Lisk Research
What are LIPs?
Lisk Improvement Proposals (LIPs) are thoroughly researched technical documents designed to be robustly debated. Proposals are intended to be the primary mechanism for introducing protocol changes on the Lisk network by gathering community feedback and consent.
LIPs take us one step further on our journey to achieve a decentralized and open-source blockchain ecosystem, one in which everyone reaps the benefits of transparent and open discussion along with constructive feedback of the wider Lisk developer community.
Research proposals
The following proposals are already merged into our GitHub repo. Research conducted by Lightcurve has been deemed complete by the Lisk Foundation. They can be used as a guideline to demonstrate the style and manner in which proposals should be written.
How to submit a proposal
If you would like to submit a compliant and technologically feasible LIP, please make sure to first read the contribution guidelines outlined in LIP-0001.
Step 1
Check idea feasibility
Join research.lisk.io and search past discussions to see if the idea is original and feasible.
Step 2
Present and discuss idea
Submit your idea as a thread on research.lisk.io to vet an idea publicly before going as far as writing a LIP to save both the author and the wider community time.
Step 3
Draft proposal and open pull request
After the proposal has been thoroughly researched and peer reviewed on Lisk Research, the champion can draft the idea as a LIP and open a pull request for it on the LIP repository.
Step 4
LIP merged into repo as draft
The LIP editor will assume their responsibility to ensure the LIP meets all the requirements stated in the LIP Purpose & Guidelines. If all the requirements have been met, the LIP editor will edit the LIP according to the LIP Purpose and Guidelines, assign the LIP a number, and merge the LIP into the repository. The LIP at this stage is given a "Draft" status.
Step 5
Implementation of proposal begins
The implementation can be prepared by any party, including the LIP champion. The Lisk Foundation might also instruct its contractor (Lightcurve) to implement the proposal. The Foundation’s decision is made with careful consideration of technical and scientific arguments and of whether it can be feasibly implemented according to the current roadmap.
Step 6
Provide working implementation
A LIP’s status changes from status "Draft" to "Proposed" when the LIP champion deems it complete and has a working implementation. LIP implementations instructed by the Lisk Foundation will always be required to be tested on a testnet in order to be considered "working".
Step 7
Network adopts or rejects proposal
Once a LIP has the status "Proposed", anyone, including the LIP champion and the Lisk Foundation, can propose the network to adopt the implementation of the LIP. This can result in full adoption of the implementation or in a fork.
Step 8
Adopted proposal considered final
If the implementation was fully adopted by the network, the LIP changes from status "Proposed" to "Final". If the adoption results in a fork, the Lisk Foundation has to decide which chain they consider to be the Lisk blockchain. The Lisk Foundation is making this decision based on several factors, including the acceptance of nodes, delegates, and exchanges. In this case, a LIP progresses to status "Final" if the chain adopting the implementation is considered to be the Lisk blockchain.
