Regulating Sockets (REGS)
Attributes
Author(s): @Cryptocorn
Recipient(s): PNF
Category: Governance Upgrade
Implementer(s): PNF
Asking Amount: 0
Summary:
While having a low bar for plugging into a Socket is desirable to ease friction and try many and differentiated ideas in a lower cost environment, there should be some minimum standards needed by socket applicants to show that they are genuine in their efforts to help the Pocket community and understanding of Pocket’s needs, applications, and strengths, so as to discourage and prevent opportunists with low or no skill from making minimal contributions to the Pocket Ecosystem at Pocket’s expense.
Background/Motivation:
PNF seeks to encourage contribution to the Pocket ecosystem with a quick, low friction program which errs to the side of inclusion and project acceptance to promote a wide range of contributors to join and be part of the Pocket ecosystem.
While this proposal believes that low friction access to grants (Sockets) is a great way to encourage community participation and experiment with a broad spectrum of ideas, many of which will knowingly be high-risk and ‘fail fast’, we believe that there should be some guardrails in place to stop opportunistic low value contributions from those with no knowledge of Pocket or interest in its long term success.
By setting up minimum standards we can better ensure that Sockets are awarded to those who are genuinely interested in furthering Pocket and discourage opportunists or ‘grifters’ from accessing DAO funds.
DAO funds are limited, and should be spent on worthwhile projects. Each payment that goes to a Socketeer that is then immediately sold to stable coins is downward sell pressure on $POKT and should be mitigated against.
Rationale:
We should implement the following requirements to be eligible for opening a Socket (to be debated in pre-proposal before being aligned and fixed at the proposal stage):
- Socketeers must have spent at least 6 months in our community, defined as being a member of a major Telegram group - the Den, poktoprice or a Node-runner with over 1m million $POKT staked Telegram channel, or being in the official Pocket Discord.
- Payments are to be made in $POKT only, with half the $POKT awarded to sit in escrow for 6 months before final payment.
- When the 3D Governance/Creds system is set up, Socketeer must be a participant and have gained a minimum level of Gitcoin membership and voting power.
Implementing these simple rules will help deter those seeking to offer low quality work on an opportune basis. This pre-proposal welcomes additional suggestions for the ‘minimum bar’ needed to apply for a Socket.
Dissenting Opinion:
“Socket are designed to be frictionless, this hampers that goal.”
This proposal seeks to balance a system of low friction access to try novel and potentially high-risk ideas with some safety towards protecting DAO funds from bad actors. Any serious potential Socketeer should already be an active member of our community, and if they have not shown involvement and understanding of Pocket, they have the ability to introduce themselves and their ideas to the community and demonstrate their interest and knowledge of Pocket.
Delaying partial payment of funds should only be of concern to those who do not intend to hold POKT and want to quickly cash out. Forcing Socketeers to hold 50% of their payment in POKT is designed to be a parsing mechanism to weed out opportunists and reward those who believe in the long term success of Pocket.
Implementation:
PNF (I assume B3N who is incharge of Sockets?) will need to check and confirm applicants are eligible to open a Socket based on the final criteria. Rewarded POKT can be held in a separate wallet for the escrow time period before being divested to the recipient.
Open to GRIP involvement and help.