Improving Governance Representation: An Educational Guide and Checklist for Endorsed Delegates

Introduction:
As an endorsed delegate within the dYdX DAO, you carry a significant responsibility to represent those who have delegated their voting power to you. To ensure you make informed decisions when voting on snapshot proposals, I have prepared this optional educational guide and checklist of action items. Utilizing tools such as governance forums, Twitter, Discord; and contacting the dYdX Foundation as a neutral party to facilitate conversation can make you a more effective endorsed delegate.

Checklist for Endorsed Delegates:

  • Understand the proposal

    • Thoroughly read the proposal and any accompanying documentation
    • Identify the problem or opportunity addressed by the proposal
    • Understand the proposed solution and its implications
  • Engage with the community

    • Participate in governance forums to discuss the proposal with other delegates and stakeholders
    • Monitor and contribute to relevant conversations on Twitter using designated hashtags (e.g., #dYdX, #snapshot, #proposal)
    • Join the official dYdX Discord server to discuss the proposal in real-time with the community
  • Seek clarification and additional information

    • If the proposal is unclear or lacks sufficient information, request clarification from the proposer
    • Reach out to individual experts within the community or the dYdX Foundation for technical or additional insights
  • Gauge community sentiment

    • Utilize tools like polls and surveys to gather feedback from your delegators and the broader community
    • Share your initial thoughts on the proposal and invite community members to share their opinions
  • Engage with neutral parties

    • Reach out to neutral parties for unbiased perspectives on the proposal
    • Request their assistance in facilitating discussions and mediating any conflicts that may arise
  • Formulate your voting decision

    • Assess the potential benefits and drawbacks of the proposal
    • Consider the feedback and opinions gathered from the community and neutral parties
    • Ensure your decision aligns with the best interests of your delegators and the broader dYdX ecosystem
  • Communicate your decision

    • Share your voting decision and reasoning with the community through governance forums, Twitter, and Discord
    • Be transparent about the factors that influenced your decision, including community sentiment and expert opinions
    • Remain open to feedback and be prepared to defend your decision if necessary
  • Cast your vote

    • Ensure you are familiar with the snapshot voting process and any applicable deadlines
    • Vote on the proposal according to your decision, keeping the best interests of your delegators and the dYdX ecosystem in mind
  • Reflect and learn

    • Analyze the outcome of the vote and its impact on the dYdX ecosystem
    • Evaluate your decision-making process and identify areas for improvement
    • Continuously engage with the community to improve your understanding of their needs and expectations

By following this checklist, you can effectively represent your delegators’ interests and contribute to the continued success of the dYdX DAO.

13 Likes

Hey Alucard!

A very interesting read - simple, yet very effective if abided to.

Nothing to add from my end except for one idea which could be interesting if implemented. As you rightly said, right now the best way to share the reasoning that underlies your voting decision is either through Twitter, Discord or on the Forum itself.

Would it be a good idea/concept to have a delegate-specific notion/substack wherein (optionally) delegates could post their analysis/interpretation of the proposal, together with reasons as to why they voted in favour or against the proposal?

I’d see it as a journal-entry of sorts. Considering that we have entities such as a16z delegating tokens to certain members for example, were a16z to decide to assess its current delegates, it would have an auditable trail of journal entries which shed light on the reasoning and underlying intention the vote in favour or against was based on.

Great post sir!

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Hey Immutable!

This can potentially fragment the discussion and participation it would be ideal for delegates to engage on the forum post of the proposal. With that said, having a dedicated page for delegate stances does seem attractive in some ways. Still, potentially a more innovative approach can be an (optional) message attached to the vote that voters/delegates would fill out when initiating a vote. It could be auditable by being on-chain attached to the vote.

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Thanks for the reply @NTinc !

I like your idea a lot - especially the fact that it would be on-chain and thus, immutable. Having such an explanation on Notion could lead to it being changed by a user after time passes and would thus obfuscate the underlying intention this mechanism is made to achieve.

Do you know of any Protocol that currently has this in place?

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Great practical steps to being an effective delegate there @Alucard. If everyone is in agreement with this checklist maybe this post should get pinned somewhere for use as a reference?

Adding to @NTinc and @Immutablelawyer’s conversation I would favour a category/subcategory where delegates are encouraged to create threads explaining their voting decisions. I’ve seen this done successfully in other DAO’s where the exact reason proposals pass or don’t is clearly communicated. This helps proposers whose proposals fail to pass particularly as the reason should be clear from the threads, such as too little info, two proposals in one, etc.

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Thanks for @Alucard create the topic.
Very pleased that the transitioned forums are stimulating discussion.

Generally, I agree with proposal.Such a checklist clarifies the responsibilities of the delegate and improves transparency.
But I would like to ask you one thing.Is it obligatory to fulfill the checklist?

In my opinion, Voters should knows reason that delegate thought for or against before vote.
Differ from IRL politics, they enable to change the delegation every proposal.
So I disclosing on twitter voluntarily vote for or against before the vote end date.

However, some may consider these work to be a burden.
If this checklist is obligatory, it may put off those who want to contribute to democratization.
That is only concern.

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How about we add an info to a delegates name: like 69% votes from VC “XYZ” and 31% community (like in recent twitter’s case). It’s a vague idea but it can show community who is responsible. For a delegate that meets Alucard’s criteria it’s not a problem ( I know that you have a delegation from VC but you are acting as people’s delegate). When you see a delegate only at the voting and never participating in the discussion it’s hard to believe this delegate is acting as independent person.

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This is great, and I do agree with ImmutableLawyer that things could be organized better in terms of delegate participation and feedback.

Here is one question – why are delegates not being compensated? Could implicate securities regs., but what is their incentive for performing well?

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It would not be obligatory, checklist would be completely optional.

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Thanks @Alucard , I agree with your suggestion.

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Thanks @Alucard for coming up with this post. Def agree that delegates can be more transparent and share their rationale for the voting decisions made.

Moving forward, I’m actually more concerned with the migration to v4 since endorsed delegates will effectively need to spin up validators in order to vote. Else, endorsed delegates will likely see their voting power wane and potentially be non-existent. Has this been considered yet? Otherwise, I’d be happy to explore this with members of the community too!

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Very nice post, @Alucard. I agree with the check list, and I’m also grateful that you have put in the work to create one. From now on, I will try to use it as a template when voting and then post it on the forum discussion after the vote. I think that is more or less what @Immutablelawyer and @NTinc were trying to get to.
It is great to see everyone contributing!

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