Until now, participants in the Internet Computer's network nervous system (NNS) could choose to automatically vote on governance proposals in accord with followee neurons. Moreover, every vote resulted in the same ICP reward. In practice, this meant that the DFINITY Foundation and Internet Computer Association beacon neurons were the only major players in NNS decisions. Most other neurons simply followed them and reaped rewards for doing nothing but rubber stamping decisions. With the successful execution of Proposal 34485 by 11.721% in favor and 0.064% against (all other neurons abstained), this is no longer the case.
Excellent news for the future of the decentralized Web
Disabling default following for voting on governance proposals will prevent the Internet Computer Association and DFINITY Foundation from becoming de facto arbiters of important network decisions. Indeed, the revelation that 88.215% of the Internet Computer's voting power did not cast a ballot on Proposal 34485 shows the extent of the problem. Nearly 90% of NNS neurons at this early date may be blindly following beacon neurons; many of their owners clearly aren't checking in to vote on proposals. This isn't how staking ICP is supposed to work!
For many NNS participants, of course, it still makes sense to follow a beacon neuron for maintenance and exchange rate proposals. But it does not make sense to give any single neuron within the NNS the power to automatically determine the votes of most other neurons on central matters of governance. It also does not make sense to reward votes on routine upkeep proposals the same as votes on pivotal issues that will decide the Internet Computer's direction. Actual people need to intentionally participate in shaping the future; we don't want bots or follower farms to dominate the network and undermine its democratic principles.
We encourage you to take every opportunity to help shape the Internet Computer's future. It's best to check the NNS Dapp daily to vote on new proposals. If you need a guide to get started, we've got you covered. To vote, click on the voting tab, then click on topics, and select everything except exchange rate (you should follow a beacon neuron for exchange rate proposals since they occur every 10 minutes).
Next, select open proposals.
Be sure you have the checkbox marked to hide proposals on which you've already voted. Open proposals will feature orange text, so they'll be easy to spot. checking the voting tab is also a great way to verify your following choices are having the intended effect. If you see any maintenance or less important proposals that haven't received a vote from your neuron, you made need to change or update your choice of followee neurons.
Summary of Changes: Proposal 34485
- Neurons will vote manually on governance proposals.
- Voting reward weights will vary based on the topic.
Exchange rate proposals will have a weekly weight of 10 (0.01 each vote), and maintenance proposals have a weekly weight in the range of 5 to 30. Each governance proposal will have a weight of 20, which will incentivize NNS participants to vote on these proposals directly or form decentralized voting blocs with each other.
- Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original author and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the Dfinity Community staff and/or any/all contributors to this site.
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