YIP 43: Improve YIP categories

Author	sam bacha
Discussions-To	https://gov.yearn.finance/t/proposal-add-new-statuses-to-yip-proposals-non-protocol-change/3608
Status	Rejected
Created	2020-08-24

Simple Summary

Add new status(s) to YIPs so that author(s) may better manage their YIPs in the context of community collaboration and so that governance is given the proper procedures to foster community cooperation.

Abstract

This will only add to the current state of proposal YIPs in that it only changes the potential statuses available of a YIP. It does not add any protocol changes: only documentation and governance procedures (off chain only).

I proposal the following changes to reflect a new state of possible ‘YIPs’:

Modifying YIP Templates
Modifying YIP Validator Gemfile
Modifying YIP README file

Motivation

The current state of procedures for YIPS is inadequate as it unnecessarily limits the possible outcomes of a proposed YIP while not affording both the author(s) nor the governance council flexibility in being able to deal with community driven YIPs

This is a documentation and procedure change. In fact there is no explicit description for proposing such changes in governance (that I could find).

This change is needed as it better explains the intent of the YIP format to author(s). It also provides for governance additional functionality in their procedures so as to not potentially ‘alienate’ author(s) by rejecting a YIP when it could have been withdrawn. This ensures that also the author(s) are active in the process of their submitted proposal and in the larger community (in so far as they are knowledgable about other potentially competing YIPS.)

Specification

Additions in ‘BOLD’

Proposed - a YIP that is ready to be reviewed in a governance call. Approved - a YIP that has been accepted for implementation by the Yearn community. Implemented - a YIP that has been released to mainnet. Rejected - a YIP that has been rejected. Withdrawn - a YIP that has been withdrawn by the author(s). Deferred - a YIP that governance has decided to wait for another YIP/some other change that should be bundled with it together Moribund - a YIP that was once Implemented. It is now Obsolete ‘AND’ requires no explicit replacement.

The “Withdrawn” status is similar - it means that the YIP author has decided that the YIP is actually a ‘bad’ idea, or has accepted that a competing proposal is a better alternative.

Workflow Specification

Proposed -> Approved -> Implemented
  ^                     |
  +----> Rejected       +----> Moribund
  |
  +----> Withdrawn
  v
Deferred

New Statuses for YIPs

To be added are the following

Withdrawn
Moribund
Deferred

Overview

New YIP statuses

Withdrawn Means that the YIP author has decided that the YIP is actually a bad idea, or has accepted that a competing proposal is a better alternative.
Moribund Obsolete and requires no explicit replacement, it SHOULD be marked “Moribund”
Deferred Governance placed status upon a YIP that means that they would like to know more information, or that they would like to see if the author(s) can work with another proposed YIP and combine it into a single YIP, etc.

Rationale

The reasoning behind this is that it is unclear what will happen to a YIP should material facts change during its initial formal proposal and when its actually voted on by governance. Changes may be introduced between then, and the author may want to withdraw the proposal. This also frees up the governance council in that they are no longer obligated to reject every single YIP that may no longer be relevant, instead sharing the responsibility with the actual author(s).

Technical Specification

Technical implementation involves:

changes in the validation Gemfile
changes in the template .md file

Changes in Template `.md` file

Below is a sample .yaml file to illustrate the new header that should be used in the yip-template.md file

---
YIP: <YIP number>
Title: <YIP title>
Author: < firstName, lastName, @githubUsrName, contact@address.com >
Type: <Informational | Standards Track>
Status: <WIP | Proposed | Approved | Deferred | Withdrawn | Rejected |
           Implemented | Replaced | Moribund>
    Version: <major>[.<minor>]
    Created: <date created on, in ISO 8601 (yyyy-mm-dd) format>
    Requires (*optional): <YIP number(s)>
    Implementation (*optional): <Added if YIP passes>

Discussions-to: <Create a new thread on https://gov.yearn.finance/ and drop the link here>

* Requires: <YIP numbers>
* Replaces: <YIP numbers>
* Replaced-By: <YIP number>
---

YIP Validator (Ruby Gem)

current version: 1.0.2, should be bumped to 1.1.0 Changes located github.com/yearn/yip_validator/blob/master/lib/yip_validator/validator.rb#L25

    validates_inclusion_of :status, in: ['WIP', 'Proposed', 'Approved', 'Implemented', 'Rejected']

    validates_inclusion_of :status, in: ['WIP', 'Proposed', 'Approved', 'Implemented', 'Rejected', 'Withdrawn', 'Deferred', 'Moribund']

See Files Changed here https://github.com/sambacha/yip_validator/tree/YIP-Proposed

Test Cases

See travis-ci logs for the Rub Gem update here https://travis-ci.com/github/sambacha/yip_validator/builds/181226022

total:2, valid:2, invalid:0, errors:0
	statuses: [["Withdrawn", 1], ["Implemented", 1]]
  raises exception if it includes invalid yips
spec/fixtures/invalid/yip-7.md is NOT valid:	 {:status=>["is not included in the list"]}

YIP 43: Improve YIP categories Source