What I’d like to accomplish is to develop a culture within the DAO that:
- Maximizes efficiency through structured proposal processes.
- Fosters creative discussion flow.
- Lowers realized (or perceived) risk from end users by creating predictable economic schedules.
- Attracts high quality end users by setting a professional standard.
What I’d like to avoid is incoherent and erratic proposals, infighting, chaos and short-termism.
I’m thinking about this through two lenses; first as a member of the DAO and how we can foster thoughtful growth and prosperity of the Bancor flag. Second, through the eyes of our key end users. For instance, if you had $10,000,000 to put to work in any capacity, it would be reasonable to assume you would analyze the DAO on how stable and professional it is, as in this space this is a reflection of management. The more we as a DAO can foster a system (and image) of a professionally run DAO, that in turn lowers end user’s risk of adding higher capital levels. Curating a predictable, user friendly management pays dividends to all involved. The alternative is easy to imagine, a DAO that hungers to extract value away from its end users rather than cultivate a steady foundation for prosperity.
- What does efficiency mean in the context of the DAO? I believe it to mean that it encourages proposal development via an open discussion section that incubates new ideas, curates those ideas with multiple points of input, resulting in a polished proposal. Following the incubation phase with input from the community, key aspects of a proposal must be articulated into the smallest actionable component parts. The aim here is to disentangle proposals to prevent coupling contentious items with non-contentious ones to Trojan horse proposals through.
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The Carbon proposal is a good example of this process and a good template for multi-part proposals.
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On the other hand, simpler proposals such as the Fast Lane parameter adjustment, which focused on a single item, is a good example of a self-contained proposal.
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How do we foster creative discussion flow? There are processes in place via various BIPs, but I sense that it may require a more clear and codified DAO expectation (or rule base) to set standards. As starters, I suggest that ideally proposals spend some time in the community discussion forums prior to even Level 1. The issue this mitigates is the flash proposals that artificially create a sense of urgency, and obfuscate details that should be vetted by the community. Further, good proposals deserve some time to bake and be pressure-tested by the DAO. I’m just getting the ball rolling, but I’d like to codify a process here with the help from everyone.
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How do we lower real or perceived risk? BIP 27 is an excellent example of this. For our ideal end user, a predictable and steady fee schedule is a key component that allows for larger capital inflows to Carbon etc. A codified standard of key changes and a comprehensive standard for making large changes to the protocol would ease my mind about risk. These standards should be easy for new members to find. So, my initial suggestion would be to expand on BIP 27 by building out the Bancor Charter as suggested by Mark. A collection of foundational DAO agreements would go a very long way to build confidence that if you build within the Bancor umbrella, you can safely expect that major changes that could affect your personal business will not come suddenly.
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How do we attract high-quality end users? I believe this will be the result of accomplishing the above and curating a culture of professionalism. Since its an open forum, there’s some degree of chaos we’ll have to deal with, but I would say we can create incentives to encourage constructive participation. One idea of a disincentive I’ve been mulling is if a proposal gets off the rails early, but goes to Snapshot anyhow, to use my own voting shares to vote against said proposal. If we as a DAO demand a higher standard, I believe it will come about. So, a threat of getting a proposal voted down because of substandard processes, I think its one tool of many to develop the culture. There are a wide range of options here, so I’m interested in hearing more ideas.
Ultimately, I aim to start the process of pushing the DAO to be more productive, professional, and to set a standard above. We all have an opportunity here to move the industry forward, and I see the opportunity to have Bancor be the standard-bearer DAO for the space.
The next phase for me will be to flesh out each point into actionable items. Although this is currently broadly written, it’s a starting point to see what the temperature of the DAO is, i.e. I want to get a sense on who is on the same page, or even who may believe this may be a lost cause in the world of decentralized organizations. I attempted to give an idea on each point, while also knowing this could be a long process, so feedback is welcomed.
To that end:
- I’m on board!
- I like the idea, but I have reservations
- No shot, this is a DAO dude
0 voters