Well, $10M is just an arbitrary number. It could very well be $20M or $100M. The main issue there is that the DAO proper doesn’t engage in AIPs that span more than a year. Not sure how that rule came about, so there’s that. You are never - ever - going to engage any meaningful projects that would initiate and launch within that time span. Assuming it’s not some re-skin like Yuga’s own games. So, we would end up in a scenario whereby for all the money spent you won’t see any tangible or meaningful results for quite some time. And during that time, the DAO would probably be extinct either by it’s own internal machinations, lawsuits or regulators.
That’s why one of my ideas for the MWG is to not only engage my trusted fellow industry devs to adopt their games for Web3 but also seek out entire projects and corps to buy. Looking at game metrics, corp EBITDA metrics etc. the group can aquire corps (not games themselves - unless bought and held in a DAO owned corp entity) - just like a VC would - and immediately start generating revenue on the day the deal closes. There’s a reason that M&A in the gaming sector has been so high these past years, though in Web3 it has basically flatlined because all the free money in exchange for sh*t games dried up.
Though the Treasure DAO tried to do specifically as per above, they too failed because they focused on the quick cash grab metrics derived from the premise of quantity over quality. thus resulting in games that didn’t move the MAU/DAU needle enough to be sustainable.
I believe that the MWG can do better with the proper team, resources and funding. After all, in such a competitive industry, I have managed to survive doing this for 30+ years. So, I probably know what I’m talking about, even though some people - with nothing to show for their achievements or failures - just decided to question or attack me in my AIP-316 - even as the DAO heads into the crapper. Pretty sure the joke isn’t on me because I will still be making games long after the DAO has come and gone. Just like always. I only mention this because I firmly believe that my AIP, in it’s original form, was the best path forward for the DAO in terms of doing something bold, tangible and which - at the very least - would have proven a point. And at $5M, it was an immaterial amount, but some people who have their heads in the clouds and who have no idea what stuff costs in the real world, balked at the very idea. But some of those very same people have no problem with the DAO doling out $9M, $15M etc to blatant grifts that are only designed to drain the treasury without any tangible benefits to the DAO. I mean, in AIP-209, the DAO gave $480K to an Animoca owned team and nobody seems to care about what happened to the project because to the DAO, the concepts of accountability and transparency are just suggestions instead of the tenets of running a corp.
FYI, not all the working groups are setup to generate revenue. e.g. the Marketing Working Group isn’t a revenue generating one. Take a look at AIP-239.
The Metaverse Working Group would be the primary rev generating body via digital initiatives such as games.
The Treasury Working Group would probably generate rev via staking (lol) or other investment vehicles.
As to the trust, I can only speak for myself, but I haven’t found any reason to not trust the Ape Foundation because it’s a lot more nuanced than that. Trust is earned, and it’s not something that can easily be quantified. For example, you can trust people in the leadership, while not trusting their judgment. You can trust those prople, while not trusting the process.
At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words and thus far, to me, the actions are screaming loudly that leadership are out of their depths when it comes to forging a path ahead for the prosperity of the DAO. And we - the DAO - don’t have the power to change anything due to how the Special Council wields it’s power and how the voting system ensures that the status quo never - ever - changes.
And it’s precisely why I raised the alarm bells in the now withdrawn voting AIP at how the GwG seemed to be making a powerplay to knee cap the AA.
People are either leaving, not showing interest, nor care simply because they see the whole DAO as being corrupt, rigged and unable to function effectively. Yet, some here are lamenting the low exposure and engagement of the very people who came together to build this DAO. And it’s why, in all of Web3, this DAO is the laughing stock. It didn’t have to be that way.