# Solana Community Led Validator Call Agendas
## November 29, 2023
* Wednesday, November 29, 2023 1900 UTC
* Meeting link [here](https://meet.google.com/gih-zkjz-jmz)
### 1 - Block 0 recap
* Brief recap for those that didn't attend
* Feedback from those who did attend
### 2 - Community projects of interest
This is a new section being added this month. If there are any projects you'd like to see present in future calls, let Chris know.
These two projects relate to governance and are being presented to learn whether there might be intersections with the ongoing validator governance development process.
* [AthensDAOx - Dean](https://twitter.com/AthensDAOx)
* [ArmadaFI](https://twitter.com/ArmadaFi) - [NFTtaylor](https://twitter.com/NFTtaylor)
### 3 - Malicious validator behavior
* Introduction to most recent findings by Shinobi Systems
* Response discussion
### 4 - Governance
* Recap of where we stand today
* Discuss next steps to reinvigorate the process
## October 24, 2023
* Tuesday, October 24, 2023 1800 UTC
* Meeting link [here](https://meet.google.com/dmo-oiou-xmu)
### 1 - State of the network
* The v1.16.18 release is now recommended for general use by MainnetBeta validators. [Link](https://discord.com/channels/428295358100013066/669406841830244375/1166128432590110760)
* There are currently 212 nodes running v1.17.* on mainnet-beta. v1.17 is not currently recommended or supported for mainnet-beta. Anyone who made that upgrade unintentionally is encouraged to adopt v1.16.18. [Link](https://discord.com/channels/428295358100013066/669406841830244375/1166130470732447855)
### 2 - Block 0 planning
* Logistics update
* Pre-registration
* Transportation
* Check-in
* Venue setup and configuration
* Agenda update
* Workshops
* Roundtable discussions
* Breakouts
### 3 - Governance discussion
* Results of first vote
* First result post-mortem
* Next steps
* Squads tooling presentation and discussion
### 4 - Decentralization - Nakamoto Coefficient drop (Did not discuss.)
* Potential reasons for the drop
* Potential implications
* Steps to address
* Near-term
* Longer-term
### Meeting Notes Summary
Meeting notes TBD.
## September 11, 2023
### 1 - State of the network
* Call to [upgrade to v1.14.27 / v1.16.13](https://discord.com/channels/428295358100013066/669406841830244375/1149801414105763901)
* v1.16 upgrade
* Performance improvements
* Paused on more than 10% upgrading during ongoing troubleshooting? (currently at ~11%)
* FTX liquidation, more activity than usual anticipated?
### 2 - Block 0 planning
* Call for 2-3 additional sponsors to lighten the load on existing sponsors
* 3 validators
* 3 infrastructure providers
* 1 developer
* 1 finance
* 1 legal
* Working to finalize [agenda](https://hackmd.io/@KFEZk8oMTz6vBlwADz0M4A/HJf8_sEwn#Schedule--Agenda), feedback window closing soon
### 3 - Governance discussion
* [Who](https://sg.laine.one/exploration/who), three proposals on the table
* [What](https://sg.laine.one/exploration/what), two proposals on the table
* How, do we select among the Who and What proposals?
* Time to start making decisions
* Can use an interim solution
* Realms/SPL governance discussion
### Meeting Notes Summary
Meeting notes [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LvDyIO89T46HeHlaIpQQwFk-W8P7G0U8DQTosaLx_uQ/edit)
## July 31, 2023
### 1 - Block 0 Planning
* Planing [doc here](https://hackmd.io/@KFEZk8oMTz6vBlwADz0M4A/HJf8_sEwn)
* Sponsor update
* Attendee update
* Agenda update and discussion
### 2 - Governance discussion
* [Gitbook](https://laine-1.gitbook.io/solana-governance-think-tank) development
* Who maintains?
* How to contribute?
* [Telegram](https://t.me/+CNvn2-hKQRRiMWVk) discussion
* Scope discussion, i.e. what is the governance process scope for the first implementation phase (Phase 1)?
### Meeting Notes Summary
Meeting notes [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mF-vQdOWIUZl3RTmu7YvtQtexeOV7LVk8j93dlz2E98/edit?usp=sharing)
## June 23, 2023
### 1 - Squads
* Update on community suggestions from May 31 call
### 2 - Block 0 Planning
* Planing [doc here](https://hackmd.io/@KFEZk8oMTz6vBlwADz0M4A/HJf8_sEwn)
### 3 - Governance discussion
### Meeting Notes Summary
Meeting notes [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1A7J9JO8dy2uLCc_8WLHlsxzLMiAtbOJTzkxqhT03n5Q/)
## May 31, 2023
### General Theme - Validator Key Management
### 1 - Squads
* Intro [here](https://squads.so/)
* Validator key management capabilities [here](https://docs.squads.so/squads-v3-docs/navigating-your-squad/developers/validators)
### 2 - Brief re-introduction to Vote Account Manager Program (VAMP)
* By [Shinobi Systems](https://www.shinobi-systems.com/)
* Link to repo [here](https://github.com/bji/vote-account-manager)
* Link to previous video walkthrough [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=516&v=y_ee9mq0kPk&feature=youtu.be&themeRefresh=1)
From the README -
> This repository implements the Vote Account Manager on-chain program. It implements a controlled mechanism for managing a Solana vote account with enhanced security and support features.
### 3 - VAMP x Squads opportunies for collaboration/integration
### Other Topics
### 4 - Keybase replacement PR
* Submitted by [Stakewiz](https://stakewiz.com/)
* Link to PR [here](https://github.com/solana-labs/solana/pull/31852)
From the PR -
> Problem
>
> * keybase.pub service has been sunset
> * validators need to use --force to publish a keybase username via CLI
> * Longevity of remaining keybase ecosystem is uncertain and dependence on it unnecessary
### 5 - Testnet outage (If interest...)
### Meeting Notes Summary
Meeting notes [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v5J4o5lHCGbtVP8pzbIK_7eQVuV0p6kLndEXFOgTS-Y/).
## April 24, 2023
### 1 - Discuss root cause analysis (RCA)
* RCA [here](https://solana.com/news/02-25-23-solana-mainnet-beta-outage-report)
* Is the RCA sufficient, are there any open questions?
* Are there any hesitations regarding the ``v1.14`` upgrade based on the RCA?
### 2 - Validator side event at Breakpoint 2023
* Introduction - overview of general concept/idea
* Logistics
* Intial agenda brainstorming
### 3 - Introducing the slashing discussion
* Does slashing exist on Solana
* In protocol
* Out of protocol
* Is slashing needed and if so when?
* Downtime
* Malicious actvity/intention
* Operator error
### Meeting Notes Summary
- On April 25th, the Solana validator community held its third community-led call, as announced in the Solana discord server. The majority of discussion happened around the topic of slashing on Solana, and whether slashing and/or downtime penalties should be introduced. Chris Remus from Chainflow proposed an agenda and moderated the discussion. Max Sherwood from H2O Nodes took notes. Tim Garcia from the Solana Foundation was also present and contributed to the discussion.
- Some participants argued that slashing is needed on Solana, pointing out that slashable offenses have been committed in the past, but have gone unpunished. It is difficult to differentiate between mistakes and malicious behavior that is masquerading as a mistake.
- There was discussion around whether slashing should reduce only rewards, or also the principle stake amount. It was pointed out that reducing the principle staked amount reduces a bad actor’s ability to continue malicious behavior.
- Fundamentally, slashing should solve the “nothing at stake” problem, to stop validators from voting on multiple forks. Examples of slashable offenses could include: lockout violation, producing duplicate blocks, failing to produce blocks, or failure to forward transactions.
- Quadratic slashing mechanisms are complicated, but could ensure that slashed validators don't lose all their money…
There was some reluctance to punish delegators, but it was pointed out that this is necessary in order to encourage delegators to more thoughtfully choose validators to stake with, and hold validators accountable.
- It was pointed out that slashing could lead to increased decentralization of stake, (delegators spreading out of stake to multiple validators to reduce risk) or conversely slashing could increased centralization of stake. (Delegators choose to stake with large/centralized providers who are considered “safe”.)
- In either case, it will be necessary to educate delegators far in advance around the slashing mechanism, explaining that this will protect and strengthen the network going forward.
- The implementation of slashing and specifics around penalties should be discussed via a SIMD and subject to a governance vote.
An SIMD currently exists on how to track data on-chain in order to build slashing: https://github.com/solana-foundation/solana-improvement-documents/pull/9
Full meeting notes by [Max @ H20 Nodes](https://twitter.com/WholegrainMax) [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K2WnN-kfssmThBCJ4BkrqV0B0waHGYMggS0mEaRTlTc).
## March 21, 2023
### 1 - Follow-up on outage post-mortem to-do's
* Review progress
* Gauge interest to continue and discuss next steps
* Use of these calls moving forward
Note: Expected to spend majority of time here.
### 2 - Discuss comms channels, what to discuss where?
* Main Solana server
* Solana community server
* Forum
Note: Pulls in discussion topic #4 from [here](https://hackmd.io/@KFEZk8oMTz6vBlwADz0M4A/HyM-4DAyh).
### 3 - DDoS Mitigation or Minimum Commission discussion (time permitting)
* Topics taken from [here](https://hackmd.io/@KFEZk8oMTz6vBlwADz0M4A/HyM-4DAyh)
### Appendix
* [Handling Common Solana Outages](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RkNAyz-5aKvv5FF44b8SoKifChKB705y5SdcEoqMPIc/edit#heading=h.3n4r2183s43v) reference/context link [here](https://discord.com/channels/428295358100013066/489504501749907468/1083808880003399700)
### Meeting Notes
Meeting notes [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/19HQm8pC-C_pzOXVxyI2rKLxBGbGelXlAi7RG7w2so8s/edit).