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* [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB step function
@ 2015-05-08  7:20 Matt Whitlock
  2015-05-08 10:15 ` Mike Hearn
                   ` (5 more replies)
  0 siblings, 6 replies; 69+ messages in thread
From: Matt Whitlock @ 2015-05-08  7:20 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: bitcoin-development

Between all the flames on this list, several ideas were raised that did not get much attention. I hereby resubmit these ideas for consideration and discussion.

- Perhaps the hard block size limit should be a function of the actual block sizes over some trailing sampling period. For example, take the median block size among the most recent 2016 blocks and multiply it by 1.5. This allows Bitcoin to scale up gradually and organically, rather than having human beings guessing at what is an appropriate limit.

- Perhaps the hard block size limit should be determined by a vote of the miners. Each miner could embed a desired block size limit in the coinbase transactions of the blocks it publishes. The effective hard block size limit would be that size having the greatest number of votes within a sliding window of most recent blocks.

- Perhaps the hard block size limit should be a function of block-chain length, so that it can scale up smoothly rather than jumping immediately to 20 MB. This function could be linear (anticipating a breakdown of Moore's Law) or quadratic.

I would be in support of any of the above, but I do not support Mike Hearn's proposed jump to 20 MB. Hearn's proposal kicks the can down the road without actually solving the problem, and it does so in a controversial (step function) way.



^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 69+ messages in thread
* Re: [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB step function
@ 2015-05-08 14:57 Steven Pine
  0 siblings, 0 replies; 69+ messages in thread
From: Steven Pine @ 2015-05-08 14:57 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: bitcoin-development

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Block size scaling should be as transparent and simple as possible, like
pegging it to total transactions per difficulty change.

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^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 69+ messages in thread
* Re: [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB step function
@ 2015-05-09  0:13 Raystonn
  0 siblings, 0 replies; 69+ messages in thread
From: Raystonn @ 2015-05-09  0:13 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: mark; +Cc: Bitcoin Development

It seems to me all this would do is encourage 0-transaction blocks, crippling the network.  Individual blocks don't have a "maximum" block size, they have an actual block size.  Rational miners would pick blocks to minimize difficulty, lowering the "effective" maximum block size as defined by the optimal size for rational miners.  This would be a tragedy of the commons.

In addition to that, average block cinfirmation time, and hence rate of inflation of the bitcoin currency, would now be subject to manipulation.  This undermined a core value of Bitcoin.

> On Fri, May 8, 2015 at 1:33 PM, Mark Friedenbach <mark@friedenbach.org> wrote:
>
>   * For each block, the miner is allowed to select a different difficulty (nBits) within a certain range, e.g. +/- 25% of the expected difficulty, and this miner-selected difficulty is used for the proof of work check. In addition to adjusting the hashcash target, selecting a different difficulty also raises or lowers the maximum block size for that block by a function of the difference in difficulty.


^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 69+ messages in thread
[parent not found: <CAAjy6kDdB8uODpPcmS8h4eap8fke7Y2y773NHJZja8tB5mPk4Q@mail.gmail.com>]

end of thread, other threads:[~2015-06-01 12:38 UTC | newest]

Thread overview: 69+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed)
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2015-05-08  7:20 [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB step function Matt Whitlock
2015-05-08 10:15 ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-08 10:30 ` Clément Elbaz
2015-05-08 12:32   ` Joel Joonatan Kaartinen
2015-05-08 12:48     ` Matt Whitlock
2015-05-08 13:24       ` Matt Whitlock
2015-05-08 12:48     ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-08 16:51     ` Peter Todd
2015-05-08 22:36       ` Joel Joonatan Kaartinen
2015-05-09 18:30         ` Peter Todd
2015-05-08 15:57 ` Alex Mizrahi
2015-05-08 16:55 ` Bryan Bishop
2015-05-08 20:33 ` Mark Friedenbach
2015-05-08 22:43   ` Aaron Voisine
2015-05-08 22:45     ` Mark Friedenbach
2015-05-08 23:15       ` Aaron Voisine
2015-05-08 23:58         ` Mark Friedenbach
2015-05-09  3:36   ` Gregory Maxwell
2015-05-09 11:58     ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-09 13:49       ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-10 17:36     ` Owen Gunden
2015-05-10 18:10       ` Mark Friedenbach
2015-05-10 21:21     ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-10 21:33       ` Gregory Maxwell
2015-05-10 21:56       ` Rob Golding
2015-05-13 10:43     ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-16  0:22       ` Rusty Russell
2015-05-16 11:09         ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-18  1:42           ` Rusty Russell
2015-05-19  8:59             ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-10 21:48   ` Thomas Voegtlin
2015-05-10 22:31     ` Mark Friedenbach
2015-05-10 23:11       ` Thomas Voegtlin
2015-05-28 15:53 ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-28 17:05   ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-28 17:19     ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-28 17:34       ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-28 18:23         ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-29 11:26           ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-29 11:42             ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-29 11:57               ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-29 12:39                 ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-29 14:00                   ` insecurity
2015-05-29 14:15                     ` Braun Brelin
2015-05-29 14:09                   ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-29 14:20                     ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-29 14:22                       ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-29 14:21                     ` Mike Hearn
2015-05-29 14:22                     ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-29 16:39                       ` [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB stepfunction Raystonn .
2015-05-29 18:28                         ` Tier Nolan
2015-05-29 17:53                   ` [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB step function Admin Istrator
2015-05-30  9:03                     ` Aaron Voisine
2015-06-01 11:30                       ` Ricardo Filipe
2015-06-01 11:46                         ` Marcel Jamin
2015-05-29 18:47                   ` Bryan Cheng
2015-05-30  1:36                     ` Cameron Garnham
2015-05-28 17:39       ` [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB stepfunction Raystonn .
2015-05-28 17:59         ` Pieter Wuille
2015-05-28 18:21           ` Gavin Andresen
2015-05-28 17:50       ` [Bitcoin-development] Proposed alternatives to the 20MB step function Peter Todd
2015-05-28 17:14   ` Thomas Voegtlin
2015-05-28 17:34   ` Pieter Wuille
2015-05-29 17:45   ` Aaron Voisine
2015-05-08 14:57 Steven Pine
2015-05-09  0:13 Raystonn
     [not found] <CAAjy6kDdB8uODpPcmS8h4eap8fke7Y2y773NHJZja8tB5mPk4Q@mail.gmail.com>
2015-05-28 16:30 ` Steven Pine
     [not found]   ` <CABsx9T03aNRC5DRbR06nNtsiBdJAcQsGAHvbCOe3pnuRpdvq5w@mail.gmail.com>
2015-05-28 18:25     ` Steven Pine
2015-05-28 18:31       ` Gavin Andresen

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