This next update is about server selection.
To me, this is quite a speculative part of the app at this moment, but one that will be really important to get right, because it is about fees, which are one of the primary incentives for using Ark. It will also directly reflect the economics and dynamics of the bitcoin/lightning/ark infrastructure. Quite the moving target, especially with fees structures not finalized in general. First versions of the app might not even have these screens, since there might not even be enough servers to choose from. We’ll see.
So how do we keep users in charge, push for transparency and decentralization, and also keep things simple? I came up with a two-step process where first users state how they think they are going to use the wallet, and then we can calculate estimated fees. They can simply click through if they don’t care, or they can dig deep into the details. Up to them.
What do you make of this? If you were a casual user, would this make sense to you? Would you feel empowered? Or overwhelmed? Is it necessary or unnecessary complexity? Other explorations you’d like to see?
I am sure the Second gang has a lot of thoughts on servers and fees, so I’d be very curious to also hear how this matches their outlook and expectations.