Thank you to @cedrick @Lavi @anon10525910 and @ncitron for input on this topic.
Summary
As the Index Coop grows so does the number of governance proposals coming through our forum. Add to that each new product potentially adding more meta-governance votes, and the engagement required becomes exponential. This is highlighted in Increasing Governance Power and the table below, showing how four recent IIPs failed to meet quorum, and in the case of the ETH2x-FLI cap change, this resulted in a knock on effect that was felt by our end users. Having said that, failing to meet quorum within Index Coop has proved to be the exception not the rule so far.
Besides trying to address this specific issue, the ability to delegate votes should hopefully have the second order effect of distributing governance power more evenly throughout the community. Recent analysis showed that the top 3-4 INDEX holders have the power to sway most votes, lifting the long-tail of holders by combining voting power is designed to help even this out.
Chart credit: @Matthew_Graham
Proposed Solution(s)
Long term it has been discussed that the Coop could incentivise governance and build out a portal to enable delegation and rewards for token stakers, this is far from confirmed and may not even be the right solution. In the interim however we have been able to set up our snapshot page such that we have full control over its parameters, and vote delegation has been switched on after passing IIP-38. We recommend using vote delegation on Snapshot to help lift community voting power. This is by no means the end game when it comes to governance, but should help to increase token participation for IIPs and thus meeting quorum.
Alongside vote delegation, tokens from the strategic sale will be eligible to vote while still in the vesting contracts. This only helps us meet quorum if the strategic investors are actively involved in voting, as the tokens in circulation also increases, raising the hurdle to quorum proportionally.
How do I delegate my votes?
- Head to the spreadsheet or #delegates channel in Discord to check out who has put themselves up as a delegate.
- Use the information available to decide who you would like to represent you when voting.
- For voting history, copy their address and either look it up manually or paste into the search bar on Boardroom.
- Visit the Index Coop snapshot page and input the address you want to delegate to at this link
- Click Confirm (you have to sign a transaction, this will cost gas)
- Once the transaction is confirmed you have successfully delegated your votes, congrats!
- You can un-delegate at any time, this also takes place on-chain and costs gas. A button will appear on the page linked in step 4.
*Note that if you still wish to vote on a proposal yourself you can do so, and this will override the vote of your delegate, so you still have complete control over your votes even when delegated. This will not cost any gas and only applies for that single vote.
** Also note, you never actually transfer tokens to anyone else, just the voting power, tokens always remain in your wallet!
What is expected of delegates?
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Communicate your intention to become a delegate! You can use Twitter and the #delegates channel in Discord specifically for this.
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Make a concerted effort to vote as often as you can, having taken the time to understand what is being proposed and what effect it has on Index Coop.
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Vote in alignment with your philosophy (if you put one forward).
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Not mandatory but consider sharing how you plan to vote prior to the vote concluding. This gives time for people to react if they don’t agree and demonstrates a level of care and understanding. Monet.supply is a great example.
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If you are unable to vote and know ahead of time, please try to communicate it. It’s expected that sometimes votes will be missed for one reason or another.
FAQs
Sounds good, how do I become a delegate? - Fill in the spreadsheet with all the required info. For full visibility make sure to tweet and record your intention in the #delegate channel in Discord. The pitch/notes section is optional, but for ideas and inspiration check out Gauntlet’s voting philosophy or Brian Flynn’s call for POOL token delegation. Sit back and wait for the voting power to roll in!
Any security changes required? - the usual precautions apply, if you use a hardware wallet then continue to do so but there is no need to upgrade just for this. In the event your address is compromised you should communicate it via the tracking sheet and/or in Discord so that users can un-delegate from your address.
I’m concerned about being doxxed - clearly any address you put forward will be tied to your persona. That means any on-chain transactions to other wallets can also be linked to you. We recommend setting up a new wallet if you are not comfortable with this, although that will obviously negate any voting history built up with another address.
And that’s it, happy voting!
