@@ -5,121 +5,69 @@ title = "FAQ"
55## Contents
66
77<details><summary class="fs5 medium pb3 pt4">The Urbit Project</summary>
8−
98[Why Urbit?](#why-urbit)
10−
119[How secure is Urbit right now?](#how-secure-is-urbit-right-now)
12−
1310[How can I contribute to Urbit?](#how-can-i-contribute-to-urbit)
14−
1511[What is Tlon?](#what-is-tlon)
16−
1712[Who Works at Tlon?](#who-works-at-tlon)
18−
1913</details>
2014
21−
2215<details><summary class="fs5 medium pb3 pt4">Grants</summary>
23−
2416[What are the different types of grants](#what-are-the-different-types-of-grants)
25−
2617[How do I get a gift?](#how-do-i-get-a-gift)
27−
2818[How often are gifts awarded?](#how-often-are-gifts-awarded)
29−
3019[What happens if a user does not complete a proposal but meets some milestones?](#what-happens-if-a-user-does-not-complete-a-proposal-but-meets-some-milestones)
31−
3220[Can I create a bounty?](#can-i-create-a-bounty)
33−
3421[How are proposals approved?](#how-are-proposals-approved)
35−
3622[If I win a proposal, do I have an exclusive claim on the project?](#if-i-win-a-proposal-do-i-have-an-exclusive-claim-on-the-project)
37−
3823[Will milestones be embedded in a smart contract?](#will-milestones-be-embedded-in-a-smart-contract)
39−
4024[Do I have to pay taxes on stars?](#does-reputation-play-a-role-in-the-assessment-of-grants)
41−
4225[I completed a proposal. When will I receive payment?](#i-completed-a-proposal-when-will-i-receive-payment)
43−
4426[Can I see the proposals of others that have been accepted?](#can-i-see-the-proposals-of-others-that-have-been-accepted)
45−
4627[How do I safely store my stars?](#how-do-i-safely-store-my-stars)
47−
4828[Can I delegate a bounty or proposal to someone else?](#can-i-delegate-a-bounty-or-proposal-to-someone-else)
49−
5029</details>
5130
5231<details class="pt4"><summary class="fs5 medium pb3">Azimuth</summary>
53−
5432[What is Azimuth?](#what-is-azimuth)
55−
5633[What are stars, galaxies, and planets?](#what-are-star-galaxies-and-planets)
57−
5834[How many planets, stars, and galaxies are active?](#how-many-planets-stars-and-galaxies-are-active)
59−
6035[What are comets and moons?](#what-are-comets-and-moons)
61−
6236[What is a `@p`? Why is my username generated for me?](#what-is-a-p-why-is-my-username-generated-for-me)
63−
6437[Can I change my `@p`?](#can-i-change-my-p)
65−
6638[How do I get an identity?](#how-do-i-get-an-identity)
67−
6839[How do I send an identity to someone else?](#how-do-i-send-an-identity-to-someone-else)
69−
7040[What is the best way to access Azimuth?](#what-is-the-best-way-to-access-azimuth)
71−
7241</details>
7342
7443<details class="pt4"><summary class="fs5 medium pb3">Urbit HD Wallet</summary>
75−
7644[What is the Urbit HD Wallet?](#what-is-the-urbit-hd-wallet)
77−
7845[What is a master ticket?](#what-is-a-master-ticket)
79−
8046[What is an ownership address?](#what-is-an-ownership-address)
81−
8247[What are proxies?](#what-are-proxies)
83−
8448[What are seeds?](#what-are-seeds)
85−
8649[What does it mean to “set public keys”?](#what-does-it-mean-to-set-public-keys)
87−
8850[What do I do if I want to own multiple points?](#what-do-i-do-if-i-want-to-own-multiple-points)
89−
9051[How should I take care of my Urbit HD Wallet?](#how-should-i-take-care-of-my-urbit-hd-wallet)
91−
9252[I have a galaxy or star with lockup conditions. How does this work?](#i-have-a-galaxy-or-star-with-lockup-conditions-how-does-this-work)
93−
9453</details>
9554
9655<details class="pt4"><summary class="fs5 medium pb2">Arvo</summary>
97−
9856[What is Arvo?](#what=is-arvo)
99−
10057[What is unique about Arvo?](#what-is-unique-about-arvo)
101−
10258[How is Arvo connected to Ethereum?](#how-is-arvo-connected-to-ethereum)
103−
10459[Will the Arvo network survive if Ethereum dies?](#will-the-arvo-network-survive-if-ethereum-dies)
105−
10660[How do I install Arvo?](#how-do-i-install-arvo)
107−
10861[How do I use Arvo?](#how-do-i-use-arvo)
109−
11062[How do over-the-air updates work?](#how-do-over-the-air-updates-work)
111−
11263[What is Landscape?](#what-is-landscape)
113−
11464[I have a point, now what?](#i-have-a-point-now-what)
115−
11665</details>
11766
118−## The Urbit Project
67+## The Urbit project
11968
12069### Why Urbit?
12170
122−
12371The internet began as a friendly, peer-to-peer network: friendly because the people with the ability to use such a thing were the same sort of nerds, and peer-to-peer because those nerds knew how to run their own servers. But, as the internet’s appeal spread to everyday people in the 90s, it was unrealistic for everyone to be the administrators of their own complex machines. So this peer-to-peer network was divided into clients (people) and servers (large corporations), a relationship that’s been solidifying ever since.
12472
12573But one intervening development presents hope. Platforms like Amazon Web Services turn previously heterogeneous networking infrastructure into commodities. Now anyone can use it almost as easily as a faucet.
@@ -130,35 +78,26 @@ In combining the determinism of Arvo, our OS, and the security of identity of Az
13078
13179The internet anticipated by Urbit is a much friendlier one. You’re always “logged in” to your online services, without the need to remember usernames or passwords. Problems that are unsolvable in our current internet -- spam, fake reviews, malware-spreading, harassment -- are made uneconomical, since there’s a limited number of Urbit identities that function as reputation primitives.
13280
133−
13481### How secure is Urbit right now?
13582
136−
13783Azimuth, the Urbit identity layer, is ready for serious use. Its contracts have been audited by trustworthy third parties. We encourage everyone to use Azimuth as an identity solution, and to build software projects on top of it.
13884
13985The rest of the Urbit project is still in research-mode. Arvo is a fun operating system to play with, but it’s not yet a safe place to store sensitive data.
14086
141−
14287### How can I contribute to Urbit?
14388
144−
14589We encourage outside contributors to become a part of the project. The best way to do this is to check out [the Urbit GitHub](https://github.com/urbit) and look at the pinned repositories. Feel free to open issues and make pull requests.
14690
14791You’re also invited to join the [urbit-dev](https://groups.google.com/a/urbit.org/forum/#!forum/dev) Google group and public mailing list.
14892
149−
15093### What is Tlon?
15194
152−
15395Tlon is the San Francisco-based company that develops Urbit. Tlon doesn’t own Urbit, since Urbit is an open-source project with decentralized ownership.
15496
155−
156−### Who Works at Tlon?
157−
97+### Who works at Tlon?
15898
15999You can see who we are at [tlon.io](https://tlon.io/).
160100
161−
162101## Grants
163102
164103### What are the different types of grants?
@@ -176,7 +115,6 @@ Make useful and substantial contributions to Urbit. These can be contributions t
176115
177116Gifts are awarded semiannually.
178117
179−
180118### What happens if a user does not complete a proposal but meets some milestones?
181119
182120You must complete the proposal to be guaranteed to receive the star grant. Partial star payouts can be negotiated for incomplete work, but such payouts are at the discretion of Tlon.
@@ -229,117 +167,85 @@ No. Not unless explicitly authorized by Tlon.
229167
230168Azimuth is a general-purpose identity system. It is the Urbit identity base-layer. This system is implemented as a suite of smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, and it determines which Ethereum addresses own which Urbit identities, called points. There is a fixed number of possible points, and they exist in three classes. Urbit uses it in Arvo, the Urbit OS.
231169
232−
233170### What are stars, galaxies, and planets?
234171
235−
236172Points come in three classes: galaxies, stars, and planets. The length of a point’s name will tell you its class. Galaxies are 8-bit and have names like `~mul`. Galaxies issue 16-bit stars (`~dacmul`), which can themselves issue 32-bit planets (`~laptel-holfur`).
237173
238174Planets are intended for everyday use by an adult human, and there are 4.3 billion of them (2 to the 32nd power). Stars and galaxies, on the other hand, are meant to act as network infrastructure: on the Arvo network they provide routing and are responsible for distributing software updates.
239175
240−
241176### How many planets, stars, and galaxies are active?
242177
243−
244178The raw data on most Azimuth events that have occurred can be found [here](https://azimuth.network/stats/events.txt). We’re currently working on generalized tooling for viewing these events.
245179
246−
247180### What are comets and moons?
248181
249−
250182In addition to the three classes of Azimuth points mentioned above, there are two other kinds of Urbit identities that are not registered on Azimuth.
251183
252184Moons are 64 bits, are issued by planets, and have names like `~doznec-salfun-naptul-habrys`. Moons are meant for connected devices: phones, desktops, smart TVs, digital thermostats. Moons are subordinated to their parent planet.
253185
254186Comets are 128 bits and have no parents. They can be launched by anyone. They are temporary, disposable identities. Being disposable and essentially unlimited, they will likely not be trusted by default by others on the Arvo network. They have long, hard-to-memorize names, like `~racmus-mollen-fallyt-linpex--watres-sibbur-modlux-rinmex`.
255187
256−
257188### What is a `@p`? Why is my username generated for me?
258189
259−
260190A `@p` (pronounced *pat-pee*) is a name like `~zod` or `~lodleb-ritrul` composed of pronounceable, three-letter phonemic elements like `zod`, `lod`, `leb`, `rit` and `rul`. Shorter names, such as `~zod` and `~marzod` are assigned to ships with special duties on the Arvo network ([stars and galaxies](/./docs/concepts/galaxies-stars-and-planets/), respectively. Longer names like `~palfun-foslup` are identities for typical users.
261191
262192These names are pre-generated because they map directly to a number in the urbit address space. Galaxies occupy the 8-bit address space, so any galaxy is actually a number between zero to 255. Stars occupy the 16-bit address space, and planets occupy the 32-bit address space.
263193
264−
265194### Can I change my `@p`?
266195
267−
268196Unfortunately not, there is a 1:1 mapping between name and point.
269197
270−
271198### How do I get an identity?
272199
273−
274200Find someone to give you one. This will probably involve purchasing one and having it transferred to an Ethereum address that you own. We recommend using our [Bridge](https://github.com/urbit/bridge/releases) software to access the address that the point is transferred to.
275201
276−
277202### How do I send an identity to someone else?
278203
279−
280204Access the Ethereum address that holds the point you wish to transfer via [Bridge](https://github.com/urbit/bridge/releases).
281205
282−
283206### What is the best way to access Azimuth?
284207
285−
286208We recommended using [Bridge](https://github.com/urbit/bridge/releases) for all Azimuth-related operations. It’s great for managing your points, as well as for viewing information about points you don’t own. We have seen publicly hosted versions of Bridge online and we do not recommend using these websites for security and privacy reasons.
287209
288−
289210## Urbit HD Wallet
290211
291212### What is the Urbit HD Wallet?
292213
293−
294214The Urbit Hierarchical Deterministic (HD) Wallet is a system that uses public-key cryptography to secure the ownership of Urbit assets. This means that the wallet system uses public/private key-pairs to make sure that only you have access to it. Such a key-pair has two components: a public key that may be disseminated widely, and a private key that only the owner should know. The former should be treated like a login, and the latter should be treated like a password.
295215
296216The Urbit HD Wallet is different from cryptocurrency wallets that you may be familiar with. The Urbit HD Wallet is not a single Ethereum key-pair that holds full power over its assets, but a system of many related Ethereum key-pairs that have distinct powers. To learn about the specifics, check out our [HD Wallet documentation](/./docs/concepts/azimuth#the-urbit-hd-wallet).
297217
298−
299218### What is a master ticket?
300219
301−
302220In the context of the Urbit HD Wallet, master ticket is the entropy seed from which all of your other keys are derived. It should be treated like a master password: **you should never share it with anyone, and you must store it very securely (see our practices below).** This ticket can derive your ownership address and all of your proxy keys. You’ll have a ticket if you used the Urbit Wallet Generator or claimed a ship on our hosted version of Bridge.
303221
304−
305222### What is an ownership address?
306223
307−
308224An ownership address is an Ethereum address that has full rights over points assigned to it. It can transfer points to other people, meaning that it’s very important to secure its associated private key.
309225
310−
311226### What are proxies?
312227
313−
314228Proxies are Ethereum addresses that can be thought of as sibling sub-wallets of your ownership address. They are meant to be used much more often than the ownership address, and have more restrictive, less valuable rights than the ownership address. These rights include spawning child points, voting, and setting networking keys.
315229- Management Proxy: Can configure or set Arvo networking keys and conduct sponsorship related operations.
316230- Voting Proxy: Galaxies only. Galaxies are the part of the galactic senate, and this means they can cast votes on new proposals including changes to the Ecliptic.
317231- Spawn Proxy: For stars and galaxies only. Can create new child points.
318232
319−
320233### What are seeds?
321234
322−
323235All Ethereum key-pairs in the Urbit wallet system, including proxies, are produced by 128-bit values called seeds. These seeds are yours alone. An ownership key key-pair is derived from an ownership seed. Also derived from the ownership seed are various proxy seeds, which proxy key-pairs are themselves derived from.
324236
325−
326237### What does it mean to “set public keys”?
327238
328−
329239This means registering the public keys of your point's encryption and authentication keys (together known as "networking keys") with Azimuth, so that others can discover them. The corresponding private keys can then be used to, for example, run a ship on the Arvo network.
330240
331241You want to reset these keys if they are compromised, and periodically for maximum security.
332242
333−
334243### What do I do if I want to own multiple points?
335244
336−
337245We recommend using different HD Wallets for each point. You are able to assign any number of points to a single Ethereum address, however.
338246
339−
340247### How should I take care of my Urbit HD Wallet?
341248
342−
343249Urbit points have accompanying security realities that must be taken seriously. Cryptographic assets are unique among things of value, because all of the responsibility for keeping those assets safe rests with the party that owns them.
344250
345251But the nature of decentralization means that there is no authority that has the power to restore any lost or stolen wallet. Neither can anyone force you to follow good security practices. At most, they can give you recommendations. **Remember:** if critical items, such as your ownership key, are lost or compromised, your assets are likely gone forever.
@@ -378,10 +284,8 @@ This method is risky for a number of reasons. Networked computers can contain ma
378284
379285For all of these reasons, make sure that you only use Tier 3 methods for the storage of low-value secrets.
380286
381−
382287### I have a galaxy or star with lockup conditions. How does this work?
383288
384−
385289There are two kinds of release schemes for locked up assets: linear and conditional.
386290
387291In either scheme, you start out being able to take one star out of lockup, regardless of the terms set around the lockup as a whole. This way, you get to participate with a star right away. Become useful!Go do something cool!
@@ -394,68 +298,50 @@ Linear release is the simplest, and does exactly what it sounds like. Your stars
394298
395299Conditional release is a bit more complicated. If your stars are in conditional lockup, they're likely divided over three so-called tranches. Each of these unlocks only after a unique condition is met. Since it's difficult to verify things about the real world using smart contracts, we instead have the Galactic Senate verify that they've been met. Once the Senate marks a condition for a tranche as cleared, it starts releasing linearly over the period of a year.
396300
397−
398301## Arvo
399302
400303### What is Arvo?
401304
402−
403305Arvo is the Urbit operating system. Unlike conventional operating systems, it’s functional and deterministic. Arvo is written in Hoon, our purely functional programming language.
404306
405307Instances of the Arvo operating system, called ships, communicate as peers on what we refer to as “the Arvo network.” The Arvo network succeeds where other peer-to-peer networks have failed. Using Azimuth, Arvo ships can prove their identities to one another.
406308
407−
408309### What is unique about Arvo?
409310
410−
411311Arvo is much different from other operating systems because of its determinism. Processing in the system happens in a unique way: when an event happens, a transition function takes that event and the old state of Arvo, and then produces an effect and a new state of Arvo. To visualize:
412312
413313[event, old state] -> [effects, new state]
414314
415315Thus, all events are permanently logged in the system, and you can always go back and see the state of the system at any point in time.
416316
417−
418317### How is Arvo connected to Ethereum?
419318
420−
421319When an Arvo ship (instance) is started for the first time, you must use a key-file containing the private keys for your Azimuth point's networking keys. Azimuth uses the Ethereum blockchain as its decentralized ledger.
422320
423321See our [Getting Started](/./docs/getting-started/) guide to learnhow to get your ship onto the Arvo network.
424322
425−
426323### Will the Arvo network survive if Ethereum dies?
427324
428−
429325Yes. It would be annoying, but Azimuth would be ported to another kind of decentralized ledger.
430326
431−
432327### How do I install Arvo?
433328
434−
435329Check out our guides [here](/./docs/getting-started/)
436330
437−
438331### How do I use Arvo?
439332
440−
441333The [Using](/./docs/using/) section of the documentation will help you out.
442334
443−
444335### How do over-the-air updates work?
445336
446−
447337Your sponsor, a star or galaxy that your ship “lives” under, may send you new source code for your system. When you receive new source code from your sponsor, your system recompiles itself using that code, performs any necessary data migrations, and keeps running. Ideally this happens seamlessly without the user even noticing, although there is sometimes a slowdown while rebuilding the system from source.
448338
449−
450339### What is Landscape?
451340
452−
453341Landscape is the Arvo web interface that includes social functions such as chat and message boards. You can access Landscape by navigating to <your-planet>.arvo.network, where <your-planet> is your running ship that’s connected to the Arvo network.
454342
455−
456343### I have a point, now what?
457344
458−
459345Follow our guide on how to boot a ship [here](/./docs/getting-started/booting-a-ship).
460346
461−Get on the [mailing list](/./#mc_embed_signup). Learn [Hoon](/./docs/learn/hoon). Make stuff.
347+Get on the [mailing list](/./#mc_embed_signup). Learn [Hoon](/./docs/learn/hoon). [Make stuff](@/docs/getting-started/contributing.md).