Default signet reorg history — was the fork at height 287766 (depth 19) deliberate?

This incident occurred due to an internet outage affecting one miner's activities, subsequently allowing another miner's chain to take precedence. Upon regaining internet connection, manual efforts were made to favor the more publicly sustained chain, effectively demonstrating an operational rather than a deliberate deep reorg.

Historically, regular reorgs are an intended feature of signet to mimic the mainnet environment, which includes occasional shallow reorgs but aims to avoid frequent deep reorgs. For those seeking detailed records of such events, resources like a GitHub repository tracking stale blocks on signet (stale blocks signet) and discussions on developer forums (BitcoinDev) provide insights and community feedback.

From a testing perspective, while some users might prefer to opt into scenarios involving deep reorgs to better prepare for extreme cases, the general preference leans towards avoiding surprises in shared test environments like signet. The argument stands that real-world scenarios on the mainnet could present unanticipated deep reorgs; thus, incorporating moderate reorg tests could enhance robustness without deviating significantly from typical mainnet characteristics.

Furthermore, the strategy for testing deeper reorgs involves techniques like prolonged mining on both sides of a fork, which could simulate conditions similar to a contentious double-spend attack or major network split. This approach would differ markedly from simpler reorg tests, providing a richer set of data for evaluating how systems handle complex blockchain reorganizations.

The consensus within the community seems to draw a line between "normal" and "deep" reorgs at around 6-10 blocks. This understanding helps in setting expectations and preparing protocols to handle disruptions up to this threshold, aligning closely with observed behaviors on the mainnet.