BIP 8: Avoid speculating precisely on how soon the economic majority might be upgraded

Author: luke-jr

bip-0008.mediawiki

@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ The following guidelines are suggested for selecting these parameters for a soft
 
 # '''name''' should be selected such that no two softforks, concurrent or otherwise, ever use the same name. For deployments described in a single BIP, it is recommended to use the name "bipN" where N is the appropriate BIP number.
 # '''bit''' should be selected such that no two concurrent softforks use the same bit. The bit chosen should not overlap with active usage (legitimately or otherwise) for other purposes.
-# '''startheight''' should be set to some block height in the future, approximately 30 days (or 4320 blocks) after a software release date including the soft fork.  This allows for some release delays, while preventing triggers as a result of parties running pre-release software, and ensures a reasonable number of full nodes have upgraded prior to activation. It should be rounded up to the next height which begins a retarget period for simplicity.
-# '''timeoutheight''' should be 1 year, or 52416 blocks (26 retarget intervals) after '''startheight'''.
+# '''startheight''' should be set to some block height in the future when a majority of economic activity is expected to have upgraded to a software release including the activation parameters. Some allowance should be made for potential release delays. It should be rounded up to the next height which begins a retarget period for simplicity.
+# '''timeoutheight''' should be set to a block height when it is considered reasonable to expect the entire economy to have upgraded by, probably at least 1 year, or 52416 blocks (26 retarget intervals) after '''startheight'''.
 # '''lockinontimeout''' should be set to true for any softfork that is expected or found to have political opposition from a non-negligible percent of miners. (It can be set after the initial deployment, but cannot be cleared once set.)
 
 A later deployment using the same bit is possible as long as the startheight is after the previous one's