But, but … @Anders said that’s a non issue 
That is one of reasons why I started this topic: I think it’s worth considering a ramp-up approach in which the network is open for all, so at least if this “free upload attack” happens, it would take a while until content is uploaded and farmers could simply reset if they didn’t like
And something else, related to the timelines and my use of “beta”: I now took a good look at maidsafe.net/roadmap and as far as I can tell from posts in development > updates and the roadmap image (I don’t know whether it’s up to date and I’m not sure I understand what the shadowed areas mean - completed?) it appears that Dev Bundle 1 has been done, and Dev Bundle 2 is coming up. Then I again read yesterday’s (Oct 13) Dev Update which lists 2 deliverables for this “sprint” (none of which is coin-related).
It looks like Dev Bundle 2 is supposed to have “farming” code. If that and other stuff takes 6-8 weeks, then Dev Bundle 2 can be delivered by X’mas, which would leave another 8 weeks (assuming March 2016 launch, which is just a random guess) for Dev Bundle 3 to be developed and tested.
Dev 3 Bundle has a lot of coin-related stuff, so 8-12 weeks for that part seems quite short. I asked above whether Dev 3 Bundle will be testnet with fake coins and fake data, or some combination thereof.
Why I’m elaborating on this? Because this is the 2nd time was reminded that I’m using outdated terminology, but unlike the first time now I have a bit more time to take a look at this.
Before (last year) the plan called for more extensive coin testing.
================================================================
| NET | COIN | DATA SURVIVAL TO NEXT VERSION|
| Testnet2 | No | No |
| Testnet3 | No (testcoin) | Yes |
| Beta | Yes | Yes |
| GA | Yes | Yes |
================================================================
Source - this comment
I was able to find another clarification about testnet transitions from April this year, which I missed to spot until now:
Near end of testnet3 data may stay and safecoin may also stay in place. So basic answer is testnet3 builds all components for beta.
Beta still will not guarantee safecoin (no conversion yet) but will stabilise all API’s and data (we will not drop data in beta). By then we will have carried out a number of tests and hopefully had a lot of community audits etc. (we will be awarding security related bounties for exploits in code/algorithms).
Source - this comment
Then after some renaming, what used to be called Testnet2 seems to now correspond to Dev Bundle 2, Testnet3 seems to translate to Dev Bundle 3, and “beta” is gone. That’s why I’m asking if Dev Bundle 3 has a stage in which real coins and real data kick in, or is it going to be fake coins and fake data. If more realistic coin testing is to be done, then Dev Bundle 3 should probably last longer. But, if I’m the only one concerned that coin may delay the network, I’m probably wrong.