Initiating the Governance of Linkage Finance

General Discussion
1

Dear Linkage Finance Community,

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of our Off-Chain Voting Governance Feature, marking a significant step towards enhanced governance on the Linkage Finance platform. After an initial test vote, which took place earlier this year it is time to bring the Governance Feature to life - and most importantly to give you, dear Community Members and LIFI-Holders a voice in various kinds of fields in which could be voted on. In this Forum Post, we will outline the Off-Chain Voting Process and address some key questions still under discussion within the Community.

Off-chain voting allows votes to be casted outside the blockchain, reducing transaction fees and making voting more accessible for LIFI-Holders.This ensures that the Community has a voice in the platform’s development.

A Suggested Procedure

Here is the suggested (4 Step) Procedure for having an effective way of conducting a vote:

Step 1: Idea Generation

A community member initiates a discussion by posting their idea on the Linkage Finance Governance Forum. The community can then engage in discussions (via comments) and provide feedback. These ideas should be aimed at Community Initiatives or certain key numbers within the platform (like how many LIFI-Tokens are necessary to be able to create a Fund on the Linkage Finance Website).

Step 2: Proposal Creation

Following the discussion, the community member can formalize their idea into a proposal using a provided template. This proposal should detail the implementation plan, resources (if required), and anticipated benefits for the community.

Step 3: Temperature Check

Before proceeding to an official off-chain vote, an informal temperature check is conducted on the Linkage Finance Governance Forum. This preliminary vote measures community support for the proposal. If more than x accounts support moving forward, an official Off-Chain Vote will be initiated.

Step 4: Snapshot Date and Voting

A snapshot date is set, and an official election is created within the Linkage Finance Voting DApp, by the Linkage Finance Team. During the voting period, Community Members can cast their votes on the proposal. Once voting has ended, the results will be visible to the Community.

Important Decisions in the realm of Governance

We believe to see vibrant discussions within the Community regarding Governance, its processes and about questions that come up when Governance comes to life. Furthermore, we believe that within a fast paced ecosystem questions will come up along the way which will be discussed in the Linkage Finance Governance Forum too.

Here are some important questions, that will play a vital role within structuring Governance:

  • How long should an official vote remain open?
  • What should be the minimum threshold of LIFI participation for a vote to be valid (Percentage of the Supply)?
  • Are there any fields (besides general information) that are important to be included within the provided template mentioned in Step 2?
  • How many accounts (of the Linkage Finance Governance Forum) have to support moving forward within the Temperature Check (mentioned in Step 3)?
  • In which timeframe does a snapshot date has to be set?
  • How (if at all) should proposals that were successfully voted for be treated if it turns out that the proposal template contained false information - for example, if the information was exaggerated/false to make the proposal seem better than it really is? What could be a list of defined criteria to be able to reject these kind of proposals?
  • Are there requirements or restrictions on who is allowed to submit proposals (like a minimum account age or a limited amount of proposals in a certain timeframe)?

We are actively discussing these questions with the Community and welcome any feedback or suggestions. Together, we can develop an inclusive and democratic Governance System that benefits everyone in the Linkage Finance Community.

Thank you for your support!

The Linkage Finance Team

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2

Hi!

I’m wanted to share my views on the governance of LIFI.

First of all, I more or less agree with the 4 steps as they are put. The only step that might be optional is number 3, Temperature Check, which might not be needed all the time. I also see temperature check as a mechanism in its own right, which may not even need a voting afterwards. Can be used when simply wanting voters unofficial opinion about less crucial matters.

Another comment I have is regarding “Offchain”. The introduction describes Offchain as more accessible for LIFI-holders while also reducing fees. Yes, it might cost as little as 0.17 ADA to cast votes on-chain, but how is offchain more flexible? I would guess you still need to connect your wallet to prove your identity, which then results in the same flexibility as on-chain vote. First off, I am opposed to offchain voting. I mean that official votes should be on-chain. I think that we as a blockchain community should eat our own medicine, and not advocate for offchain votes. Offchain voting is tamperable, centralized, private…the list goes on. The onchain vote is untamperable, decentralized, public…If privacy is an issue, zkProof or other mechanisms can help.
Either way, 0.17 ADA is not much to pay for these benefits, is it?

Here are my suggestions for the listed questions:

Vote period: 1 week should be enough if proposals are announced well by LIFI official channels.

Minimum threshold for valid vote: This is difficult as we do not know how active holders will be in governance questions. Perhaps this must start as low as 5-10% of total supply and after this increase if we see much higher participation?

Number of accounts to move forward from forum temperature check: >50% of the unofficial votes in favor of moving forward

Snapshot: One week before vote starts.

Treatment of false proposals: Temperature check should act as a buffer and reject false proposals before a vote is conducted. If a proposal is voted successfully and turns out to contain false information, a proposal to change the decided result to something else must be submitted. The proposal must advocates for why the original proposal was false and be voted in the regular way. Votes cannot simply be undone if they have been conducted according to voting rules.

Who is allowed to submit proposals: Depends on what is technically feasible. Active account in the LIFI forum for at least X days? Holder of some minimum amount of LIFI for at least X days? Not sure what X should be, but perhaps 7? Limited number of proposals per account can be circumvented by creating multiple accounts?

CENT

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