Aave

Title: [ARC] Delegate Code Of Conduct

Author: @fig - Flipside Crypto

Date: 05-04-2023

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Summary:

This proposal looks to establish a Code of Conduct for new and existing recognized delegates within Aave’s governance and ecosystem.

It aims to codify and define the values and character upheld by individuals or organizations who embrace a delegate role, representing Aave and its stakeholders.

If implemented, it encourages more professionalism and accountability within the role.

Abstract:

This proposal creates a baseline for all delegates to reference when participating in governance decision-making or discussions.

This post will serve as a reference and adherence to DAO-wide policies - as well as establish collective values within the Governance protocol.

Just as companies have guiding principles and values, DAOs should too.

This proposal will be submitted as a “ranked choice vote” to better outline and define the top values as identified by current stakeholders within Aave.

Motivation:

A delegate is a unique role with teams approaching this responsibility in different ways.

As Aave introduces novel mechanisms such as Butter, Gas Fee Rebates, or other ongoing discussions about incentives - the community garners more delegate interest.

In order to protect the integrity and maturation of the DAO, it is important to establish and enforce an agreeable code of conduct for all delegates within Aave.

This proposal aims to codify nine values as identified by the Aave community.

Specification:

To be honored as a legitimate delegate, a delegate pledges to adhere to the following values.

As an aggregate, they form Aave’s Delegate Code Of Conduct:

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Good Faith / Integrity

Delegates should always act with honesty, integrity, and transparency.

Delegates should earn and maintain the trust of the community.

Best Interest

Delegates should operate and vote in what they believe is in the best interests of the Aave DAO - including its community, lending, and stablecoin products.

Due Care and Attention

Delegates should make a professional and unbiased review of each proposal before submitting their vote. This may be done individually or as a collective if a delegate team.

Communication

Delegates should ensure that they communicate the rationale behind each of their votes in a clear and accessible way. Acceptable mediums include; the Aave Governance Forum, Medium, or Notion (plus personal blogs.)

Professional Knowledge

Delegates should maintain a working knowledge of developments at Aave and in the wider cryptocurrency space, including the offerings of service providers and other DeFi counterparties.

Conflicts of Interest

Delegates should avoid conflicts of interest and mitigate their impact when not possible. They should disclose any conflicts of interest in writing on their platform.

Furthermore, they should publicize any offer of external compensation related to delegation or the Aave ecosystem.

Availability

Delegates should —within reason— be accessible to the community to answer questions, respond to comments, and discuss issues or ideas.

Security Optimization

Delegates should optimize to maintain the security and integrity of the Aave protocol. This security has created trust among users and DeFi integrations.

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Together, these values represent the robust culture Aave has fostered better than anyone else. It is the intention of this Code of Conduct to maintain the integrity of this culture while sustainably growing Aave.

If desired, the community may adopt these same set of values for service providers as well.

We welcome the addition of other values or amendment of others - and encourage brevity for the sake of simplicity and strength of values as an organization.

Next Steps

Next steps to ensure the successful adoption of a delegate wide code of conduct:

1. Gather feedback and input from the Aave community on the proposed code of conduct
2. Incorporate and refine the value choices based on feedback from the community
3. Run an approval vote ratifying the eight values
4. Create and “lock” a proposal on the forum outlining the finalized Code of Conduct
5. Upgrade and communicate the new requirements to current and new delegates

At the same time as this proposal, Flipside Crypto will post a Recognized Delegate Framework highlighting the process and requirements for becoming a recognized delegate.

Adhering to the Code of Conduct is one of the first steps.

Copyright

Copyright and related rights waived via CC0.