Telos Network — Weekly Report — August 2, 2018
(Update: the Community Rewards Program mentioned in this report is now closed.)
It is fascinating to work on a project that will outlive you. The intent of the Telos project is to create a blockchain network that can support DApps far into the future. If it is done correctly, it will evolve as it responds to societal and technological changes without ever ending. A large part of the network’s value is that it can continue indefinitely. And so, as we seek to set the network off on a solid foundation, we must think about technical and organizational structures that are designed to last beyond the launch, beyond the first few years, and beyond our own lifetimes. This means imagining situations and uses that may seem remote today. It also means documenting decisions about how we are implementing code changes so that they can be reviewed by people we will never meet who can’t just ask us why something was implemented in a particular way. We are taking this responsibility seriously. We expect that long before our own lives end, we will see an enormous amount of value created on the Telos network. We are building it for the long haul.
— Douglas Horn
Here’s what we’ve accomplished this week:
1. Updated ClaimRewards action
2. Began implementing VotingWeights action
3. Began implementing RotateBPs action
4. Began changing keosd name
5. Advanced Telos Testnet Stage 1.1
6. Voted to the track TFRP rewards using ‘Slices’ model
7. Voted to create 1M TLOS Community Rewards Pool
8. Proposed New Regproducer Ricardian Contract
9. Lumeos.io article
10. Joined by Z-Meta VC Group
11. Revised Launch Group tool set
1. Updated ClaimRewards action
The ClaimRewards action is how block producers receive payment. The EOS version incorporates both base pay and vote-based pay. The Telos approach does not use voting and instead pays equal amounts to all BPs and half that amount to all standby BPs (subtracting for missed blocks). This prevents gaming of the BP payments system, which is happening on EOS. Telos developer Craig Branscom has completed two versions of the contract. The current version is deployed for testing on Testnet Stage 1.1 and has all components except for deducting payment for missed blocks.
2. Began implementing VotingWeights action
Telos invents the concept of Inverse-Weighted Voting to encourage voters to vote for many block producer candidates instead of just a few. The VotingWeights action is a new feature being programmed by Ed Silva. The first version is nearly finished. It is being highly parameterized in order to provide for easy refinement in the future, should new governance amendments require this.
3. Began implementing RotateBPs action
Rotating standby BPs into block production in order to prove their readiness to support the network at any time is a new invention of the Telos network that will greatly improve network security. This is accomplished by a new action called RotateBPs, which is being written by Peter Bue, Telos development lead. Implementation so far has required Peter to work through three core EOSIO contracts of over 2,000 lines of code each. RotateBPs is a scheduler that accommodates both expected rotation and unexpected rotation due to a BP failing to produce for more than 30 minutes. This is a challenging function. The first version is progressing well but will require a few more days before testing.
4. Began changing keosd name
The EOS keosd daemon must be renamed for Telos due to conflicts. Telos developer Marlon Williams is updating the name and reviewing existing codebase to eliminate conflicts. This is an element of Testnet Stage 1.1
5. Advanced Telos Testnet Stage 1.1
Last week, the Telos Testnet updated to Stage 1.1 just before the Weekly Report was issued. Since then the testnet has expanded to include over 40 nodes from 36 participants. Among other new participants, Telos Canton and Telos Africa significantly expanded the geographic diversity of the Telos network. You can see geographical representation of Telos nodes and testnet status reports on the newly updated Telos network monitor developed by Ed Silva with assistance from Justin Brown. https://testnet.telosfoundation.io.
6. Voted to the track TFRP rewards using ‘Slices’ model
During the Telos Launch Group weekly call Tuesday, July 31, the group voted on TIP 1A, deciding how best to distribute Telos Founders Reward Pool tokens to contributors. After a week of working together to fully explore the possible options, TIP 1A co-authors Rob Konisdorf and Douglas Horn, along with James Davis, who will be a lead administrator of the resulting program, decided to throw their full support behind the ‘Slices’ model previously proposed by Rob due to its track record as a proven approach. Douglas removed his support for “Method B” in favor of Rob’s “Method A” and the vote passed nearly unanimously. The tracking will still be arduous for this approach but it seems to be the best option. Rob and James will lead in implementing the TFRP tracking efforts and various time and project tracking tools are being implemented to maximize efficiency and accuracy for all contributors
7. Voted to create 1M TLOS Community Rewards Pool
Also during the weekly call*, the members voted on a key component of TIP 1B — Telos Community Rewards Pool funding. Last week the group voted to include a separate community rewards pool to encourage and reward community support. The initial size of the pool was proposed at 600,000 TLOS. During that call, Chen Li proposed increasing the size of the community pool to 1 million TLOS. This week, the members voted overwhelmingly to adopt the 1 million TLOS amount for the pool with the caveat that unearned tokens may be burned or donated. The details of the program are expected to fully develop this week for voting on Tues, August 7th.
[* Note: TLG Weekly General Video Calls occur on Tuesdays at 1500 UTC and are livestreamed and archived on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1eRSAt81jUf7zM4hsy5S5Q ]
8. Proposed New Regproducer Ricardian Contract
Telos takes governance seriously and has released the first of five foundational governance documents. On Wednesday, August 1st, Douglas Horn introduced a new version of the Ricardian contract for the regproducer action, which is the core element for how Telos will govern block producers, the executive branch of the blockchain. All block producer candidates must call this action in order to nominate themselves for service. In doing so, they must agree to the terms of the Ricardian contract attached. In EOS, this Ricardian (human readable) contract mentions obligations and rules for block producers but does not associate any commensurate penalties for violations. Further, the EOS version does not indicate any method of enforcement nor any responsibility for other block producers to pursue enforcement. As a result, EOS block producers are not enforcing violations of the standards that many BPs agreed to, either because they feel they have insufficient jurisdiction or methods for enforcement. The proposed regproducer Ricardian contract for Telos will provide a foundation for enforcement. It is currently in review in the governance committee and will be released for public view shortly.
9. Lumeos.io article
DApps outreach working group members have been fostering dialogue with a number of DApp developers. This week Justin Giudici initiated what became a thorough and productive discussion with the sought-after social media blockchain DApp developer Lumeos.io and invited Douglas Horn to participate as well. As an outcome of the discussion, Lumeos and Telos co-published articles about Lumeos’s decision to fully explore launching their DApp on the Telos blockchain, beginning with releasing their beta version on the Telos Testnet in the near future. Lumeos.io cited the likelihood of lower deployment costs, higher customer adoption/acquisition, and better network security and reliability as key reasons for their interest in Telos. You can read the Lumeos.io article, EOS vs Telos — Lumeos Analysis here: https://medium.com/@lumeos/the-telos-advantage-lumeos-analysis-f1ed9392f16e
10. Joined by Z-Meta VC Group
Telos has been joined by Michael Gucci as an official Telos Launch Group member. Michael is the founder of Z-Meta, a Chicago-based blockchain VC group. Z-Meta has been a progressive and visionary early investor in a number of blockchain technologies including ShapeShift. On the EOS network, Z-Meta launched EOSAirdropsDAC, a DAC offering “Airdrops as a Service” on the EOS network. They also underwrite an incubator for EOS-based DApps and tools. In joining the Telos Launch Group, Michael has offered to include Telos to both of these endeavors and plans to build a TelosAirdropsDAC in the near future. Welcome Michael Gucci, Z-Meta, and TelosAirdropsDAC!
11. Revised Launch Group tool set
The Telos Launch Group has concluded a long search for an improved tool set for internal organization and coordination. The TLG started several weeks ago as an informal email list among the early participants. It explored new tools to coordinate its actions, but due to its remarkable growth, the TLG’s needs quickly outpaced the capacity of the tools. Currently the group is standardizing on a communications tool stack of pro Slack, Trello, and Github. The new tools have greatly improved coordination and efficiency within the group.
Current contributors to the Telos network include:
Telos Launch Group members
Beyond Bitcoin Hangouts, CalEOS, EOS Barcelona, EOS Detroit, EOS Green, Eos in Space, EOS Metal, EOS Miami, EOS Sweden (swedencornet), EOS the World, EOS UK, EOS Van, GoodBlock.io, Infinity Bloc, Keten.io (Dutch EOS), Hellenic Open Systems, Telos Russia, Discover Telos, Z Meta, Telos Africa
Telos Launch Group participants
Alejandro Pacheco, Jerry Huff, Shaheen Counts, Jon McGuffin, CryptoMooner, Duane Phillipi, Trenton Bullock, Fieldy Young, genereos1, Jen Morrow, Masha, Kloud Wing, Eon Ha, LIang Suilong, Maurice Stephens, L Asher Corson, Mikel, Andrew U, Raj, Sean Xa, Telos Canton, Ovidiu Craciun, Azad Halim, Duane Phillippi, JT Buice, Munachi Ogueke, Nathan Rempel, Sean Anderson, Vladimir Pugachev
