# Gavin Andresen
# 2011-02-02 14:56:54
# https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3051.msg43587#msg43587

@s{quotedtext}
@s{quotedtext}
 @p{brk}
No, it won't sort itself out "after a few weeks".  Let me see if I can do a back-of-the-envelope: @p{par}

Difficulty on testnet currently at 373.  We want it no higher than, oh, 5, so with the typical 3-or-4 machines CPU-hashing on testnet generate a block in a reasonable amount of time. @p{par}

So we generate 2016 blocks over 8 weeks.  That cuts difficulty by four: ~90 @p{brk}
Then do it again: ~22 @p{brk}
and again... ~5  SIX MONTHS later @p{par}

That's optimistically assuming we can find people to cooperate to contribute hashing power to generate 2016 blocks at difficulty 300 in 8 weeks or less. @p{par}

If you'd like to continue using the old testnet chain, be my guest. @p{par}

I'm sympathetic to the "testnet and main net should have the same rules", but the truth is the testnet has, and always will have, many fewer people hashing on it. @p{par}

Changing the main net downard-difficulty-adjustment code might make sense, but that's the topic for another thread.  Allowing main net difficulty to adjust all the way from 22,000 to 1 isn't the right answer (it makes sybil attacks where an attacker feeds you a bogus version of the block chain much easier).