Beam 2022 Week #43 - The Path Forward
Covering October 17th -October 23rd 2022
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Beam News!
The last week was a busy one, with the latest space covering the Decentralisation of Development, inline with the ongoing efforts to shift towards the BeamX DAO structure. To compliment the space, this week we will cover what the shift is all about, and all you need to know. Let us dive in!
Future Development
Following the Beam transition to the DAO governance, which has been taking place gradually over the last year or so, we are updating our R&D process to a bounty based model. This means that we will setup a new set of procedures to decide, formalize and implement features on the Beam platform. Let us discuss in more detail how this is going to be done.
First let us distinguish between the Beam infrastructure and the DApps. In the former, we differentiate between major versions, usually indicating hard forks or major upgrades, and the minor versions that are indicative of the features, upgrades and improvements within the same major version. Currently we are releasing the 7.2 version and the next major update is expected to be 8.0 which will include the addition of EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) as well as the plugin consensus layer that allows running Beam sidechains and application specific chains alongside Beam mainnet.
For DApps, the situation is different as versions of each application can be deployed in between the minor versions of Beam, provided they do not require changes in the API or other infrastructure components. Since DApps usually have two components: the smart contract deployed on chain, and the Application itself which includes the UI components. These releases can be performed separately, even though the application version will usually be updated whenever any of the components are deployed.
Which brings us to the new process.
Each new development will start with a feature request posted in the Beam Forum. Any community or team member can create a new request and initiate a discussion around it at any time. New feature requests will be discussed in the forum and in the Weekly Development Update (which will take place in Twitter Spaces).
The purpose of initial discussions can be subdivided into three key points:
Understanding of the feature requirements and specifications
Determining the feasibility and effort estimation of the feature development
Reaching consensus regarding the prioritization of the feature
We believe that in most cases, these discussions will be sufficient to determine the “go / no go” status of the feature. In certain cases, an on chain vote might be set up to determine whether the feature will be implemented.
Once the feature status and priority are determined, the bounty allocation process will begin. Since it will be very difficult to determine any reasonable a priori constraints, the bounty will be determined on a case by case method, taking into account the complexity of the feature, possible contributors and other factors. Once the bounty is set and agreed upon, a relevant Github issue will be created and assigned to the person responsible for its implementation.
There are several potential sources for bounty funding:
BeamX DAO funds, allocated through an on chain voting process towards development purposes through the Special Proposals mechanism.
Beam Foundation funds - covering the cost of implementation or matching other contributions
Individual Donations
Initially, bounties will be managed by the Beam Foundation or BeamX DAO. In the future, we might consider adding a DApp to manage fund allocation. All matters related to the distribution of the funds including advance payments, acceptance criteria and other aspects will be explicitly discussed and determined by the community before the bounty is allocated.
To sum things up, it is important to emphasize that decentralization of the development process is both difficult and complex. We hope for all the help we can get from the community to make this process as constructive as possible. Though we believe that in the long term this transition will be beneficial for the project, we should expect the initial steps to be challenging and make the efforts required to overcome the difficulties that lay ahead.
Halloween Battle Game
Halloween is coming and with it, the Terrible Creatures that have been resting all year. They seek to destroy the Old Castle and take all the sapphires from the king's treasury to gain power. This latest instalment comes from Vsnation and joins the BeamNFT.art ecosystem. With it comes the first play-to-earn opportunity in the ecosystem, with two factions vying for glory. Both the Knights Of The Kingdom and the Terrible Creatures will play it out, but with it comes the opportunity for any users to vote for free for either team, with 10% of royalties going to those that choose the winning side!
To find out more, you can check out the Halloween Battle Game Whitepaper, and follow them on Twitter to stay up to date!
All this comes in-conjunction with the launch of $SPH, the governance token for the BeamNFT.art ecosystem!
Beam Space
The last Beam Space we covered the earlier mentioned upcoming changes to the Beam Development environment. If you missed it, jump in to hear more about what is coming as we move towards more decentralised development structure.
The upcoming Beam Space:
Let us know in the comments what you want to discuss!
Join us to hear what it is all about!
Day: October 30th
Time: 18:00 UTC
Location: Beam Twitter Space
Set your reminders, and see you there!
A reminder that all Beam spaces are now being uploaded to Youtube for your listening pleasures! ❤️
Go Beamer Community!
Tick or Treat!
The Perfect Balance!
An Airdrop, BB!
Football Betting!?
Fully Fungible!
Learn Web3!
