whether some people want to fork before an attack can be discussed later as the first step must be deciding upon the algo , finishing the code, peer review, creating a testnet , testing , compiling the binaries...
So we should probably compensate some devs to incentivize quick execution on some of the above. We need a mutisig address with three known non anonymous trusted member of the community to accept donations like with UASF and a list of tasks to get started ... I'll be more than happy to donate.
I beg of you to put off this debate until after we have completed the tasks above.
I agree.
But we must keep in mind the serious nature of who our opponent/s really are. All we know about the opponent/s is that it's unlikely to be Bitmain operating on it's own, and that they're very determined (considering the overall confluence of pressures being exerted against Bitcoin over the past 2.5 years, if they're not all working together, they may as well be), and so therefore must have some incredibly strong incentive to achieve their goals.
That taken together makes the unknown opponent dangerously adept and unpredictable IMO. Planning for the full range of "IRL side-channel attacks" is potentially vital, and I'm very concerned that an opponent sufficiently formidable may throw everything they have at their problem if their efforts are continually frustrated (and it looks to be emerging that way, I can't see the Bitcoin economy getting behind BU as things stand, our opponent/s are likely more pissed than the last time it failed)