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Tante's Plea for Voting Participation

TanteStefana

Well-known member
Foundation Member
I think a lot of people have noticed the increasing complexity of budget proposals in this past month. With 6 proposals still up for grabs for this cycle, I thought I'd put out an overview and as best as I can understand, potential rewards for Dash or reasons for Dash to fund these proposals. Remember, these are my personal viewpoints – mostly toward the positive, and I'm highly risk oriented. Still, we seem to have enough in our budget to cover all these projects and I hope you will give each project the attention they deserve. So from oldest to newest, here we go!


Proof of Labor


Wow, is this one ambitious! In the most basic breakdown I can manage, it is a proposal for research and development into an economy based on community credit. Credit comes into being when a community approves via a rating system. A producer of some sort, say the local baker, takes out a loan from his credit line to purchases supplies with the “coins” he receives in his loan. The community is given a product in return (bread) for the coins they approved to being loaned, and when they purchase the bread (for coin), the credit the Baker owes is paid back and the baker increases his rating. Thus the system allows him more credit to expand his work.


The main points are that somehow the community “votes” via reputation, that reputation gives the producer a credit line, the community pays for what is produced and the producer pays back the credit, keeps the excess debit and receives a better reputation for doing so, thus increasing his credit limit.


This system literally puts value into tokens through work, naturally expanding the economy. It's very much in line with Ayn Rand's view of the value of money.


Why Dash?


Dash has the infrastructure to make this token act just like cash (secure instant transactions) which this system would hope to eventually tap into (if the research and development prove successful) The Evolution rating system would also be utilized.


I believe the system will want to use Dash to back these tokens, via pegging possibly? It's not known yet, but these tokens might need a base value, and pegging to the dollar with Dash backing might be a solution I believe? None of the solutions they come up with will be part of the Dash ecosystem unless it's advantageous to Dash and gets approval, so this is mostly a research and development project to see what the possibilities are.


How would this be benificial to Dash?


There are a lot of possible benefits for Dash:

1. spread adoption

2. when the number of tokens (which are pegged to something for stability) increases, the value of the backing token (Dash) should also increase in value against the pegged unit (like the Euro, Pound Sterling, Dollar, etc...) Because more tokens would be created as well as more demand, thus more pressure on Dash.

3. it would offer price stability in a unit that is directly related to Dash.

4. Masternode owners and miners would run both blockchains and earn fees from each.


Finally, will this work? I don't know, but it certainly would fill a niche that is missing in crypto-currency. Sure there are are other pegged solutions (that in theory work) like Nushares/Nubits and Bitshares/pegged coins. However the first isn't fast, and the second has issues in my eyes of a “good old boy network” that I can't reconcile. With Masternodes, there are thousands of them, and they're available to anyone who invests, but with Bitshares, you have to be “voted in” and they plan on only 101 “witness nodes” that get paid. I can't get over the feeling of a good old boy network that is easily corrupted. This proposal might be something that can make the Dash Financial Network complete if it works. And remember, this is a proposal for research and development much of which the propoers have already worked out over the past 4 years.



Dash to Fiat Payment Processor


Well, we have here a very interesting young man and his brother, a verified long time community member and financial administrator of the funding for SpaceX hyperloop project finalists, the rloop team and running the indigogo campaign to raise the funds for construction of a prototype.


They want to create a merchant only Dash exchange for fiat. It's simple really, they will take Dash exclusively from merchants who accept it, exchange it for fiat and then deposit it into the merchant's bank accounts. Simple, right? Well, maybe, maybe not. But they have a plan to stay on the easier side of regulations by utilizing licensed exchanges and only servicing businesses which simplifies KYC issues, and by opening bank accounts in other countries so as to provide USD and Euro support as well as their native NZ dollar and AU dollar. Can this be done? Well, there will probably be issues they'll face, but if luck runs their way, they may have enough momentum to resolve all issues in the future, and actually make a go of it. It was such momentum that coinbase began with that earned them financing to build up to where they are today. And they also began on much shakier ground.


Why?


To get adoption going, it's pretty obvious that we need a service that will convert Dash to fiat for merchants to accept it. It's really places like Coinbase that became the footholds to Bitcoin adoption. Without something similar, Dash will find adoption extremely difficult. This is one major infrastructure that must be built. Who will build it? Until now, no one has come forward, and contacts with the likes of Coinbase has shown no intention of adding another crypto coin, so if a young programmer can have the gaul and chutzpa to create a new monetary system (Evan), why can't two brothers create a crypto coin processing service?


Still, there are likely to be some setbacks. Banks may close accounts when they realize what the boys are doing, but that may take them some time to notice, and in the mean time, maybe the boys can come up with ways of making things more permanent, perhaps, show this can work and bring in some big investors. Who knows, but one things for sure, they're winners as far as what they've helped accomplish with SpaceX's hyperloop competition. I wouldn't put this task past their abilities myself. Though, I'm an eternal optimist.


Dash World: Evolution in Marketing


Greyghost and team have come up with a complete marketing plan for Dash. Really, it requires integration with the core team, and it will be the Master Plan for Dash Marketing. It includes everything, with the exception of funding for certain projects which would require separate funding. It's a very thoroughly hashed out plan that I simply can not reiterates here. Issues are that it may ruffle some feathers with the core team, but the proposers promise that their intention is to work with the core team, and to be flexible. If voted in, of course, that would give the core team the mandate to work with this group.


Why?


This is a group of long time Dash supporters who have experience in marketing. They have chosen what they believe is a better PR firm than the one we dropped (Transform PR) to work with. The use of the PR marketing firm will be supplemental to the work done by the proposal team who will be doing a lot of the PR work themselves. There is a ton of information on this proposal and I implore all of you to read it and to vote on it. In my opinion, it is not at all too soon to market Dash. Dash today is the most capable crypto-currency available. Adoption will come with name and product recognition, and we have hit the point where we are falling behind in this aspect of the Dash project. We can no longer hang off the Bitcoin shirt tails, we must now separate ourselves and become well known on ouru own – seperate from Bitcoin. Is this the team to take us to the next level? Well, look at the effort put into their proposal, and judge.


This essentially brings us an in-house Marketing Team, that will work closely with the Core Development team to bring Dash's name to the world. Lets do it!
 
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....continued.....




Dash Trader Market Tracker


This proposal is to make a site that tracks all Dash markets to be accessed by anyone. The proposer is already collecting masses of information. There will be an API and the site will create all kinds of trading and analytical tools, a trader forum, a “game” where traders can make their predictions, and their accuracy and scores will be viewable, either acknowledging their trading prowess or their total failure. (mostly for fun and practice) Traders will find all charts for all exchanges here, they will be able to use special tools to privately track their real coins and many other tools. Finally, there will be a forum dedicated to traders and their craft.



Why a Market Tracker?



Dash has one or two places where you can track the market, mostly, though only on cryptowat.ch and for some, bitcoinwisdom.com. These only track the Dash/BTC market on Poloniex. If they pick up any other markets that Dash is in, it'll undoubtedly be slow. This results in very limited information and doesn't give traders much to work from. This proposal will track all markets and create an API for others to create tracking charts for their websites, spreading trading interest. We want Dash to be traded so that they create liquidity. This is why we care about traders.



Traders keep the market liquid, and liquidity means that a merchant accepting Dash will have an easy time unloading them for fiat or whatever he wants without moving the market significantly, thus creating enough stability in price to take the edge off of the risk of accepting Dash. If the daily volume is small, (remember, this is nothing to do with how many Dash are available to trade, but the price and amount of real value trading) then the constrained liquidity means a merchant can't expect to get the same price the market shows when he sells because buyers aren't there to take them. A healthy moving and liquid market place is essential for any currency to function, and Dash still has a very small market cap as well as slow liquidity (like molasses actually). So this is in fact very pertinent for the success of Dash. The information made available in the API would be enough to help Dash out, but this combined with a website with charts etc... and a forum for traders to discuss trading Dash and tools for traders to keep track of their buys and sells, etc... and the whole thing covering every known marketplace for Dash in real time with be a heck of a lure for traders.



Remember again: Traders = liquidity = stability for Merchants = more adoption. Please consider this one! :)



ROKOS rPI OS distribution inclusion (forever)



The ROKOS operating system developed for the Raspberry Pi is offering to make the Dash wallets automatically included in the OS download. Should we make a one time payment of 95 Dash to have them permanently include Dash Wallet into their OS? Please check it out and decide :)



Dash Payments for WooCommerce Wordpress Plugin



Nathan Marley has almost finished a WooCommerce plugin for Wordpress for Dash. This will enable anyone with a wordpress website to add a Dash payment option. This payment option differs in that there is no middle man. The payment goes directly and safely into the website owner's wallet. It's not as easy as it sounds. It keeps tabs on orders, and payments are sent to different deterministic addresses each time to keep orders separate (and clearly distinguished). The options for the developer are to either sell the plugin, or accept a payment from the budgeting system to pay for his work, and thus making it free for anyone to use.



The great thing about making it free is that the user will not have to take even more risk by accepting Dash than he already does, by not having to pay for the plugin. On the other hand, the Developer takes less risk at selling his plugin as he'd need to get enough sales to pay for his work. Even so, several people have stated that they feel he under priced the project, and it does seem like a great deal. This should make it an extremely easy way for average people to accumulate Dash via sales of their goods, which is an excellent way to get markets flowing with Dash.



All of these proposals are set to complete voting at the end of this cycle. According to my calculations, there is enough in the budget to pay for these projects without kicking anything out. Please vote. Two projects are currently not going to get paid. I like both projects myself, but alas, not enough agree :/



https://dashtalk.org/threads/budget-proposal-proof-of-labour.8108/page-6#post-86589



https://dashtalk.org/threads/pre-pr...fiat-payment-processor.8056/page-7#post-88057



https://dashtalk.org/threads/dash-world-evolution-in-marketing-budget-proposal.8259/#post-87982



https://dashtalk.org/threads/propos...sh-back-on-the-markets.8271/page-2#post-88015



https://dashtalk.org/threads/dash-p...or-pi-2-pi-3-pine64-and-new-iot-devices.8329/



https://dashtalk.org/threads/proposal-dashpayments-for-woocommerce.8356
 
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There are 809 unspent coins to this month's budget. I really like both the "Proof of Labor" project proposal, though it's pretty far "out there" And for the price of 220 Dash, I think it's worth it just to see their concept :p I also think the website with market info, forum, and API would be very good for Dash, but it's over budget :(

Otherwise, it'd be nice if there were a project that could use that 809 coins. Or if Evan would put in a proposal "just in time" to grab those funds to be used in a future project?

Thanks Tao, I knew you'd be up on that :D It's getting dang exciting with all these projects, eh?
 
There are 809 unspent coins to this month's budget. I really like both the "Proof of Labor" project proposal, though it's pretty far "out there" And for the price of 220 Dash, I think it's worth it just to see their concept :p I also think the website with market info, forum, and API would be very good for Dash, but it's over budget :(

Otherwise, it'd be nice if there were a project that could use that 809 coins. Or if Evan would put in a proposal "just in time" to grab those funds to be used in a future project?

Thanks Tao, I knew you'd be up on that :D It's getting dang exciting with all these projects, eh?

2 weeks to go
no stress :wink:
people mainly wait until the end of budgets to vote (once a month) for the new once
they will come, give it a week
 
Yep, I think there will be several new proposals till the end of this budget. Maybe we need to increase our budget up to 15% in future in case of higher level of activity is going on.
 
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Thank you for this Tante! As I nibble at so many future ideas for the DashWorld, I came across this wonderful quote:

"Forget about the Internet of Things as Web 2.0, refrigerators connected to grocery stores, and networked Barcaloungers. I want to know how to make the Internet of Things into a platform for World 2.0. How can the Internet of Things become a framework for creating more habitable worlds, rather than a technical framework for a television talking to an reading lamp? Now that we've shown that the Internet can become a place where social formations can accrete and where worldly change has at least a hint of possibility, what can we do to move that possibility out into the worlds in which we all have to live?"

(Julian Bleecker, Ph.D. Research Fellow, Annenberg Center for Communication)

This is the excitement I feel we need to inject into the Dash Project. It's not about Masternode owners getting richer than Buffet (I certainly hope this would happen), it's not about "us" vs. "them" (namely Bitcoin) its about the World 2.0 we help creating. It is having the dream back in our lives, the dream of being free human beings responsible for our own decision and excited beyond words that we live in such a crazy times. Perils everywhere, but as Camus would say, "now we have tools to fight back," not with barricades and brickwalls but with the code and compassion.

Henry Giroux recently said: “We should live to improve our lives and the lives of others with great compassion, dignity and a sense of justice. Large numbers of people should not be struggling just to survive, condemned to the perils of economic and political deprivation.” Today, centralized organizations like the corrupt central banks, governments serving the plutocracy and corporatism control the entire system by force, inserting themselves in all facets of life so the first step of achieving the goal Giroux’ outlines is to remove intermediaries.

P2P decentralized society dream is not that far-fetched anymore. The Dash Project helps to build and to power it. It can't get better than that.
 
GreyGhost, this is exactly why I'm here. Tell me, why isn't your proposal passing? Did I say something wrong here? I did mention that you all would have to work with core development marketing section, but thought you could do it easily. I think I didn't say it correctly. I do want yours to pass especially, not because the guys didn't do a good job before, but because it became a mess with people voting them out. And I don't want more time to go by the wayside with no PR. No PR is time wasted, where we could be getting our name out there. Ugh!
 
TanteStefana It's difficult to speculate why the Dash World: Evolution in Marketing proposal is not passing at the moment -- this may change and I trust and believe it would if we’d have a serious conversation about the proposal’s merit – but my gut feeling tells me the proposal is going to pass only if the "key insiders" are for it. I must admit, aside sporadic comments by fernando over at the Slack (the group is now archived), they have been strangely quit.

These are the very same ones the DashWorld plans and aims to work with but I am not 100% sure they want to work with us yet given how reserved they all have been thus far. I'd love to hear from Fernando, kot, Minotaur, tungfa and, needless to say, even from Otoh, masternode, perhaps eduffield as well.

I hope other community members will join the discussion. No matter my obvious bias as the proposal’s chief architect, I truly believe we all could benefit from an open conversation. Decentralized governance can't be truly efficient without a certain degree of transparency.

I hope the buster podcast, Dash Round Table Ep.02 - DashWorld Budget Proposal, that takes place tomorrow (or day after tomorrow depending on where in the world we are), will tackle your question as well.

)
 
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I pretty much quit voting... The accidental ponzi investors need to learn how to be grown ups the hard way, because they don't learn any other way. Too many people have no idea at all what they're doing. Don't understand it even when explained to them. They're in way over their heads. Sink or swim time approaches... They've had 2 years. There's no excuse. It's time for some brutal savagery. Consequences. Responsibility whether they like it or not.

Vote for some dumb shit. Screw it all up. Even if you're a complete damn moron and do bring the roof down on your own heads, maybe it'll teach you not to be a weak hand? The grown-ups will be along to make it all better again, eventually...
 
I pretty much quit voting... The accidental ponzi investors need to learn how to be grown ups the hard way, because they don't learn any other way. Too many people have no idea at all what they're doing. Don't understand it even when explained to them. They're in way over their heads. Sink or swim time approaches... They've had 2 years. There's no excuse. It's time for some brutal savagery. Consequences. Responsibility whether they like it or not.

Vote for some dumb shit. Screw it all up. Even if you're a complete damn moron and do bring the roof down on your own heads, maybe it'll teach you not to be a weak hand? The grown-ups will be along to make it all better again, eventually...

so you think you will teach them a lesson by not voting ?
come on , you should know better than that !
 
You know, I'm wrong about things all the time, or I want to follow all the possibilities, but in the end, I think Evan is right, and the group as a whole has a level of wisdom beyond individuals. Maybe one month it's all screwed up, but in the end, we'll do more right than wrong.

So go vote Camosoul! And keep giving us your opinions, because they do count!!!
 
Maybe there should be 'abstained' or 'undecided' vote type so that we can differ the number of those who didn't vote from those who are undecided on that particular proposal.

Or even better would be -1 to +1 range for each vote, where +1 = strong yes, +0.5 = more yes then no, 0 = undecided, -0.5 = more no than yes, -1 = strong no. All inbetweens like +0.75 should be allowed too.
 
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Maybe there should be 'abstained' or 'undecided' vote type so that we can differ the number of those who didn't vote from those who are undecided on that particular proposal.

Or even better would be -1 to +1 range for each vote, where +1 = strong yes, +0.5 = more yes then no, 0 = undecided, -0.5 = more no than yes, -1 = strong no. All inbetweens like +0.75 should be allowed too.

That's interesting. The voting mechanism for sure has space for improvements. For example, at the moment, 1 whale's dollar / vote has the power of 2 dollars / votes compared to mere mortals (individual Masternode holders) so this discrepancy might also scale to a fairer proportion; perhaps the Foundation members, even if they do not have an active Masternode, can get to vote, even if 5 years as a member = 1 vote; 4 years = 0.8 vote...; 1 year = 0.2 vote while a life time member gets one vote independently?

What if any holder could vote proportionately to her or his holdings, so say, 475 DASH = 0.475 votes? Their DASH could even be "locked" during the proposal's initial life span so to minimize incentives to manipulate the vote... options are many. No matter how complicated the math / approach might be, once it's programmed in the system it would work as a breeze.

Just thinking aloud. Not yet ready to propose any realistic improvements :wink:
 
so you think you will teach them a lesson by not voting ?
come on , you should know better than that !
Nope. But when learning the hard way comes along, my conscience will be clear.

Some people say that those who do not vote have no right to complain.

But, those who vote are the ones responsible...
 
Dash is a like a presidential election that never ends....
I could do without that smell.

I still say that voting is the most important thing that MNs do, and should be part of the proof of service score. Add the abstain option so that the MN has to at least pay attention even if the choice is still "abstain." Not voting at all is "null" and results in a node being delisted. Yes, I brought it up again because the "forcing a vote is wrong" argument is only valid as long as the "abstain" choice doesn't exist. If you implement both you still provide the same choice, but force MNs to at least be awake...

Proof of Paying Attention.
 
I love the 'Proof of Paying Attention' idea. Unfortunately a script could be built to circumvent it, so that new proposals are detected and automatically voted ABSTAIN to keep the MN from being delisted. :(
 
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