--- layout: post title: Overview and Logs for the Kovri Dev Meeting Held on 2018-06-28 summary: Discussion of the latest Kovri development updates and the alpha release tags: [dev diaries, i2p, crypto] author: selsta / anonimal --- # Logs **\<anonimal>** 1. Greetings **\<anonimal>** 2. Brief review of what's been completed since the previous meeting **\<anonimal>** 3. Contributor FFS check-in / status **\<anonimal>** 4. Alpha release discussion **\<anonimal>** 5. Public relations discussion **\<anonimal>** 6. Code + ticket discussion / Q & A **\<anonimal>** 7. Any additional meeting items **\<anonimal>** 8. Confirm next meeting date/time **\<anonimal>** howdy **\<oneiric\_>** hi there **\<anonimal>** rehrar are you going to miss the 2nd meeting that you helped setup? :/ **\<anonimal>** He's busy with things. This I do know. **\<anonimal>** But what if I decided to not show up to meetings because I was busy, and didn't reschedule? **\<anonimal>** Life's questions. **\<anonimal>** 2. Brief review of what's been completed since the previous meeting **\<anonimal>** When was the last meeting? **\<anonimal>** Oh, only 3 weeks ago? **\<anonimal>** Seems longer than that. **\<oneiric\_>** I put together a small summary of stuff from ~last month: **\<oneiric\_>** anonimal improved and/or fixed builds, tests, the testnet, logging, CLI arguments, and documentation. In addition, anonimal spent a significant amount of time mentoring oneiric. **\<oneiric\_>** tmoravec is a new contributor, and fixed a number of Coverity bugs & build warnings. **\<oneiric\_>** ordtrogen is a new contributor, and improved build instructions in the README. **\<oneiric\_>** RichAyotte is a new contributor, and updated the user guide documentation. **\<oneiric\_>** ErCiccione added a TOC to the Kovri multilingual README. **\<oneiric\_>** rahkimov improved a core data structure (Tag), and fixed a dependency in the Kovri README. **\<oneiric\_>** oneiric improved tests, router key creation (w/ anonimal), core data structures (Tag/InputByteStream), and fixed build warnings. **\<oneiric\_>** rehrar updated the multilingual implementation for the Kovri site, and merged a number of commits from documentation. **\<oneiric\_>** monerorus is a new contributor to the kovri site, and translated the site into Russian. **\<oneiric\_>** el00ruobuob is a new contributor to the Kovri site, and translated the site into French. **\<oneiric\_>** For details see merged PRs on github: **\<oneiric\_>** kovri: https://github.com/monero-project/kovri/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed+is%3Amerged **\<oneiric\_>** kovri-site: https://github.com/monero-project/kovri-site/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed+is%3Amerged **\<oneiric\_>** kovri-docs: https://github.com/monero-project/kovri-docs/pulls?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed+is%3Amerged **\<anonimal>** lol, thanks oneiric\_ **\<anonimal>** Also see open PRs. **\<oneiric\_>** lol, no problem anonimal **\<anonimal>** I implemented tweetnacl / dropped supercop, in #909. There are other open PRs too. **\<anonimal>** oneiric\_: that was an awesome summary btw **\<anonimal>** ^ irc summary **\<anonimal>** reminds me of my gusto circa 2015 **\<anonimal>** which has disappeared in the wind of time. **\<anonimal>** So thanks for doing that **\<oneiric\_>** thanks, I'll try to keep that up for good communication **\<oneiric\_>** no worries :) **\<anonimal>** 3. Contributor FFS check-in / status **\<anonimal>** oneiric\_'s FFS has moved to funding required **\<anonimal>** https://forum.getmonero.org/8/funding-required/90300/oneiric-june-august-part-time-kovri-junior-developer **\<anonimal>** Congratulations on 73.36% funding oneiric\_ **\<oneiric\_>** thanks anonimal, and huge thank you to everyone who has contributed! **\<oneiric\_>** means a lot to me to have the community's support **\<anonimal>** I don't think people realize how much of my time I donate. Regardless, if the remaining balance isn't filled soon then I'll donate. **\<anonimal>** Anything else on the FFS topic? **\<anonimal>** Oh, my FFS. **\<oneiric\_>** that's awesome, thank you! I do know, at least partly, how much time you spend, and that's hugely appreciated on it's own **\<anonimal>** I could go into detail for any lurkers or people with questions but I don't know who are around. **\<anonimal>** From an outsider's perspective, I don't think they realize how far you've come oneiric\_ in such a short amount of time. **\<anonimal>** Ok, not to derail my FFS, I've recently finished another milestone http://forum.getmonero.org/9/work-in-progress/86967/anonimal-s-kovri-full-time-development-funding-thread?page=&noscroll=1#post-94875 **\<anonimal>** Continuing as scheduled. **\<anonimal>** Any questions/comments on the FFS checkin? **\<anonimal>** 4. Alpha release discussion **\<Corklander>** Here **\<anonimal>** Hi Corklander, thanks for dropping in. I know the relays are offline. **\<oneiric\_>** Just that the comment about mentoring is not an understatement, and I appreciate your time spent with me **\<anonimal>** We'll have to upload the meeting log. Maybe selsta is around? **\<anonimal>** Thanks oneiric\_, likewise. **\<oneiric\_>** Hi there, Corklander! **\<anonimal>** Continuing to the release discussion, any questions before I start? **\<oneiric\_>** none from me **\<anonimal>** Ok, so off the top of my head, **\<anonimal>** I'm imagining a release date of August 1st. Completed release, on website, binaries rolled out, etc. **\<anonimal>** Codefreeze two weeks before that at most. **\<anonimal>** Or, more realistically, codefreeze the night before :) **\<oneiric\_>** lol **\<anonimal>** But let's aim for two weeks prior. **\<anonimal>** Not like it will matter much. Everyone will still 99.9% be advised to build from master. **\<anonimal>** But, if we have these dates, we can tell pigeons and hopefully he can make sure all the backend issues are resolved so we can actually *have* a release. **\<oneiric\_>** Will there be a release branch to make bugfix pulls against? **\<anonimal>** Good question. We can do that. Or not. We can also just do a featurefreeze instead. **\<oneiric\_>** Ok, I'm good with either way. **\<anonimal>** I personally don't like a cluttered tree, and considering alpha and lots of numbers that will need to be released... **\<anonimal>** We can decide as the time approaches. Sound fair? **\<oneiric\_>** Definitely, sounds fair. **\<anonimal>** ok **\<anonimal>** About the website, that too will need to be updated and ready to go. **\<anonimal>** Just FYI. Not my territory though. **\<anonimal>** Any more questions/comments about alpha release? **\<oneiric\_>** Ok, I was hoping rehrar would be here. Wanted to ask questions about his preference for docs PRs **\<anonimal>** Did you want to PR some things? **\<oneiric\_>** Yeah, the router size notes we discussed in #627 **\<selsta>** anonimal: if I have time I’ll PR it :) **\<anonimal>** k **\<anonimal>** oneiric\_: I'm basically running that repo. What was the question? **\<anonimal>** I'm thinking we move kovri moneropedia entires onto kovri-site btw **\<anonimal>** and then from there we can add directly to the website **\<oneiric\_>** Ok, would you prefer me to make a PR directly to kovri-site, or to kovri-docs, then merge that into kovri-site? **\<oneiric\_>** Oh, got it, so just PR to moneropedia? **\<anonimal>** Good questions. If we had more active website development I would say just PR to the website **\<anonimal>** *kovri-site **\<anonimal>** What would the title of the document be? **\<oneiric\_>** Good question, I haven't thought about it, yet. **\<anonimal>** Ok, let's talk more. This would be the perfect opportunity to have a simple developer notes section somewhere. **\<anonimal>** Then again, the java i2p docs could simply be written better. Yes, I've voiced complaints/concerns. Beating dead horse. **\<anonimal>** oneiric\_: can we talk more about this after the meeting? **\<oneiric\_>** Absolutely **\<anonimal>** k **\<anonimal>** 5. Public relations discussion **\<anonimal>** Well, our volunteer PR guy who was here for 3 seconds decided to rage quit, so, here we are. **\<anonimal>** Any questions/comments on point 5? **\<anonimal>** We're in a time where PR doesn't require product anymore. I personally don't agree with this but the trend is being set. **\<oneiric\_>** Is xmrhaelan, the Monero PR/outreach guy, available to help with Kovri? **\<oneiric\_>** We're in a time where PR doesn't require product anymore. < what do you mean? **\<anonimal>** We're available. We have communications channels. We have very little outreach but c'est la vie. **\<anonimal>** oneiric\_: one can put vast amounts of money into a PR team and not need to have a product. See ICOs. **\<oneiric\_>** Oh, yeah vaporware is king there **\<anonimal>** I don't know if xmrhaelan is around. I keep thinking of Van Halen everytime I read his name. **\<oneiric\_>** lol **\<anonimal>** "Got it baaddd, got it baaad, got it baaadd, got hots for teacher" **\<anonimal>** Anything else on point 5.? **\<Corklander>** Is there a strategy? **\<anonimal>** I could go on, this is a chat-worthy topic but, preaching to the choir here. **\<Corklander>** As in, was there a plan to have an alpha now, a beta in 1 year, etc. **\<anonimal>** These are all just names. We could've had alpha a year ago. Names and numbers used to denote quality and reliability but most of that concept has disappeared. **\<anonimal>** The steaming pile of shit that we forked had multiple "full releases" even before we forked. **\<anonimal>** So, we can say whatever we'd like. I'm just trying to be as honest as possible. **\<anonimal>** But yes, strategy would be good. **\<Corklander>** Ah, yeah. **\<anonimal>** I would think we need an extra pair of hands to fulfill a strategy though. **\<anonimal>** Corklander: do you have any ideas/thoughts on how to improve PR? **\<Corklander>** Well, I think PR is always targeted to get needed people involved **\<Corklander>** There's got to be existing projects that are fumbling with Tor, etc. that could use a better API. **\<anonimal>** Good point, I haven't thought about that. **\<Corklander>** If we just throw together a list, then go through and announce the alpha to them, that would generate interest on its own. **\<anonimal>** I'd always thought that stem and their existing api was good enough for most people. **\<anonimal>** e.g., socks proxy :) **\<anonimal>** Ok, that sounds interesting. **\<Corklander>** It's the I2P routing that sold me though. Tor is too wild to provide services. **\<anonimal>** I'd really like to hear more about your perspective Corklander. My head's been in this too long to have a fresh/newcomer perspective. **\<Corklander>** i.e. If I want to make an app with a connection to a relaible backend and prove no knowledge of the requestor then I2P might work. **\<anonimal>** Would you like to chat more about this after the meeting? Or in a separate meeting or side-channel? And/or inperson? **\<Corklander>** Sure. **\<anonimal>** Ok, I don't understand the zero knowledge requester part so I'll ask about that. **\<Corklander>** Well, I'll be at DEFCON so we'll have a chance to go into details anyway. **\<Corklander>** Yup. **\<anonimal>** Ok. Any other questions/comments on the PR topic? **\<oneiric\_>** < None here **\<anonimal>** 6. Code + ticket discussion / Q & A **\<anonimal>** oneiric\_: I'll get to reviewing the remaining open PRs today **\<oneiric\_>** Ok, I added a WIP tag to #917, to rebase on top of a merged #926 **\<anonimal>** ok **\<oneiric\_>** Have a hunch about what might be causing the assert firing for #909, think related to RI stuff **\<oneiric\_>** Getting closer to figuring out the SSU overread issue. Is the SSU fragment code from pre-fork? **\<anonimal>** ok good. After I merge 926 into my bandcaps branch I'll need to fix a couple of RI bugs that are getting in the way. I don't think it will affect that assertion though, TBD. **\<anonimal>** The SSU fragment and data code, yes. **\<oneiric\_>** Alright, was just a hunch. **\<oneiric\_>** re: SSU code, thought so. much spaget **\<anonimal>** lol **\<anonimal>** yes **\<anonimal>** ok, running out of time, anything else for 6.? **\<oneiric\_>** Can talk later, or on GH **\<anonimal>** k **\<anonimal>** I'm not 100% thrilled about the new utility buffer. I'd like to see a more work on it before it's deployed out of the simple RI case. **\<anonimal>** 7. Any additional meeting items **\<anonimal>** Corklander: selsta may be able to upload the meeting. If he can't then I'll upload a paste. **\<anonimal>** 8. Confirm next meeting date/time **\<anonimal>** Two weeks? Sooner? **\<oneiric\_>** Two weeks, cause code freeze, I'm good for sooner, too. **\<anonimal>** ok. Corklander? **\<Corklander>** Anytime is good with me. **\<anonimal>** ok **\<Corklander>** (It'll take me at least that much time before I can cover the entire codebase and be ready to add.) **\<anonimal>** Alright, let's set a date for 2 weeks, same time, and we can chat here frequently when needed. **\<anonimal>** Sound good? **\<oneiric\_>** +1 **\<Corklander>** +1 **\<oneiric\_>** Corklander: are you on Coverity? **\<anonimal>** Thanks everyone