Delays are painful, but we gotta take care of everything prior to launch and looks like we are missing deadlines. Hopefully, the devs take prompt actions to fix everything and it doesn't get delayed too much.
The most important thing to remember here is that stability and testing are the number one priority when it comes to any tentative date. What has been the most challenging is the amount of interest in Decred and the logistical challenge of the airdrop - a blessing, but a difficult task to work with properly. To be frank, nobody anticipated this level of interest - which is excellent because it ends up helping the network become more decentralised from day one. However, it requires processing each application individually and navigating the path to help each person confirm their airdrop and complete the process. We, as the community, are capable and will rise to this challenge - many already have - but it does mean tentative dates get realigned as the process unfolds. Having said this, an event that must occur one week prior to the launch of mainnet is the release of testnet and miner binaries, alongside miner specifications so everyone can prepare their gear. This is also a step in the direction of making the process of launch as fair as possible for all parties - like the airdrop. So although we don't have a definitive date just yet, we do know two things: (1) there will be a public testnet starting one week prior to mainnet launch, and (2) delays are in a matter of weeks, not months. Airdrop sign up ends on Jan 18th, and then we've got the task to get the rest of the participants confirmed, ready, and loaded. I hope that helps give some clarity about the process. Updates will roll in as soon as they come in! In the end, everyone is banding together and helping out where they can because we all want to see the same thing, and we're actively working toward that every day!
I would rather delays then bugs. Hard deadlines lead to crappy software. One thing in my project is that there are NO deadlines. We release when it is ready.
I definitely do not want the developers to rush anything. I have seen so many tidal waves in the world of cryto-currency recently that it is imperative that our organizer and developers get this right. Take your time guys to get everything right, patience is a virtue as I was always told!!!!
Very well put, better late today to have quality, that in the future be a caida currency without crypto value.