Date: Fri, 25 Apr 2014 02:33:34 -0500
From: Troy Benjegerdes <hozer@hozed.org>
To: Stephen Reed <stephenreed@yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <20140425073334.GV3180@nl.grid.coop>
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Cc: "bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net"
	<bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net>
Subject: Re: [Bitcoin-development] Proof-of-Stake branch?
Precedence: list

Do it. Someone will scream harm. The loudest voices screaming how it woul=
d
be harmful are doing the most harm.

The only way to know is build it, and test it. If the network breaks, the=
n
it is better we find out sooner rather than later.

My only suggestion is call it 'bitstake' or something to clearly differen=
tiate
it from Bitcoin. This also might be an interesting application of the sid=
e
chains concept Peter Todd has discussed.

On Thu, Apr 24, 2014 at 04:32:15PM -0700, Stephen Reed wrote:
> Hello all.
>=20
> I understand that Proof-of-Stake as a replacement for Proof-of-Work is =
a prohibited yet disputed change to Bitcoin Core. I would like to create =
a Bitcoin branch that provides a sandboxed testbed for researching the be=
st PoS implementations. In the years to come, perhaps circumstances might =
arise, such as shifting of user opinion as to whether PoS should be moved =
from the prohibited list to the hard-fork list.
> -----
>=20
> A poll I conducted today on bitcointalk,=A0https://bitcointalk.org/inde=
x.php?topic=3D581635.0=A0with an attention-grabbing title suggests some m=
inority support for Bitcoin Proof-of-Stake. I invite any of you to critic=
ally comment on that thread.
>=20
> "Annual 10% bitcoin dividends can be ours if  Proof-of-Stake full nodes =
outnumber existing Proof-of-Work full nodes by three-to-one. What is your =
choice?"
>=20
> "I do not care or do not know enough." - 5 (16.1%)=A0
> "I would download and run the existing Proof-of-Work program to fight t=
he change." - 14 (45.2%)=A0
> "I would download and run the new Proof-of-Stake program to favor the c=
hange. " - 12 (38.7%)=A0
> Total Voters: 31=20
> -----
>=20
> Before I branch the source code and learn the proper way of doing thing=
s in this community, I ask you simply if creating the branch is harmful? =
My goal is to develop, test and document PoS, while exploring its vulnera=
bilities and fixing them in a transparent fashion.
>=20
> Thanks for taking a bit of your time to read this message.


--=20
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---
Troy Benjegerdes                 'da hozer'                  hozer@hozed.=
org
7 elements      earth::water::air::fire::mind::spirit::soul        grid.c=
oop

      Never pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel,
         nor try buy a hacker who makes money by the megahash