PSP for Name Service on Polkadot

[shawntabrizi]

We need to create a community standard for Name Service on Polkadot.

Some existing work:

• https://github.com/pnsproject
• Name Service Pallet mark II paritytech/substrate#11052
• Substrate Name Service Pallet paritytech/substrate#7197

Primary Goals:

• allow DOT holders to register *.dot names which can be used to quickly look up their Polkadot Address
• have a single source of truth for these names, which helps prevent attack vectors and keeps users safe
• simple, easy, and cheap registrations for end users
• a smart way to backfill domains for existing users, trying to ensure that active or well known polkadot users (or even system accounts) get priority to register domains

[shawntabrizi]

For back-filling domains for existing users:

• Order users with public on chain information:

  1. System Accounts (treasury.dot, society.dot, etc...)
  2. Council Members
  3. Users with verified Identities, registering domains which match their verified identity
  4. Users by on chain activity
  5. Users by account balance

• Users submit a remark of the names they want, and we collect them using an offchain tool

• We disable the pallet to start, and use governance to backfill accounts

• Then enable the pallet to the public

[burdges]

It'll provide all the DNS record stuff, like MX, etc? We'd only run this on one parathread or parachain, but which one?

[shawntabrizi]

It is my opinion that for a first iteration of a name service, we should simply focus on a single domain: .dot, and have this live on the relay chain for simplicity and clarity.

Parachain slots are already in short supply, I don't think that this kind of application drives enough traffic which warrants its own slot. In the future, this could change of course.

[xlc]

.dot is a registered TLD. I don't think we can just use it without asking https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/dot.html

[shawntabrizi]

I don't believe the goal here will be to register a web domain, or conflict with the existing .dot TLD.

The goal here would be to support address look ups from UI like Polkadot JS, Extensions, Subscan, etc...

In this context, .dot will just be used to specify a certain network within the Polkadot ecosystem.

[xlc]

But it will conflict and confusing. Anyone looking at address.dot will think it is a DNS entry (which it is).

[burdges]

.polka

[shawntabrizi]

@xlc Is there no such case that any blockchain nameservice has used a conflicting TLD?

[burdges]

It's a dangerous UX footgun:

Dish DBS Corporation owns .dot, not sure for what they'll use it, but name.com thinks they'll sell names eventually.

You might own shawntabrizi.dot on polkadot, but if I buy it from Dish DBS then anyone accessing it from a system without the right software sees my version, including from alternative browsers, like Tor Browser or another browser tunneled over SOCKS or a VPN.

The safest approach would be to buy .polka from ICANN.

[burdges]

In the short term, we could register subdomains ala *.polkadot.??? for some TLD ???

[lamafab]

Well, we already own polkadot.io, which redirects to polkadot.network. Could be used for that.

[ggwpez]

You might own shawntabrizi.dot on polkadot, but if I buy it from Dish DBS then anyone accessing it from a system without the right software sees my version, including from alternative browsers, like Tor Browser or another browser tunneled over SOCKS or a VPN.

I dont understand. Why would you enter this into a browser?
Its only valid within the Polkadot ecosystem, not the general internet.

[burdges]

If you say name service then people shall assume you mean DNS, and the conversation above does not disabuse this. If you want something else then it should be distinctive dot:* or whatever.

[shawntabrizi]

I am not against: dot:shawntabrizi. This looks better to me than any of the options above.

The goal of a name service, in the context of Polkadot, is to disambiguate accounts, and potentially other more opaque types (like a specific data object on the blockchain). I think we should really only focus on and worry about name resolution on Polkadot itself. How other parts of the internet handle certain string formats seems outside of the scope of what we can control.