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Ritual of Accord

Essence​

Having a process that encourages quick decisions, allows for debate and discussion when needed and still drives toward a tangible decision with a Moloch proposal safeguards against the DAO making avoids unconsidered decisions, getting stuck in governance/meeting hell or gridlock.

Current Implementation​

A weekly meeting rhythm with a highly structured decision making process.

Decision Making Process​

  • Core Members meet for weekly Core DAO Masons meetings.
  • Agenda Items are added to the meeting agenda throughout the week prior.
    • Core Members are expected to have reviewed the agenda before the meeting.
    • Core Members are expected to have reviewed any material accompanying Agenda Items that are to be voted on before the meeting.
    • Items in the agenda are ordered by priority and time sensitivity.
  • Core members discuss each Agenda Item as time permits.
  • If there is soft consensus on the terms of the item, the DAO makes a Moloch Proposal and votes it through.
  • Agenda Items that do not receive soft consensus resulting in a Moloch Proposal are escalated into the Extended Decision Making Process
  • Any Moloch Proposal that has not followed the Ritual of Accord should be regarded as illegitimate and voted down.

Extended Decision Making Process​

If there is no consensus on an Agenda Item, or the subject requires further exploration, a Core Member can initiate the Extended Decision Making Process for a particular Agenda Item.

  1. Create a discussion thread on the DAO's forum.
    • This initiates a Discussion Period.
    • Initiator declares a Discussion Period deadline of no longer than 1 week.
    • The Discussion Period deadline may be extended by any Core Member through an informal proposal to do so.
      • If there is an objection to the extension by any Core Member, the original deadline stands.
  2. If all objections are resolved before the Discussion Period deadline, any Core Member may make a Moloch Proposal with changes to original proposal applied.
  3. If there are still objections at the end of the Discussion Period, any Core Member can schedule a Resolution Meeting to discuss the item further.
    • This meeting is separate from the DAO Masons Core Member Meeting.
    • Scheduler must work with supporters and detractors to find a time that they can attend (within reason, asap and within 1 week).
    • Supporters and detractors should attend in service of reaching a resolution.
  4. If there is still disagreement after this meeting, any Core Member can choose to continue to schedule Resolution Meetings until a compromise is reached.
  5. After the first Resolution Meeting, any Core Member can force a decision by creating a Moloch Proposal.
    • Resolution Meetings should only be used for decisions that are non-time sensitive and complex in nature. We expect the DAO to able make most decisions quickly.

Why?​

This isn't needed this is silly. Wait, it's needed! Ok, let's argue about it forever. If only we had a decision making proces...

What problems are we solving​

Gridlock, inability to manage shared resources, 'kicking the can down the road', natural tendency to be nonconfrontational, loudest/most confident voice in the room wins.

Why is this a good solution​

Having a clearly defined, accessible decision making process allows any Core Member to follow a step by step process that leads to a DAO-binding decision.

Downsides/Risks​

  • Overhead. Potentially slower decisions.
  • Requirement to read and reply to forum proposals.
  • People have to show up to meetings
  • Members could just drive through the process and force a vote without a good faith effort to integrate concerns of fellow Core Members

Roadmap​

  • Identify parts that can be automated
  • Tools for signalling consensus
  • Forum response templates to speed up response time
  • Creating an ongoing meeting facilitator and meeting agenda management role (if needed)
    • Some kind of agenda management system
  • Slides, meeting cards, make it easier.

Next Step​

  • Do it for a while, note areas for improvement

Endgame​

  • Jord thinks it's a great idea to turn it into an app

Details​

(Optional)

Document Status​

Ratified documents have been reviewed and approved by the DAO and are considered "Active Governance" and will not change without a DAO vote. Anything before ratified is considered "Pending Governance" and is subject to change by editorswithout a DAO vote

  • Empty
  • Rough Draft
  • Editing passes: 1
  • Final Draft
  • Ratified