Hey fellow Meritians,
As a DAO we continue to grow, mature and attract more frens. Many individuals, much like myself, are drawn towards Merit Circle but may encounter limitations as to the extent of their contribution. Speaking from my own standpoint; I love being part of this DAO and just occupying myself with its topics and discussions as well as its direction and future. I have my opinions, perspective, ideas and concerns, not all of which are worthy of discussing, but that’s neither here nor there. However, it has not felt like there has been an option to freely share and converse with others.
Recently, we have had a regular flow of proposals which brought the growing community to life. Although I have nothing against these proposals, do keep them coming if you have the time, knowledge and expertise to compose them, I would like to address a concern of mine. With most proposals being posted directly as a proposal and few topics being posted in the ‘Discussion’ part of the forums, I fear that individuals could get the idea that a full-fledged proposal is necessary to initiate a change or participate meaningfully in the governance of the DAO instead of anyone being able to start a discussion. Again, most proposals are considered and discussed thoroughly by competent entities beforehand, I do not wish to change their way of working as they have composed quality proposals.
Now, my intention is twofold here;
To the authors, I would like to ask that when possible you gauge the general sentiment from the DAO by starting a discussion on the forums regarding your topic.
The one initial post by an author seems to define the issues and solution to which people can vote in favour or against. As a consequence, the topic is discussed through the lens of the author (the yes or no vote). Instead, if it is at all possible to slightly gauge DAO sentiment by having a discussion whilst drafting the proposal, the discussion can flow freely and everyone can share their most honest opinion and can also mention their underlying motivations. This will allow it to go more in-depth and we can shape our future together. We all have the DAO’s best interest at heart.
E.g. one individual creates a proposal to use an extra 10% of proceeds to buy back MC and use it for staking rewards. Another individual would rather see them burned (as this person is not staking and thus will not receive any staking rewards). While these two individuals would both like to see increased value flow back to them, either by burning the tokens or as staking rewards, they are fighting over which side wins. Instead, both parties may be happy to accept a compromise of an extra 5% of proceeds to buy back and burn MC and the other 5% from the USDC flowing back to treasury to be put to staking rewards as dividend. This may please both parties, but the option was non-existent since our true desire behind the proposal is not discussed.
This will allow everyone to share their opinion freely and to let the discussion flow. Instead of the discussion being driven from the eyes of the author, the discussion asks everyone their perspective and we will be able to shape a uniform opinion(s) of the DAO.
To all individuals, I would encourage you to share ideas, perspectives, concerns, opportunities, etcetera and put it up for discussion in the relevant forum; Discussion. Even if it is a concern, like I am posting right now, do feel welcome to create a thread on it as more individuals might feel the same. If there is enough support or enough people feel the same, our voices will be heard and something can be done about it. As an individual we might not have the necessary expertise, knowledge or perspective to draft a full-fledged proposal, but if we start a discussion regarding a certain topic, then we can learn from each other, build on each other’s arguments and slowly we can shape a proposal if appropriate. This way we can all pitch in without one author having to have it all figured out.
The two above requests will move us to a more truly decentralised governance. It will also promote the meritocracy I see in Merit Circle. Everyone can have their voices heard and we will have the flexibility to explore all options.
The MC Team is also working on something for governance, which I am sure will be the next step we can take. Nevertheless, I hope this might be complementary as well as encouraging people to participate in any way they can. Here, I have drafted the courses of action for the general process of a discussion becoming a proposal and the proposal being voted on. I am sure we can reach a general consensus of which one to use when.
With gratitude towards Timour for his feedback and thoughts.
At your service,
Niels