The Why and How of the Worker Proposal System: Bootstrapping from Chaos

I was asked to speak at the EOS Ignite Conference (2018/8/14&15) and this is the content of my talk. (https://youtu.be/CyCegEaNrRQ)

WORKING FOR EOS

EOS is an operating system created for business on the blockchain. No first version of a major software release is without bugs or without a need for patching. So, who will be responsible for providing support for the maintenance of this operating system, as well as the development and addition of new features as required?

The block producers and volunteers are working away to build this grand venture, but reliance on the Block producers seems to fly in the face of decentralization and volunteerism doesn’t seem sustainable for long-term health.

Block.one did an admirable beta release, but for EOS to live up to expectations, we cannot rely on Block.one; they promised a number of key features that have not come to fruition and we need to build these soon: these include properly funded core arbitration, key recovery, IBC, storage, referenda tools, clear UX, and a functioning Worker Proposal system, to name a few.

The WPS group is working to build a set of tools and the workshop needed to build out the rest. By using a portion of the 4% inflation set aside to fund necessary projects, we can increase and improve the utility of EOS and its overall adoption.

Bootstrapping A Worker Proposal System

Bootstrapping any decentralized process is complicated and a daunting task. There are many things to build and fix. There are ideas to nurture, and many people to organize.

The first referendum is intended to do the minimum needed to grow the WPS.

The First Referendum

The first referendum vote will allow the WPS Group to bootstrap the WPS. It will allow you, the EOS token holder, to get a sense of what the WPS could be capable of without risking too many resources. This is what you will be voting for:

Funding.

An initial amount of 1 million EOS tokens will be moved from the eosio.saving account to the eosio.wps account. Only this amount can be used for the purposes initially proposed. This fund is a ceiling for the first six months’ activities and there is little expectation that it will be used in entirety; any remaining funds will be burned at the wrap up of the bootstrapping phase.

Emergency Committee.

The Emergency Committee exists to handle urgent needs rather than a specific type of project. This is the only category included in the first referendum but it will be used to help launch other categories through worker proposals.

Core Activities.

From this fund, budgets will be set aside to support the EOSIO Core Arbitration Forum (ECAF), EOS Mainnet code repository management, security testing, and Emergency Committee Operations.

Creation of Category system.

Establish the existence of the worker proposal categories (see below) and the definition of their boundaries. This structure is intended to allow the greatest variety of governance options to figure out what works best, while limiting any scope for abuse or failure.

An open call for governance design proposals for individual categories.

Announcement that the second phase will have a call for Category governance structure worker proposals. The governance structure for each category is up to worker proposals submitted by the community.

Governance Design

The second round of voting will put forward the selection of proposals for the governance of the different categories. The Emergency Committee will manage a WPS competition for individual category governance structure designs to allow for experimentation with governance without risk to the whole ecosystem. At this stage, each category will be limited to its own financial boundaries with a cap of 10% of the eosio.wps account, to limit abuse and waste, and to allow room for future growth if and when token holders decide on it.

As each category is approved, the category in question becomes active and gets access to 10% of the eosio.wps account for its projects. When the category goes live, the Emergency Committee surrenders control over relevant proposals. Over time, the Emergency Committee ceases to exist as its duties are absorbed.

Burning As A Safeguard

Any new system that is rolled out may have problems, and there may be abuse vectors that we have not considered. WPS and the category governance structures are no different; therefore, until such time as there is community confidence in the various government structures, we propose a standing burn on all funds in eosio.saving not allocated to eosio.wps. Because each category is limited to 10%, and there are five categories, half of eosio.saving would be automatically burned on an ongoing basis. We are also proposing that the balance of the eosio.saving that will have accrued is burned when eosio.wps is first funded, so the funding source for WPS starts fresh.

The categories

Examining each category will give you an idea of the future proposals and indicate what governance structure would be a good fit.

Oversight

This category is for WPS portal maintenance, quality control, and oversight of other categories, as well as supporting any proposals that go through direct referenda instead of the WPS.

While the build is ongoing, these essential duties are handled out of the Emergency Committee. Most likely the best governance for this key category is some form of committee or representative body.

Infrastructure

This category is for supporting the underlying code base of the blockchain. This includes security audits, bug patches and code repository maintenance.

Community

This category supports the resources and spaces that bring people together. This includes meetups, educational content and platforms, public relations, lawyers, advocates and lobbyists.

Development

This category is for supporting developers and ideas. This includes support for decentralized applications and applications that may be necessary for underserved minorities.

Maybe you will choose to run this district as an Athenian democracy.

Miscellaneous

This category is for swag, burning, and projects that may not fit in other categories.

The potential here is vast and unknowable. How best to govern it?

What do we need from You?

In the near term, we need Governance proposals for the categories;

In the medium term, we need Worker Proposals; and,

We will always need Informed and engaged voting.

Anyone who has questions or wants to talk further you can find me on telegram @dmargulies.