AIP-137: The Special Council Nomination Process

[adventurousape]

Thank you so much for this proposal. I know a lot of work was put into it. My questions and comments are regarding the structure of the Special Council and how it serves the DAO.

@btang

Elected Special Council members are expected to attend weekly, or on an as-needed basis, council meetings, review AIPs at meetings or by email, and commit 3 or more hours or as sufficient time as needed to the role.

• Does this mean that the Special Council members don’t have to attend weekly meetings since it says “on an as-needed basis”?
• Does the “or as sufficient time as needed” mean there is no minimum time requirement for the role?

@btang

Given that a key function of Special Council members is to work with and assess AIPs and their authors, I also think it would be beneficial if then Applicant’s skills, knowledge and abilities are collectively suited to the AIP categories. Below are listed the four AIP categories, along with the types of competencies and experiences that would suggest a candidate has expertise relevant to that particular category.

I also agree with those who have commented before me about experience. Since a key function is to work with and assess AIPs, experience with AIPs should be an expectation for Council members. And for all the categories, only needing exposure to virtual assets and cryptocurrencies for a role which oversees a major DAO’s treasury funds seems inadequate.

There are only three categories listed (unless Brand Decision & Informational count as two). It also says in the Lack of Nominees section that the number of Council seats is reduced until the next election if there aren’t enough nominees. If the DAO is able to function without all five, how is the Special Council essential to the governance of the DAO? Especially since each Council member is paid $250K a year.

• Could you give specific examples on what the Council has done now that it has been around for 6 months?
• How many AIPs have been tagged with “Needs Administrative Review” and what were the reasons for reviewing them?
• How many of those AIPs were rejected and why?
• Is there a process to turn over a seat on the board?
• How will the current Council share what they’ve learned?

@btang

Ecosystem Fund Allocation: Since Ecosystem Fund AIPs deal with how to use the DAO’s treasury funds, it would be ideal for a Special Council member to have:

• Educational and/or professional credentials in accounting, finance, business, economics or a related discipline;
• Proven experience working in/managing/directing large corporations; and
• Exposure to virtual assets and cryptocurrencies.

Being that ApeCoin is a cryptocurrency, I would think that experience with managing large DAO treasury funds and DAO governance would be the main expectation over Web2 educational and/or professional credentials and proven experience managing/directing large corporations.

@btang

Process: Given that Process AIPs deal with DAO governance, it would be ideal for a Special Council member to have:

• Educational and/or professional credentials in law, politics, policy and/or corporate governance;

Would it not be best if they had experience in cryptocurrency law, politics, policy, and/or corporate governance specifically?

Given that the election process calls for elections twice-yearly, I fear that 4 months of the year will become election season and just like in politics, less will get done because it will be what most people focus on.