[ZIP 234] Network Sustainability Mechanism: Issuance Smoothing

[daira]

Issue for discussion.

[nuttycom]

#914

[daira]

Appendix: Considerations for the Future

Future protocol changes may not increase the payout rate to a reasonable approximation beyond the four year half-life constraint.

A protocol ZIP can't constrain what changes might be made in the future — which I think this is trying to do despite the confusing use of "may not".

Reading between the lines, this paragraph may have been attempting to pre-empt a possible argument against this ZIP on the basis of it being a slippery slope toward arbitrary future issuance changes. If so I think it's unnecessary (and too vague to make a difference). The social pressure against changes that violate the spirit of the existing issuance constraints is high in any case. This proposal may yet meet resistance from the community on that basis, and that would be fine; whether or not it is compatible with those constraints will have to be argued on the merits.

So, I think this section should be removed.

If the intent is to specify constraints on process for future changes to the issuance schedule, that should be a separate process ZIP (or a change to ZIP 0). In any case, such a ZIP would only facilitate applying additional social pressure against a process-violating change by saying "this violates a previously agreed process". It's impossible for a specification to actually prevent anything.

[aquietinvestor]

It's less about attempting to pre-empt a possible argument against this ZIP on the basis of it being a slippery slope toward arbitrary future issuance changes and more about including a consideration for future generations that warns against arbitrary future issuance changes, which there should be a very high bar for. I think it's okay to remove this section, but I want to run it by the rest of the team first. I will come back to you later today.

[aquietinvestor]

@daira You can remove this section. Thanks.