Minutes of the Forta Governance Council (10/18/2022)

Council Members

  • Jeremy Sklaroff
  • Jonathan Alexander
  • Juan Garre
  • Mat Travizano
  • Tomasz Stańczak

Opening

The Council meeting opened at approximately 8:00 pm (UTC) on October 18th, 2022. It was noted that proper notice had been provided to the Council in accordance with the Bylaws. 5 of the Council members were in attendance and the meeting had a quorum. The Council consented to certain third parties’ attendance at the meeting to present to the Council, as well as to the appointment of third-party notetakers.

Slashing Policy Approved

It was noted that the final slashing policy was shared with the Council async following the FGC meeting that took place on October 4, 2022, and that the Council had reviewed the policy in detail in accordance with FP-2.

The slashing policy was passed asynchronously by the Council following approval of more than half of the active Council members in accordance with the Bylaws.

Weekly Rewards to Node Operators

The Council continued its discussion regarding the ongoing rewards formula in place for node operators, currently set at 400,000 FORT per week. A consultant for the Foundation presented a capacity analysis of the Forta Network following the minimum stake node increase that occurred on September 30, 2022 pursuant to the passing of FP-2. It was noted that there are now approximately 3,000 active nodes on the Network and that based on the current number of detection bots, and after the increase in minimum stake for bots, there is still significant excess capacity available in the Network.

The Council reviewed the average amount of rewards node operators have been receiving since the rewards program was put in place, and it was noted that node operators appeared to be now receiving significantly more rewards than in the past. A question was asked about the cost structure of operating a node. The Council discussed the operating costs of nodes and shared feedback received from various node operators.

It was proposed that FORT rewards should be reduced to 300,000 per week, based on the data presented. A Council member expressed concern over the negative effects the community may experience should a reduction in rewards occur without clear communication and a schedule that is publicly available that sets out the reduction timeline. The Council agreed that prior to any action being taken, a firm schedule related to a reward reduction should be drafted, reviewed, and approved, and the community should be canvassed for feedback following the schedule being made publicly available.

Following the meeting, a reward reduction schedule was prepared and circulated amongst the Council as a written proposal, which would reduce weekly rewards to 300,000 in a step function beginning the week of November 7, 2022 and ending the week of November 27, 2022.

The proposal to reduce weekly FORT rewards was passed by the Council following approval of more than half of the active Council members in accordance with the Bylaws.

Council Meeting Structure

The Council discussed the cadence of live council meetings and the experience of the council since its initiation. It was noted that after the preliminary matters before the council were solved, the number of governance matters concerning Forta requiring the Council’s action had significantly reduced, especially due to the amount of governance matters decided by FORT token holder voting on Snapshot. The Council also agreed that most matters requiring the Council’s review were best accomplished async, as it allows for detailed review, better communication and decision-making. A council member emphasized the importance of remaining diligent on async communication channels, and to connect for ad-hoc live meetings when the urgent need arises. Following the discussion, a proposal was made to hold live council meetings on a monthly schedule.

The proposal to move live council meetings to a monthly schedule was passed by the Council following approval of more than half of the active Council members in accordance with the Bylaws.

Technical Fellowship

It was noted that as the Forta Network evolves through the community governance process, technical development will increase. A consultant suggested that the Network could benefit from creating a technical fellowship program, which could fund a distinguished individual with deep technical expertise to foster the technical Forta community. This role could act as a leader in the Forta community, act as a spokesperson, assist with technical questions and projects, and coordinate engagement and collaboration within the developer community. A Council member agreed that designating a technical fellow would be beneficial for the Network moving forward. The Council discussed specific goals of the technical fellowship program, and a specific candidate was suggested to potentially serve as the initial fellow. It was determined that it would be best to review more specific goals and responsibilities within the community and compensation range for the technical fellow, the credentials of the specific candidate, and continue the discussion async.

Following the meeting, the proposed goals of the technical fellow and compensation range for an initial fellow were shared as a written proposal with the Council, which included the Foundation determining the recipient of the technical fellowship following approval.

The proposal to create and fund the technical fellowship was passed by the Council following approval of more than half of the active Council members in accordance with the Bylaws.

Closing of the Meeting

No further matters were presented by the Council and the meeting was closed.

2 Likes