Enhancing the Notary Selection and Incentivization Mechanism

[hyunmoon]

Abstract:

This proposal introduces adjustments to the notary selection process, sets out clear notary incentives, aims to incorporate automation to aid notaries, and suggests a third-party intervention in unique circumstances, all the while ensuring full transparency and preserving the notary system's essence in Filecoin.

Motivation:

As the Filecoin network grows, refining the notary system becomes pivotal. Feedback and observations have indicated areas of the system that need betterment.

Specification:

Random Notary Selection with Decline Option:

• Mechanism: Notaries are randomly selected for tasks, ensuring a broad spectrum of reviewers.
• Decline Option: Notaries can decline tasks if they believe another notary might be more suited based on expertise or regional knowledge. Clear guidelines on suitable reasons for declining will be established.

Third-party Intervention:

• Mechanism: For applications facing continuous declines, a predefined third-party institution will intervene.
• Selection Criteria: Third parties are chosen based on a consensus mechanism within the community and are rotated periodically to prevent centralization.
• Activation Threshold: Third-party intervention is initiated only after an application has been declined by a certain number of unique notaries, ensuring it's a last-resort measure.

Incentivization of Notaries:

• Reward Pool Functionality: Set up a reward pool where distributions are based on:
  • Number of tasks accepted.
  • Adherence to predefined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
  • Timeliness in task completion.
• Review: The incentive structure is evaluated quarterly to maintain its relevance and prevent undue influence.

Automation and Scaling:

• Assistive Automation: Identify areas where automation can assist notaries, like notifying notaries of new tasks or providing initial risk assessments.
• Human Oversight: All automated processes have a clear human oversight mechanism to ensure decisions are balanced.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Platform: A dedicated platform will be introduced for the community to share feedback on the notary process.
• Action Steps: Feedback is compiled, reviewed, and addressed on a biannual basis.

Transparency and Trackability:

• Mechanism: All notary-related activities will be logged on a transparent and immutable ledger, accessible to the community. This includes notary assignments, declinations, and approvals.

Rationale:

Introducing these enhancements ensures the notary system remains resilient, transparent, and adaptive to Filecoin's growth needs.

Backwards Compatibility:

The enhancements are designed to integrate seamlessly with existing processes, focusing on augmentation rather than overhaul.

Test Cases:

To be developed based on feedback and specific implementation steps.

Implementation:

A detailed implementation plan will be charted out post community consensus, incorporating technical and operational aspects.

Security Considerations:

Every introduced change will undergo comprehensive security scrutiny, with a special focus on maintaining data integrity in the transparent ledger and ensuring third-party interventions remain uncompromised.

[raghavrmadya]

Hi @hyunmoon , thanks for starting this discussion. Can I please request you to move this discussion here - https://github.com/filecoin-project/notary-governance

[hyunmoon]

filecoin-project/notary-governance#979