Hi, I'm Bob.

[BobWay]

Some may have noticed that I'm back on Twitter.

Should I come back here too?  Or am I persona non grata?

[BillyOckham]

54 minutes ago, BobWay said:

Some may have noticed that I'm back on Twitter.

Should I come back here too?  Or am I persona non grata?

Welcome back Bob.        Delighted to see you here.

 

This place has changed a lot since you left….  many folk have gone but the core remains. 
 

Your intimate knowledge of history and the XRPL are truly invaluable to those of us interested in XRP.   I hope you find good engagement here and that you share any damn thing you want….   doesn’t have to be XRP related.  We came to know you a little bit and care about you beyond just a great source of info.    

 

[BillyOckham]

Bob on a XRPL question….  the UNL….     If I understand correctly the two big issues the XRPL needs to solve are the double spend and the Byzantine generals.

The bad info from bad actors (Byzantine generals) issue is solved by trusting a diverse group of nodes to follow the rules, spread info, agree on new blocks.

The double spend is merely a transaction ordering problem.  If a canonical block can be agreed upon then there can be no double spend.

 

So how do you trust a diverse group of nodes?  The UNL.  Now everyone tends to follow the same one but anyone can vary that.  If the nodes vary too much there is the possibility of hard forks arises.

So the UNL is critical and it would be best if the requirements to get on it are transparent and distributed.

 

Can you speak to what you know of how that is being managed now and going forward?  Have I represented the above correctly?  Is decentralised management of the org and foundation and UNL possible and functional?

Thanks for any thoughts you care to share on that side of things.

 

[Gilligan]

A very welcome back Bob - it's great to see you here as well as on Twitter    

You are and always will be, a valued member of the community and I am sure everyone would welcome you rejoining the conversation here.   

[WrathofKahneman]

Fire away, @BobWay!  Twitter presents a broader audience, but XRPChat lets you post a little more detail.  Either way, we love to learn from you, hear your opinions.  Also, you can always tweet links to posts here and garner more eyeballs.  Cheers!

[BobWay]

1 hour ago, BillyOckham said:

So how do you trust a diverse group of nodes?  The UNL.  Now everyone tends to follow the same one but anyone can vary that.  If the nodes vary too much there is the possibility of hard forks arises.

So the UNL is critical and it would be best if the requirements to get on it are transparent and distributed.

 

Can you speak to what you know of how that is being managed now and going forward?  Have I represented the above correctly?  Is decentralised management of the org and foundation and UNL possible and functional?

Thanks for any thoughts you care to share on that side of things.

Yes, you have everything correct.

My knowledge is a little stale because I know the intention was for the XRPL Foundation to take over publishing the aggregated list. I don't know how far along that is though. But I'll find out.

The general goal is to publish aggregated list of validating nodes that contains both the node's real world identity and its reliability. There's no need to exclude any KNOWN parties from the list. So getting on the list should be easy. UNKNOWN parties must be excluded from the aggregation because they are unsuitable on anyone's UNL.

If you sort the aggregated list by reliability, the goal is for everyone to add as many reliable nodes as possible to your own UNL. Dropping only the ones below a recommended reliability. If everyone sorts the aggregated list at the same time, and chooses the same reliability threshold, then everyone with end up with the same "independently chosen" UNL. In that situation, there can be no forks.

Within limits, an individual node operator can:

1. Remove individual (otherwise reliable) nodes from their personal list.
2. Add an individual unreliable node to their personal list.

If your UNL is larger enough, these minor differences won't matter.
But if you modify the common list too much, your individual node may stall, but nobody using the common list will because of you.

When you "stall" you become unreliable. Stall too much and you fall to the bottom of the aggregated list. You are still on the list. But nobody following the "common guidance" will add you to their personal UNLs.

I'm a bit tired. So I'll reread this tomorrow to see if this is too confusing.

[PunishmentOfLuxury]

Welcome back, Bob! I hope your health issue has been resolved and I look forward to your further contributions.

[Roaring_Twenties]

13 hours ago, BobWay said:

Should I come back here too?

It quite literally would be a Christmas miracle if you would, Bob.

We’re a group of people starving for accurate information on the potential future of what our long DCA’d asset might be about to become. With the SEC debacle about to conclude we know we’re about to open a new and, hopefully, exciting chapter in XRP adoption and utility.

Any knowledge you could share with us feeds us starving for intel is greatly appreciated!

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by Roaring_Twenties

[Truckdriver]

20 hours ago, BobWay said:

Should I come back here too?

[Truckdriver]

20 hours ago, BobWay said:

Or am I persona non grata?

Welcome back Sir.

You'll never be persona non grata for us here Bob. 

You have made the festive season more festive with your return.

I hope the health is much better than the last time you graced us with your presence.

Have a Merry Xmas & all the best to you and your family for the festive season. 

Hows the parrot ? 

[Zerponaut]

Hi Bob. You are always welcome back here. Your experience and knowledge has been sorely missed during these testing times.