Finality gadget for Ethereum1x Working Group

@timbeiko @AlexeyAkhunov @fubuloubu hey team! things are far from dormant :slight_smile: there hasnā€™t been a ton of activity on this thread but i spoke a bit to @fubuloubu and @cyberbono3 about how we will move forward. i think this is an important initiative for todayā€™s community to get value out of eth2.0 right out of the gate in phase 0. like bryant mentioned i will be speaking about the finality gagdget (and some of the other ways eth2.0 can help eth1.x at each phase) next week and also in berlin at dappcon/ethberlin. so will definitely want to catch up w/ any of you there!

in terms of status, it sounds like we may need a few more conversations to all get on the same page about what the FG will do and what place it has in eth1.x. there hasnā€™t been too much value in having these conversations to date as the eth2.0 spec was still undergoing revision; with the phase 0 spec freeze, we have something quite tangible to work off of :slight_smile: it appears to me that the concrete functionality is clear, what is less clear is the timeline and how the two systems will interact. i feel pretty strongly that we need to first and foremost have a stable beacon chain network before we think about any sort of eth1.x HF. that is not to say the prototyping/EIP-drafting phase canā€™t happen in parallel (in fact now is the time to start!) but i donā€™t think it wise to try to target launching the eth1.x FG without having seen a stable beacon chain mainnet for some time ā€“ I would think months but this is part of the conversation we need to have.

given the importance of getting this initiative correct (we will be directly modifying the consensus protocol) I think the HF timeline should be supply driven, rather than demand driven; i.e. we will ship when its ready and not worry about fitting into the existing HF timeline. if that means we have to wait some months for the next upgrade to roll around then i would personally be ok w/ that.

i canā€™t think of anything in particular the cat herders could help w/ but perhaps i donā€™t fully understand the scope of their abilities so if there is any way you think they can be helpful plz let me know! i think having more process/coordination help will be more useful the closer we get to a final EIP and will want to move towards deployment.

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at this point, it sounds like we should have a call to discuss what this initiative will look like and how it will play out, timeline wise. i can put together a strawman document for timeline, etc. and then can organize a call w/ whoever is interested. ping me here or on telegram (same handle @ralexstokes) and iā€™ll keep you in the loop. iā€™ve heard of interest from @fubuloubu @cyberbono3 @terence and @atoulme ā€“ if @timbeiko or @AlexeyAkhunov want to join, that would be great :slight_smile: ā€“ and if anyone is reading this and wants to join the fun, let me know!

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Thanks for sharing, @ralexstokes!

Happy to hear about the progress and I agree that this is something we want to do right over doing fast.

Iā€™d love to be part of a call about the initiative if you set one up. The Cat Herders donā€™t really have a fixed mandate, so having more context would help me think about if and how they could add value.

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totally ā€“ will update you once we start finding a time

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Would love to be on this call, let me know when anything materialises!

Hi everyone,

I would like to suggest we do a working group call on 8/15 at 20:00 UTC on zoom. If anyone very much wants to join then and canā€™t, let me know and we can try to reschedule. If you can confirm in DM across some channel, that is also very appreciated :slight_smile:

Iā€™ve started work on an agenda/working group organizing doc which Iā€™ll share ahead of time. Iā€™d imagine the first call will mainly be discussing the scope of the group and the first steps on the project.

I also imagine it will be recorded to share after the fact.

Cheers!

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I wonā€™t be able to make it on that date. It would be great if there are notes or a recording made available :slight_smile:

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Alex is it still the plan that we will have a call on the 15th?

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Yes, lets do the above time, Iā€™ll follow up w/ a zoom link beforehand and should be able to record the conversation for anyone who wants to follow along asynchronously.

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Added it to my calendar

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Hey all, hereā€™s a Telegram group for those who want to coordinate that way.

Iā€™ll do my best to ensure important data is posted both there and here.

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Topic: Finality gadget working group - call #0
Time: Aug 15, 2019 01:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

^^^ call details for our first meeting in ~17hrs.

This first call is mainly organizational to see who is interested and in what capacity they can help.

I should be able to record it to share after the fact and should be able to take some rough notes as a transcript.

edit: here is some agenda: https://hackmd.io/@ralexstokes/r1oEXrMEH (happy to take suggestions)

^ Our kickoff call is in 10 mins!

Count me in @ralexstokes :slight_smile: