NIS1 Strategy Approach

[davidshaw]

NIS1 Strategy

You will have seen the updates from Jeff on the amalgamation of core funds and the set up of the new core wallets. Another step in the preparation for next year. There has also been considerable thought given to NIS1 alongside the preparation for Symbol launch.

Whilst most of the focus and effort has rightly centred on getting Symbol ready, NIS1 remains a critical part of NEM’s future. Initially there are 3 key areas to build on;

The Creation of a Dedicated Trust to Invest in NIS1.

This will start with 35m XEM, which has been transferred from the old NF Trust. The funds are for the exclusive use of developing NIS1 and the NEM community.

The Extension of the Product Life of the NIS1 platform.

Kristy will be sharing her initial technical focus for NIS1. The first step will be to conduct a review of the chain to calibrate the platform after some time without a major update and to inform that roadmap for NIS1 that fixes, improves and enhances its performance and longevity. We would then share the recommendation with the community for input and a decision on the technical roadmap for the rest of 2021. We expect to allocate full time product and technical management to drive this alongside community contributions wherever available.

The Supernode Reward Programme.

This needs to incentivise long-term participation in running NIS1 nodes. There will be additional transfer of funds into the reserve supernode rewards wallet. Given the 6 year support that we have pledged to keep NIS1 going, a supernode reward programme needs to be consistent with that long term goal. The exact tokenomics of how best to deploy those funds will be subject to consultation and a vote early in the New Year. As Jeff mentioned in his updates over the past few days core are currently discussing the top up options. The current funding is sufficient until late summer 2020 already, so decisions will be made collectively by then at the very latest.

NEM in 2021 will be a 2-chain project and managing NIS1 alongside Symbol is hugely important to sustaining a successful NEM ecosystem.

[tresto]

Is NIS1 going to be open source?

[OhGodAGirl]

It seems fitting that my first post here should start where it all began: NIS1.

Since joining NEM Software, I’ve felt a bit like an archaeologist - chipping through commits and dusting off dated forum posts. NEM’s past and present are at times a labyrinth, and NIS1 is no exception. But finally - after three-and-a-half months - I think I have an inkling of where we need to go.

Normally, a project like NIS1 would be put through a traditional development lifecycle - but the catch with blockchain protocols is that they never really sunset. As long as two nodes remain, a chain will continue in perpetuity. With a vibrant community and a host of applications that are in use today, it’s our responsibility to ensure NIS1 is held to the same quality and standard that we’ve become known for with Symbol.

With that in mind, I wanted to share with the community our ‘plan of attack’ to refresh NIS1. For the first quarter of 2021 (and then some), NEM Software, with the Community’s help, will be exploring and addressing the needs for NIS1 in four different ways.

REVIEW

Our immediate priority? Understand the scope. We’ve already engaged external parties to help evaluate NIS1 and produce a preliminary security audit so we know what our priorities are. This will give us what I like to call a north star - a goal to move towards.

RECRUIT

We’ve kicked off the search for a dedicated product manager for NIS1 - someone who has had prior experience in an open-source community, or has previously worked as a technical lead on a public blockchain protocol. This individual will work closely with myself and our engineering team to design, develop, and document features; work with our community and users to gather requirements and complaints; and begin building out formal sprints and user stories.

RETOOL

Additionally, we will be evaluating all of the existing tooling and infrastructure around NIS1. Explorers and wallets will move towards a unified experience, and be refreshed with a much more responsive, cleaner design. In the same vein, we’ll be building out a similar documentation portal to Symbol, and making it easier to get up-and-running on NIS1 with your project.

REFACTOR

At some point, NIS1’s core modules will need to be refactored, bringing its codebase in line with modern practices and building out appropriate unit tests. In parallel, we’ll be bringing on dedicated engineering talent that will work on the research and extension of the protocol. As we transition to more formal sprints, the community will have better visibility into our release cycles and roadmaps.

Today, we don’t have all the answers of what the future of NIS1 looks like. We don’t know what use cases will evolve; how the market will react; nor what features will be added, if any. But what we do know is that we, collectively, have a responsibility to NIS1, its users and the applications that run on it today to bring it up to the same standards we hold our other products accountable for.

After all, what’s that old saying? Ah, right. Strong roots produce beautiful (merkle) trees.

[tresto]

I’ve already asked above, but I’ll ask you too.
Is NIS1 going to be open source?

[OhGodAGirl]

That’s the aim - but we need to first conduct a security review, and work with the Core developers to understand any concerns or risks - and, of course, polish NIS1 just a little bit more (documentation, tests, etc.)

[janikjan]

I am still not sure if NIS1 should have such a support…I think that NEM should not provide much energy to NIS1. The main energy, power and message to world should be Symbol. After security audits NIS1 should be open sourced and then left the community to use it and develope it if it is wanted.
But from my point of view it is not the best invested time to develope the old blockchain which is hardly used anyway.
That is my opinion. We have really almost zero projects built on NIS1 and we should focus our energy to persuade companies and individuals to built on Symbol not on NIS1.

[kitsutsukick]

How do we keep NIS1 alive?
And what will we do to keep NIS1 alive?

This is a very important topic.
But before that, there is something more important that we need to think about.

For what purpose do we want NIS1 to survive?

This theme is where it all begins.

Why do we need NIS1?
What is your vision of NIS1?

Why are we putting our energy into NIS1 instead of putting all of our resources into a new chain?

[tresto]

It can survive if there are people who want to keep it alive. That’s what decentralization is all about.

[jabo38]

@tresto

It can survive if there are people who want to keep it alive. That’s what decentralization is all about

I couldn’t agree more. I will support it too.

[kitsutsukick]

For me personally, I understand Mr. tresto’s opinion.
If NGL’s idea is exactly the same as tresto’s, then the only thing NGL should do is to open source. There is no need for anything else.

NIS1 will survive if there are people who want it to survive. If no one wants NIS1, NIS1 will disappear.

This is true decentralization.

But isn’t it likely that NIS1 will disappear if left to true decentralization, and so NGLs want to support it in a half-centralized way?

If so, I would like to know what NGL’s vision is. After knowing that, I want to decide whether to support it or not.

[rigel]

Please, consider speeding up the startup of a node.
Now it takes really too much reading and validating from scratch more than 5 years of data in the database every time.

[garm]

@OhGodAGirl

That’s the aim - but we need to first conduct a security review, and work with the Core developers to understand any concerns or risks

Hi,
I’m sorry, but this statement is not enough for me. (Sometimes you feel like you’re in a time loop … Sry …all these years, the same answer). This discussion has been going on for too long.
Since many things are interrelated (future NIS1, postponement of snapshot, and so on,…), a clear statement can finally be expected from those responsible.
Especially TechBureau.
Thx!

PS: A clear “YES” or “NO” would be desirable.
" That´s the aim " …says little

[Rocha]

As a crypto Product Manager, I wish you the best luck! I’ll be following the project for NIS1. I’m very interested in the revamp!

[Rocha]

Nice! Revamp NIS1~. I know a PM that is very interested.
頑張りましょう！