Author: Alex Mizrahi 2014-12-12 17:50:48
Published on: 2014-12-12T17:50:48+00:00
Gareth suggests that client-side validation doesn't support soft-fork whereas hard-fork can be done with scheduled updates. In Bitcoin, hard-forks are rare because extensions usually occur via soft-fork mechanisms where non-updated clients still generate a correct view of the ledger state. However, this is not applicable in client-side validation. It is assumed that operating with zero maintenance is important but there have been critical bugs in bitcoind, and people were encouraged to upgrade to a new version. Therefore, it's important to keep clients up-to-date and mandatory updates can help evolve consensus rules over time. Some people make a cargo cult out of Bitcoin's emergent properties.
Updated on: 2023-06-09T14:45:05.112509+00:00