Yoichi Hirai, Ethereum Code Editor Resigns Over Legal Concerns. Ethereum Code Editor Has Resigned Over Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) Issue.
Japan: Code Editor for Ethereum, Yoichi Hirai, quits his office following his concerns that the Japanese law would be potentially violated by an Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) over a standardized format for lost fund recovery.
Aside tweeting his resignation, Yoichi also posted a more dramatic explanation of the motives behind his resigning on Github:
“My blood pressure is higher since I found this draft. I don’t sleep well. My family accuses me of mental absence. I believe these are signs that my abilities are not ready for the task of the EIP editorship. I resign from the post of an EIP editor.”
The proposal which seeks to proffer a simpler method to the amendment of the Ethereum blockchain that would allow to redistribute address balances in the case of lost funds was introduced by Dan Phifer, a Musiconomi developer and two developers from startup TapTrust.
A cyber-attack on the Parity Ethereum client last June caused Musiconomi to lose their Ether raised though by crowdfunding when Parity froze their multi-sig wallet. However, this proposal by Dan would allow such lost funds on the Ethereum platform to be returned in the case of a similar future hack.
Yoichi reported that he sees the proposal as a conflict with the Japanese penal code on the “Unauthorized Creation of Electromagnetic Records.” According to what he wrote on Github, Yoichi stated he doesn’t think that “anybody has the authority to make an irregular state change”, because he doesn’t believe that Ethereum users know about or authorize the EIP process, and thus doesn’t want the non-democratically chosen EIP leaders to make these kind of rules for Ethereum users.
Yoichi Hirai adds that he thinks the proposal is “at odds with the Ethereum philosophy”, because Ethereum was made to avoid “single points of failure and the need of trust”. In a later comment, Hirai amended that he could ignore his understanding of the Ethereum philosophy, but that he can’t ignore violations of the penal code.
Afri Schoedon, a software engineer, who works in community management at Ethereum and in technical communication at Parity, was also in strong support of Dan’s proposal. When responding to Yoichi’s negative comments about the proposal on Github, Afri’s tweet stated that Yoichi should step down as an EIP editor:
I don't want to be part of the #Ethereum community anymore if only one entity can singlehandedly block any proposal based on a Japanese law that bans the unauthorized creation of electromagnetic records. pic.twitter.com/phcXJJ0k42
— Afri Schoedon (@5chdn) February 14, 2018
Yoichi Hirai directly responded to the call for resignation, tweeted that stepping down would only signal that he allows other people to ignore the penal code and thus break the law. Nevertheless, almost 10 hours after the tweet, Yoichi resigned.
Although Yoichi cited that his personal legal responsibility motivated him towards his resignation over this proposal, yet this
raise
the question of whether Blockchain should be modifiable in the case of errors or hacks that may lead to loss of funds.
Source: cryptona.co
COINDESK: Silent No More: Ethereum Users Spurn Recovery Code
The ethereum community has broken its silence over a move to better facilitate the return of funds lost on the platform.
In wake of the departure of ethereum developer Yoichi Hirai, who resigned from his role supervising the software’s changes Thursday, community members have stormed Github in resounding rejection of the controversial proposal over which he left his post.
In the last 24 hours, over 80 comments have been posted to the blockchain network’s official GitHub, with most stating they “do not support” or are “strongly opposed” to ethereum improvement proposal (EIP) 867, which details a method to standardize the use of system-wide software upgrades to return funds lost on the platform.
Often occurring as a result of faulty code, fund recovery is a sensitive topic for the platform, having previously led to the development of a rival cryptocurrency named ethereum classic.
The heated response, in which many are coming forward to express support for the developer, marks a sharp contrast to the silence earlier in the week, with some even writing that the proposal is a “complete disgrace to the ethereum community.”
Speaking on the thread, developer William Entriken warned about the potential consequences of normalizing lost fund recovery in comments that showcased the emerging sentiment.
“Here’s the unintended consequence of having a readily available, well documented, and standardized tool like this available,” he wrote.
Others dismissed the proposal as “very damaging” as well as “scary, and an absolute joke,” while another wrote that it “goes against everything I thought this movement was for.”
The outrage also mirrors reaction observed in a core developer meeting last week, where ethereum developer Vlad Zamfir spoke of the necessity for community feedback on the matter, stating that EIP 867 was perhaps too important to undergo the usual EIP process.
Adding to the issue is that confusion has emerged over the status of the proposal, which was formally entered into GitHub, first as an “issue” (or an early-stage sketch), and later as a “pull request,” a formal software outline that code become merged with the platform’s live code.
James Levy from Tap Trust, one of the three developers leading the proposal, closed the Github issue in the midst of the activity last night, sparking confusion that EIP 867 is no longer active.
However, to date, the corresponding pull request remains open, and at press time, continues to generate feedback. Source: Coindesk
Adam Webb is editor in Smartereum, blockchain and currency news, where he produces updates on Blockchain, Ethereum and other alternative cryptocurrencies.