This Month in Graph Indexing - April Edition
Welcome to This Month in Graph Indexing where we look back at the last month and highlight the most interesting happenings in The Graph Indexer community.
Graph Mainnet Migration Phases have arrived!
The Graph community has been anticipating the launch of Mainnet Migration since the first announcement. Those who like to keep their ear close to the blockchain observed the on-chain activity as The Graph Foundation kicked off the migration by deploying the first ten subgraphs to Mainnet. Read more about the launch here.
"What should I, as an Indexer, be doing now that the migration phases are here?"
- Get on Discord, read through the latest posts in the #indexer-announcement channel messages to pick up the Indexer-specific planning documents
- Get your mainnet deployment up to spec as per the network documentation
- Get on testnet as soon as possible - your success on mainnet is now critically tied to your experience on testnet.
- Get allocated to the new subgraphs as you see fit!
Graph’s microtransaction scaling solution is here: Scalar
The Graph Foundation has announced Graph’s solution for delivering decentralised, reliable and performant microtransactions built upon the Connext Vector protocol - Scalar. Similar to the value prop of The Graph protocol itself, which abstracts the complexity of a decentralised data layer away for developers and dApps, the focus with Scalar is on abstracting the complexity of delivering reliable, performant, high throughput microtransactions away from any business relying on microtransactions for their payments layer. You can read the announcement blog post here.
"What does the introduction of Scalar mean for me as an Indexer?"
- Scalar is being tested on the Graph testnet right now:
- Deploy on testnet based on the current testnet network versions
- Get some testnet GRT from the #testnet-faucet on Discord
- Be present in the #testnet channel and watch out for load testing events
Indexer Workshop Dates
The Migration plans include a number of workshops aimed at Indexers. All sessions will be recorded, but it is recommended that you are present in case you have any questions. For Phase 1 we have the following workshops:
-
Workshop #1: Intro to Scalar & Vector Node
Live - April 27th, 8am PST - recording
-
Protocol Town Hall #3
Live - May 4, 8am PST
-
Workshop #2: Disputes & Arbitration
Live - May 5, 9am PST
Details and links for the sessions can be found in the #indexer-announcements channel on Discord.
Indexer Office Hours Update
Indexer Office Hours is on its 11th weekly session on Discord and continues to attract community members well beyond just the Indexer community. The session includes regular segments such as Node Watch, where recent client updates and blockchain upgrades are discussed, and Repo Watch where upcoming updates to the Graph Indexing software are discussed. This session is also an opportunity for anyone to ask questions about Indexing whether simple or complex.
Office Hours regularly tests new segment ideas. This week saw Richie and Ian from index-africa join the session for an “Indexer Stories” fireside chat about their Indexing operation, expansion plans and the challenges of operating Indexing operations in Africa. Richie and Ian also discussed their philanthropic work with the Good Work Foundation and how they frame Web3 businesses such as a Graph Indexing operation as powerful, independent funding mechanisms for public goods such as regional education initiatives. You can listen to the latest session on Youtube.
If you are an Indexer with a story to tell, Office Hours is looking for you! You can reach out to Jim on twitter.
Details for joining Indexer Office Hours and a list of recordings from past sessions is available on the forums.
Highlights from the Graph Forums
An Arbitration Charter to clarify Arbitrator Behavior - link
@brandon has started a thread to discuss the Arbitration function of the protocol. The purpose of this function is to arbitrate, with an on-chain decision, on disputes and potential slashing events. This is a very important role because it spans both on-chain and off-chain activities. The mechanism itself is up for discussion so if you want to help establish norms for arbitration on the protocol, this is your opportunity to get involved.
Delegators using token-lock contracts are still disadvantaged post GIP-0002 - link
@pete-lunanova has highlighted that Delegators that delegate via token-lock contracts are still disadvantaged following the implementation of GIP0002. These delegators need to undelegate all of their GRT for 28 days in order to access any of their earned tokens - the exact situation that Indexers were in since launch in December 2020. Normally, Delegators can choose to only undelegate specific delegations and amounts, so this subset of tocken-lock Delegators are clearly disadvantaged and we should acknowledge and discuss addressing the issue, also considering the existing upgrade workloads. If you are impacted by this or have an opinion to share, please get involved.
Community Updates
Grants update
- Wave One funding was announced on March 30th
- @reemchahrour joined Graph Foundation as Ecosystem Manager - Grants. Welcome, Reem!
- Wave Two grant applications are now open - check out the announcement and new Graph Grants Twitter account here
The Graph Academy
- The Graph Academy, founded by Stefan Mueller aka @SpaceTraveler came out of stealth recently with an array of high quality educational material for Indexers, Delegators and Curators. The Graph Academy aims to be the central point for community-generated educational material for The Graph - by the community, for the community. If you want to get involved you can jump on the Graph Academy Discord
- Listen to Stefan talk about the creation of Graph Academy on GRTiQ podcast
GRTiQ podcasts
- GRTiQ provides Delegators with data insights into the Graph network and a host of resources to help Delegators make decisions when choosing Indexers. They also run a well-received podcast series that introduces the community to prominent community members and their own Graph origin stories.
- Who would you like to see on GRTiQ podcasts? Let GRTiQ know on Twitter
That’s the highlights for the last month. If you have any feedback for the “This Month in…” updates feel free to post below or get in contact with me on Twitter. See you in the next one.