Meeting minutes are on Github:
thanks, everyone for attending and chiming in and sorry for the jitsi issues.
rough meeting minutes (nov/01/2022)
problem statement
huge demand for goerli ether due to testing staker setups (32 ether for each validator)
after testnet deprecation earlier this year, a lot of projects migrate to goerli instead of sepolia
faucets getting drained or hacked rendering the network unusable for many developers
goerli ether being traded otc does make it easier to buy them even though they are free
current situation breaks down into two problems
- stakers have no easy way to test staking
- developers actually pay money to test their applications
discussion of protocol changes
custom protocols for testnets have been an issue in the past (see: morden consensus failure)
execution-layer teams are not willing to support a testnet-only fork or custom protocol
there might be a chance to utilize upcoming withdrawals in capella fork on the consensus-layer side
add a constant that introduces a withdrawal boost factor that is “1” on all networks
but can be tweaked for testing or testnet environments (here: goerli)
benefit: trivial to implement (one constant, one multiplier)
potential drawbacks: people abusing the queues to deposit and exit the validator set to farm more goerli
at least this would reduce pressure on faucets
another caveat: make sure to not hit the max integer value on any account any time soon
action item: simulate deposits/withdrawals and come up with a good number for goerli to extend life for at least 2 years
application-layer point of view
- need long-term guarantees for testnets
- the migration from kovan/rinkeby to goerli was very short notice for many projects
- migration for larger projects is often very involved
- maintaining support for more than one testnet binds a lot of resources
- currently huge demand on goerli, the base fee is around 30 gwei (similar levels to mainnet)
- inflating the supply might also increase the base fee
proposal to have a “release and support schedule” for testnets
launch new testnet every 2 or 3 years, pre-announce and “end-of-life date” (5 years lifetime? tbd)
- goerli end of life: 2024?
- sepolia end of life: 2026?
- sepolia would be the right place to migrate/test applications
- sepolia is permissionless, has better stability guarantees, and better total supply
5-years testnet long-term support seems reasonable but for goerli this is still too short notice
- many projects are migrating to goerli instead of sepolia as we speak
- missed opportunity prior to the merge to communicate clearly the expectations for the testnets
benefits: gives projects long-term guarantees for operation and planning capabilities for future migrations
open question: is there a benefit for applications to run on permissionless networks (concerns about the permissioned nature of sepolia)?
open question: if goerli is deprecated, where to test large validator sets for consensus-layer teams?
- in general, need to discuss the different needs of application and protocol developers
- there is always a need for a ropsten-like testnet
action item: work out and present a testnet release and support schedule; discuss with community stakeholders
ephemeral testnet for stakers
mario worked out a proposal
action item: refine this with the home-staker community and map out a launch and maintenance plan
please correct me if I got something wrong or forgot an aspect