Description
Summary
Currently, regardless of whether a validator's vote extension passes VerifyVoteExtensionHandler, the BlockIdFlag is always set to BlockIDFlagCommit. This approach is not accurate in all scenarios.
Proposal
Introduce a global configuration option that allows the application to decide whether to set the BlockIdFlag as BlockIDFlagAbsent or BlockIDFlagNil if a validator's vote extension fails verification.
Motivation
In our system, a validator's task is not simply signing blocks. It is the validator's responsibility to provide valid data as part of the vote extension. If a validator fails to do so (i.e., the vote extension does not pass verification), it should be treated as not having completed its task, or at least as partially incomplete.
Benefits
- Enables more accurate consensus and state accounting.
- Allows the application to penalize validators who fail to provide valid vote extensions (e.g., by withholding block rewards in certain scenarios).
- Makes the consensus protocol more extensible for advanced use cases.
Example Use Case
If a validator's vote extension fails verification, the application can set the BlockIdFlag to Absent or Nil. This can be used to adjust reward distribution or take other actions as appropriate for the application's requirements.
Suggestion
Add a new parameter in the consensus parameters to allow this behavior to be configured as needed.