Author: Michael Folkson 2022-09-28 11:48:32
Published on: 2022-09-28T11:48:32+00:00
In a discussion thread on bitcoin-dev, Michael Folkson proposed that future soft fork proposals should be tested on a custom public signet rather than on the default signet. He argued that even if there is consensus on what soft fork proposals should be added to the default signet, it's unlikely this will always be the case. This would put the block signers in the position of gatekeepers and other Bitcoin Core contributors/maintainers in the position of having to defend why certain proposed soft forks are accessible on the default signet while others aren't. The default signet was designed to address the unreliability and weaknesses of testnet, and many users won't be interested in testing soft fork proposals. It's not reasonable for them to be subject to disruption due to changes or buggy soft fork proposals pushed to the default signet. Therefore, custom signets would allow for more experimentation and give users the option to opt-in to possible disruption. Folkson also pointed out that custom signets would enable users to set up their own signet with different sets of soft fork proposals and get users on a level playing field to bitcoin-inquisition. If a soft fork proposal is found to be inferior to another, users could just spin down the custom signet without impacting default signet users. Overall, Folkson is enthusiastic about the concept but strongly prefers that it is done on a custom signet rather than on the default signet.
Updated on: 2023-06-16T00:17:49.681213+00:00