# EPF summary

This summary report provides a comprehensive review of the project's progress, beginning with an abstract and a detailed status update. It includes an overview of the roadmap, highlights of completed tasks, potential next steps, a self-evaluation, and concludes with key feedback and takeaways.

## Project Abstract
The Rated-List project addresses critical challenges in decentralized networks, specifically in Distributed Hash Tables (DHT) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks, by creating a secure and robust rating system to enhance node reliability and network integrity.

The goal of the rated-list is to ensure data availability by reducing the influence of malicious nodes through solutions like node discovery and path memory. Throughout this EPF journey, we developed the formal specifications and structures for the rated-list, conducted simulations, and performed a formal security analysis.

Link to Full Project Documentation: https://github.com/dankrad/rated-list-specs

## Status Report

### Overview of Roadmap
The Rated-List project is structured into three key stages to ensure a comprehensive and secure rating system for decentralized networks:

- Phase 1 (Starting point): Specification Stage

This initial phase establishes the foundational setup of the rated-list, defining criteria for node participation and evaluation metrics.Detailed specifications are developed to guide how nodes are ranked, scored, and maintained within the system, ensuring transparency and consistency.

- Phase 2 (Exploring stage): Security Analysis

In this phase, we focus on identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities, such as Sybil attacks and score manipulation.

- Phase 3 (Proof of concept): Formal Analysis

The final stage involves conducting a formal analysis to validate the system’s reliability and compliance with initial specifications. This phase will ensure that the rated-list is secure, robust, and ready for broader adoption within the ecosystem.

### Completed Tasks
- Specification part: Core setup for node listing and rating.
- Security analysis: focused on byzantine fault tolerance and Sybil attack resistance.
- Formal analysis: network partition resilience and robustness against majority collusion.

### Unfinished Tasks (Potential next steps)
- **Scalability & Performance Optimization**
Conduct performance tests under high network loads to ensure the system can handle increased numbers of nodes without compromising speed or accuracy.
- **Enhanced Security and Robustness:**
Comprehensive validation and testing are conducted to ensure the system’s operational soundness and robustness.

## Self-evaluation

In general, I have developed a much deeper understanding of how Ethereum works, particularly the core concepts, thanks to valuable resources such as the Ethereum wiki and the roadmap for upcoming updates. Through this project, I’ve also gained insights into how security strategies are applied within the blockchain. Working alongside Dankard has been an incredible experience; his expertise in this area provided invaluable guidance. Additionally, I actively participated in ETHCC and weekly update sessions, which offered a broader view of my colleagues' work and progress.

Unfortunately, I fell ill in the final month, which delayed my progress and prevented me from completing the final part of the formal analysis. Due to this, I also couldn’t attend the final presentation in person at Devcon. Nevertheless, I am committed to continuing our work on these topics beyond the EPF.

## Feedback abd Take-away

### Feedback:
- First, I would like to thank Josh, Mario, and all the EPF researchers for providing this incredible opportunity. Starting from EthCC and culminating at Devcon, we had two in-person events and weekly online meetings where we discussed topics and connected with people working on diverse areas within core development. This structure, in my opinion, is excellent—it maximizes efficiency and fosters meaningful engagement.

- The AMA sessions were fantastic. We learned about different work approaches and heard inspiring stories from various participants. Having the chance to interact with them directly was invaluable.

- All of the materials, events and activities were extremely well-organized, and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. Each part of the program was structured thoughtfully, making the entire experience both enjoyable and enriching.

### Take-away:

- **The Value of Consistent Effort:** Five months felt like a long journey, especially when balancing the excitement of new ideas with the challenge of staying focused. I learned that tackling difficult problems requires persistence and commitment, and there were times when pushing through was hard. But looking back, seeing the tangible results of our hard work made every struggle and long night worth it. This experience taught me the power of steady, consistent effort and the satisfaction that comes from seeing it pay off.

- **Collaboration is Key:** Working in a team was one of the highlights of this journey. Each team member brought their own expertise and perspective, which really broadened my understanding of the work.

- **Seeing the Big Picture in Technology Development:** Ethereum is a vast topic, and I often felt lost in the technical details, especially when working on specific, detailed problems.Understanding this “big picture” changed the way I approach my work—I now see how each individual effort can support something much larger. This shift in perspective has influenced the way I’ll approach projects and collaborations in the future.