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RE: What could a blockchain Constitution look like?

in #eos8 years ago (edited)

I share some of this concern, however this appears to be an excellent first attempt.

I did notice there seems to be some ambiguity in ARTICLE 7:

We agree the Producers may, but are not required to, update the Blockchain software...
...
The minority Producers shall either upgrade their software according to the approved update, or they shall cease producing blocks immediately.

I understand the first sentence to say updating the software is voluntary, whereas the last part dictates that to remain a Producer one must upgrade to the majority Approved version, once conditions for approval have been met. In legalese, shall and must are synonyms (equivalent). I am curious what the rationale for the first sentence is, and what situation or scenario it was meant to address. IMHO the "but not required to" should be removed. It is important that the versions of software in use by all witness are compatible, and this section defines the terms for which Witnesses are required to upgrade that software so it remains so.

What does this say about dissenting minorities? Isn't this the essence of how hardforks are used to split a blockchain? Could this be viewed as a means to maintain the status quo? Perhaps you should consider a clause similar to the U.S. Declaration of Independence which states (paraphrased) that when the governance ceases to represent the will of the people it is their duty to establish a new contract that conforms to the will of the people.

So yes, the English language is versatile enough (some would say ambiguous enough) to provide for such constructions that could be viewed as contradictory.

Still, aside from this specific section this is very well written and is indeed an excellent template upon which refinements can be made.

Well done @dan!