The case for a new more mathematically streamlined model for asynchronous byzantine

Modeling is viewing a real situation/object through the prism of mathematics, so that it lends itself to analysis. It is an Art rather than Science. Real things are too complex and include many immaterial details to be viewed usefully through mathematics. On the other hand ignoring too many details, and the connection between the real and the mathematics might be lost.

The view until today of a system that experiences both delays and malicious attacks separated the two, some t latency faults, and some t malicious attacks. The message adversary framework recently introduced, views delay as an option in the arsenal of a malicious attacker. Obviously exercising this option does not come to the attacker at no cost.

Until recently we thought the two views practically coincide as far as ramification. We then encountered the authenticated setting that turns out separates the two views, hence a choice has to be made.

We make the case that the "unified view" is more mathematical than the one that separates delay and tampering, in the sense that the relation between the byzantine and other models of distributed computation is more streamlined.