Best Practices for Effective Governance Proposals

Decentralized decision-making plays a vital role in guiding the trajectory of the Quasar. If you have a concept that could evolve into a significant on-chain proposal, we encourage you to take action. However, it’s important to proceed with awareness and intention. We’ve organized the proposal process into three clear steps: preparing your proposal, engaging in forum discussions, and submitting the proposal on-chain.

Prepare Your Proposal

The initial phase involves thorough research, data collection, discussions with key stakeholders, and validators, and gathering preliminary feedback. This preparatory work is crucial for crafting a proposal that’s set for community feedback. Here’s how to make the most of this phase:

• Conduct In-depth Research: Get into the details of what you want your proposal to achieve. Examine similar proposals on Quasar and other chains, study their outcomes, and determine how your proposal could be improved or differentiated.
• Engage with Key Community Members: Reach out to validators, active community members, and other stakeholders within the Quasar ecosystem. Their insights and initial feedback can provide valuable perspectives that shape the proposal’s final form.
• Draft the Proposal: Compile your research and feedback into a comprehensive draft. Ensure it clearly states the purpose, benefits, potential risks, and the mechanics of how your proposal will be implemented. The draft should be detailed enough to give the community a solid understanding of your vision.

Guidelines for proposal naming and structuring:

Quasar has an on-chain governance process that allows token holders to submit and vote on several kinds of proposals, make sure to clearly state in the proposal title which of the following types this proposal is going to be:

[Signalling Proposal]: Signal an intent through text proposals. The only kind of proposal that does not directly cause any change.

[Community Spend Proposal]: Spend tokens from the community pool.

[Parameter Change Proposal]: Change on-chain parameters.

[Software Upgrade Proposal]: Propose a software upgrade at a specified halt height.

[Client Update Proposal]: Update an expired IBC client with a substitute client.

When crafting your proposal, we recommend incorporating the following paragraphs, which will ensure a comprehensive and structured presentation:

• Summary: Provide a concise overview of the proposal’s main objectives and actions.
• Background: Detail the historical context or prerequisites that have led to the necessity of the proposal.
• Motivation: Explain the reasoning behind the proposal and why it is important for the Quasar community.
• Specification: Describe the technical or procedural details required to implement the proposal, including any specific changes or steps.

Please note that these are recommendations. Proposers have the flexibility to structure their proposals in the way they see fit.

Discuss on the Forum

Once your proposal is in draft form, it’s time to bring it to the broader community. Post your proposal on the Quasar Governance Forum, ensuring it’s well-structured and clear:

• Share and Promote: Use social media platforms and Quasar’s communication channels to draw attention to your proposal. Motivating the community to engage with and discuss your proposal can generate momentum and support.
• Engage Actively: Be an active participant in the forum discussions. Answer questions, address concerns, and be open to constructive criticism. This interaction is key to refining your proposal and building consensus among community members.
• Iterate Based on Feedback: Use the community’s feedback to fine-tune your proposal. Adjustments and clarifications at this stage can significantly increase its clarity and the likelihood it’ll be accepted.

Submit the On-Chain Proposal

When you’ve had in-depth discussions and when you feel the community’s support solidifies, it’s time to formalize your proposal by submitting it to the Quasar blockchain:

• Formal Submission: You can use CLI and submit a proposal by sending a MsgSubmitProposal transaction. Once a proposal is submitted, it is identified by its unique proposal ID. Another option is to submit a proposal via mintscan.io.
• Deposit Requirement: Be prepared to deposit 10,000 $QSR for the proposal submission. This deposit can be funded individually or collectively with the help of community contributions. It is refunded if the proposal reaches quorum within three days, except in cases where the proposal is vetoed due to perceived malicious intent. Ping.Pub provides users with an interface to deposit into a governance proposal which is on chain but hasn’t reached the threshold in general.
• Understand Voting Parameters: A successful proposal requires the participation of at least 20% of the total voting power, with more than 50% voting in favor. Any veto votes must constitute less than 33.4% of the participating vote. The voting window spans three days, and it’s essential to familiarize yourself with these details to guide your expectations and strategy.

Your Role in Shaping Quasar

Every proposal, no matter its scale, contributes to the evolving landscape of decentralized asset management within Quasar. By actively participating in this process, you contribute your voice and play a part in the collective shaping of Quasar’s future. For further assistance or feedback on governance matters, our team is readily available through Discord, Telegram, and Twitter.

Voting FAQ

• Who can vote? Any QSR holder who has staked their QSRs with a validator. QSR holders who have staked are also called delegators.
• How do I vote? You can cast your vote using the Keplr dashboard, Leap wallet, Mintscan.io, and Cosmostation mobile app.
• How much influence do I have? Your vote is proportional to your staked QSRs.
• What happens if I don’t vote? If you have QSRs staked with validators but choose not to vote on a proposal, you inherit the vote made by your validator. It’s like an opt-out if you want to vote differently from your validator — if you don’t take action, you’ll automatically vote the way your validator does. But you can actively choose to vote differently or move to a different validator (re-delegating the first time happens instantaneously instead of the 14 days it takes to unbond completely).

Supplementary reading:

Citadel.one Validator Constitution
Cosmos Hub: Participating in the Forum
A Beginner’s Guide to Cosmos Governance
Governance module of the Cosmos-SDK