None of them are absolutely set in stone, and further discussion may well be sensible.
Full DisclosureI want to make it crystal clear that this is absolutely not about executing some kind of mutinous dev takeover in the absence of 8bit. I am very definitely
NOT a dev! I'm proud to admit that I can't code for shit. Credit for the coding involved in the changes belongs to 8bitcoder and nzsquirrell. I have merely reproduced their code in a fresh repository to enable the update to go ahead in 8bit's absence.
I sincerely hope that in the near future, 8bit will return to be an active Myriad dev. By making a community effort to get the release out in his absence, we will be demonstrating our resilience. Truly decentralized currency has to be bigger than one dev.
To Do ListAny hard fork requires careful planning and preparation. This one will also present a couple of extra challenges. Off the top of my head, the following items need to be taken care of:
1. Code review and tweaking. For example, one task I haven't yet undertaken is a comprehensive search for other auxpow coins on sha & scrypt, and their chain IDs. If we want to make Myriad as widely mined as possible, and avoid clashing with other merged coins, I believe we need to specify unique chain IDs?
2. Binaries. I confess I've never succeeded in compiling the source code on anything other than unix. So, we need some longstanding members of the community to step up and compile Windows and OS X binaries.
3. Update our wallets and nodes ASAP. For most of us, this will require item 2 to be completed first.
4. Reach out to exchanges and mining pools to inform them of the upcoming hardfork. This is something that we've fallen down on in the past. This time round, we'll have the added challenge of the release not coming from the "official" repository. I expect a concerted community effort will be required.
5. Get the word out more generally. Can we get a post stickied on the subreddit? Does anyone other than 8bit (neuromode?) have the means to edit the OP on the bitcointalk thread?
This item needs to be more than just an extension of number 4. It should be about getting our act together generally, and properly rebranding to Myriad. No small task. Almost a re-launch to spark some fresh interest. Maybe a new tagline? "a coin for everyone" >>>
. How about "myriad - the peoples' money?"
The time has come to stop flying under the radar.
EDIT: It looks like nzsquirrell is on board with this and has forked the myriadcoin repository to https://github.com/myriadteam/myriadcoin. Given that he's far more technically gifted than me, it's probably sensible that we work with his new repository instead of the one I created above.
