PIP-5: Add "Upgrade before Upgrade Height" Quest to POKT Arcade Node Path

Attributes

Summary

To make obtaining a vote easier for engaged node runners, we should add a Level 2 quest to upgrade your node before the DAO’s chosen upgrade height and make the evolution threshold 5/8 (currently 5/7).

Motivation

The node path could use some calibration to make obtaining a vote in the DAO easier for engaged node runners. At the moment, it seems there’s just slightly too much that is required of them. Assuming they can stay unjailed for a continuous 1 month period and process 50k relays, they must also do 3 out of the following:

  • Help another community member set up their node

  • Build and open source their own tooling or have an approved pr on existing pocket related open source node tooling

  • Participate in beta testing for a new pocket core version and submit at least one status report with logs and resource usage

  • Create or contribute (non-grammatical) improvements to pocket node technical documentation or open source node tooling documentation

  • Create or contribute (non-grammatical) improvements to a guide on how to run a pocket node

Specification

  • Add the following quest: “@Upgrade Upgrade your node before the DAO’s chosen upgrade height.”

  • Make the evolution threshold 5/8.

Rationale

Upgrading before the upgrade height is something that all node runners will want to do if they don’t want their node to shutdown (assuming consensus is being achieved). It is also proof that they are attentive to their node and keeping up-to-date with ecosystem developments. It is therefore a good example of the kind of node runner we want to be involved in the DAO.

We considered making this quest worth 3 points, with the same 5 threshold, to guarantee a vote for every node runner who stays unjailed for 1 month, processes 50k relays, and upgrades before the upgrade height. However, I think there is something to be said for the positive incentives that being just 1 or 2 quests away from a vote will create. If the upgrade quest is only 1 point, then the node runner will be more incentivized to do 2 more of the quests listed above, for example, help someone else set up a node and contribute improvements to the docs.

Dissenting Opinions

  • Some might argue that the quests aren’t difficult, it’s rather lack of awareness/motivation that is leading to few nodes claiming a vote.

  • Some might argue that an upgrade quest doesn’t really make gaining a vote easier for a node because it is reliant on the existence of a consensus rule change (which requires an upgrade height), which may not come around so often.

Viability

I’ve tested the new quest with Carlbot for both the 1-point version and 3-point version. Both work, though the 3-point version requires 3 Discord roles (upgrade1, upgrade2, upgrade3).

Implementation

  • Update the !become-nodemad Carlbot script

  • Update the descriptions in #boot-camp

Copyright

Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.

1 Like

This proposal is now up for voting

https://gov.pokt.network/#/pokt-network/proposal/QmQN144fngrqqNpmnDXddAKJMUxwWSexPBLmL7ZVQbRzdn

This proposal passed with 4 yes votes and 0 no votes. I’ll now implement the change in Discord and close this thread.