Proposal Date - April 24th 2024
A proposal for the requirement of a Registered Name prior to being able to mint.
Since the launch of Qortal, becoming a minter has involved only one 'step', this step was to simply find another minter of level 5 or higher, and obtain a sponsorship key from them. While this concept was fine at the launch, and helped to expand the minting accounts of the network more quickly, it also came along with 'the one game' that can be played on Qortal, 'self-sponsorship'.
It was always known that a solution to the self-sponsorship issue would need to be created in the future, and many steps were taken already to get closer to that goal. Now, this proposal is the next step toward a completely self-sponsorship immune Qortal Network. We have limited the amount of minting keys that can be run on a single node, and limited the amount of sponsorships that an account can accomplish, and we have run the self-sponsorship algorithms to remove existing self-sponsors. Now the time is upon us to do more to PREVENT self-sponsorship. Adding this Registered Name requirement would accomplish the next step toward this end goal, allowing future proposals to be made that can leverage the plethora of functionality provided by QDN, whereas without the Registered Name requirement, such additional leverage would be impossible. Cutting out the largest functionality of the network, cuts out huge potential for possible solutions.
Self-Sponsorship quickly became a fairly large issue, and forced the creation of the 'self-sponsorship algorithm' that utilized multiple data points from accounts in order to apply a 'blocksMintedPenalty' removing the account's level, and with it their ability to sponsor and mint. Thus eliminating the ability of those caught self-sponsoring from continuing to do so. While this algorithm worked as expected, it didn't solve the underlying problem, and self-sponsorship continued.
Also, during the initial run of the self-sponsorship algorithm, the MemPoW (Memory Proof-of-Work algorithm) was applied as part of Qortal's consensus, which further increased the difficulty of self-sponsorship, by making it only possible to run a certain number of minting accounts per physical computer. The goal was to limit that number to 2 minting keys per physical machine. While this concept does WORK, it will never be possible to limit to a set number due to dramatic differences in hardware utilized by each node. Even with this concerns, the MemPoW becoming part of Qortal's consensus, surely prevented self-sponsors from running huge numbers of minting keys per node, thus adding the requirement to obtain a new machine for every 2 minting keys, making it more difficult for a single individual to run a large number of accounts effectively.
The second run of the self-sponsorship algo (Self-Sponsorship Algo V2) was also run in 2023, applying an additional 'purge' of those accounts found by the algo to be self-sponsoring. However, again this is not a permanent solution, and only temporarily reduces the number of self-sponsors. Without a more in-depth solution, self-sponsorship will continue to be a growing problem on the Qortal Network. The second self-sponsorship algo DID reduce the number of self-sponsors by a significant margin, but unless further modifications are made to increase the difficulty in maintaining a self-sponsorship raquet, the changes made thus far will only serve to slow the self-sponsorship down temporarily. Once the self-sponsors reach a certain point, and have again a large number of level 5+ accounts, they will once again become a larger issue on the network. Preventing this from becoming a reality is the main concept of this proposal.
This proposal and subsequent requirement is an additional effort to reduce the amount of self-sponsorship that is able to take place on the network. This proposal will also potentially be the first step toward a more in-depth proposal with regard to the modification of the sponsorship system of Qortal.
This proposal is to add a Registered Name requirement to ALL minting accounts. This would be a RETROACTIVE MODIFICATION, meaning that all minters currently minting will also need to acquire a Registered Name in order to continue minting. It is believed that this requirement will be a solid step to lowering the amount of self-sponsorship taking place, and potentially the first step toward another concept that leverages the additional functionality that Qortal now provides (through QDN), to fully reduce the potential for self-sponsorship, and thus resolve the only 'game' that can be played on the Qortal Network.
The addition of a Registered Name requirement to the ability to mint on the Qortal Network provides another requirement that is easy for normal users to fulfill, but more difficult for those with automated scripts taking care of their self-sponsorships.
A Registered Name requirement would also enforce those looking to mint, to USE the platform to the most basic level, requiring them to obtain a small amount of QORT, and pay the Name Registration fee to the existing minters. Registered Names are usually the first thing new users are suggested to acquire, and most of the time (at least as seen in the past), new users are able to acquire the QORT for a registered name by simply sending a few 'hi, I'm new' messages in Q-Chat. While yes, the argument could be made that 'self-sponsors could simply do this as well', taking into consideration the methods currently employed by those self-sponsoring, it is believed to be unlikely for them to do this for every new minting account they are looking to create.
Remember, this addition is by no means a 'final solution to end self-sponsorship', it is simply another requirement making it more difficult for automated self-sponsoring, and adding little to no additional difficulty for legitimate users.
Registered Names are already required for making use of anything on QDN. In order to 'authenticate' with any Q-App, the account must have a registered name. In order to publish anything on QDN, the same applies. This leads to the concept that a registered name is required in order to leverage 90% of the platform's existing functionality and features.
Registered Names also make it easier to stay in contact with the new minters from their sponsors, as they now have the means for long-term messages in Q-Mail to be sent to them, so that if they don't see a 24-hour Q-Chat message, they can still be contacted. This opens lines of communication between sponsor and sponsee, and gives anyone the ability to send a message to a minter that someone notices has not been increasing in blocksMinted, etc. Without a registered name, there is no long-term messaging possible to such a minter, and it has been seen in the past, that attempts to contact such minters over Q-Chat doesn't work unless they are active within the message's 24 hour expiration period.
Anyone with a little effort and paying attention to the data available on the Qortal chain, can clearly see that the majority of the accounts still self-sponsoring now, do NOT have registered names. The reasoning for this is up to interpretation, but the argument could be made that they are seeking to obtain as much as possible, while putting in as little effort as possible. It is definitely likely that even an additional 1.25 QORT (current Name Registration cost) would be 'too expensive' for them, or that the additional effort required to fulfill this requirement, would be more than they were willing to accomplish for every account they attempt to create.
Those who do not have a registered name can only use the QORT coin, the Trade Portal, and Q-Chat. Any functionality that leverages QDN to publish data, authenticate, or provide any further function whatsoever, requires a registered name already.
Minting's concept overall, is to SUPPORT THE NETWORK, and help it grow. Minters are the only ones who can 'sign' blocks, giving them the sole 'power' to move the Qortal Blockchain. In the early days of the project, QDN didn't exist, and as such Registered Names were merely for those who wanted to have a 'Q-Chat username' and the ability to have QORT sent to them by name instead of long address string. Now, however, Registered Names are a LOT more than that, and as explained above, are already a requirement for 90% of the functionality that now exists.
While yes, the goals initially were to have multiple DIFFERENT leveling methods for different types of input, the more input required for each existing type that doesn't affect the legitimate Qortal users and effects those seeking only to self-sponsor, the better. While other leveling methods are still possible in the future, improving the minting system is a solid goal as well.
Qortal is a lot more than simply a 'coin' or a 'financial' project. As such, it must be viewed as more than that. One must consider the fact that Qortal is meant to be a replacement for the digital infrastructure of the world. It is NOT meant to be solely a 'coin' or a 'financial network'. It DOES have that functionality as well, but that is not the project's primary focus. Also, users are still free to have an account without a name after this proposal, they simply wouldn't be able to have a MINTING account without a name.
One must also take into consideration that MINTING IS NOT A 'RIGHT' given to everyone, but a PRIVILEGE given to those genuine users looking to genuinely support the project, and help the chain grow by potentially signing blocks. it is also VERY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER that MINTING IS ESSENTIAL TO THE SECURITY OF THE CHAIN. Minting nodes are the ones that create new blocks, and 'move' the chain. The likelihood of the minter to be the one that signs the block, is based on their level and amount of time they have contributed toward potentially signing blocks. If self-sponsored accounts are not kept under control in any possible way, it could potentially lead to larger issues, especially once the higher level tiers are filled with minters (as the 'effective level' that 'founder' accounts have will no longer place them in the position of being more likely to sign blocks than any other account.
Registered Names will continue to be a requirement for these features of anything published on QDN. QDN is a HUGE portion of Qortal, and is the foundation of Qortal's ability to build a 'new internet'. Users who do not have a registered name, are obviously not taking advantage of those features.
In the early days of the project, when QDN was not a thing, no Q-Apps, and no Qortal websites, there was only really one way to provide support to the network, and that was minting. This is why in the early days it didn't make sense to add such a name requirement to minting. Now, however, with the plethora of additional functionality, much of that requiring a registered name, this proposal makes a lot of sense.
There is also the potential for further requirements to be added in another proposal, but all of the additional requirements would require a registered name as well, since the only means for long-term messaging that is available on Qortal, is Q-Mail, which uses QDN, and as such requires a registered name. Therefore, if any further additional proposal were to be considered, leveraging long-term messaging in any way, or anything else on QDN, a Registered Name would be a prior requirement to make such an additional proposal possible. Limiting the network to its original minting concept, and limiting the ability to combat the one game that can be played on the network by leveraging QDN in any way, is something that simply doesn't make sense. Why would we deliberately remove 90% of the functionality available on the platform to resolve issues?
Registered Names do NOT have to be tied to the user's 'identity' in any way. Having a registered name does not then say that the account cannot continue to be 'anonymous'. So requiring a registered name in order to mint, does not lower any anonymity whatsoever. Also, the registered name requirement will be ONLY FOR THE MINTING ACCOUNT of the user, and as should be well-known by now, any number of non-minting accounts may be created for any purpose.
Anyone wishing to utilize the QORT-related features only, may continue to do so after this proposal's implementation, the ONLY change that is proposed here, is the requirement of a Registered Name for MINTERS only.
Most legitimate minters already have a Registered Name, so this proposal will not affect them in any way. This proposal is meant to be a step toward a 'final solution' for the 'one game' of the Qortal Network, but it is not a final solution in itself. Obviously this proposal by itself will not completely resolve the self-sponsorship issue, however, it will open up the full functionality available on QDN with which to build a 'final solution' in the future.
Check out the poll results, and cast your vote on the proposal on the POLLING PAGE.