Quick recap

The steering committee reviewed various operational updates, including infrastructure improvements, revenue operations, and marketing activities. Discussions centered on worker proposals, conflict of interest rules, and governance challenges within the committee. The meeting also addressed potential changes to the domain renewal system and explored ways to improve the project's overall governance structure.

Summary

Infrastructure and Revenue Performance Review

The steering committee reviewed the core infrastructure worker proposal, which is operating under budget with a 5% month-over-month decrease in chain incident rate and a 4.5x increase in new domain registrations. Wayne presented the June recap for growth revenue operations, noting that while revenue was slightly over budget at $122,000 for the month, the team expects to be under budget for the three-month rolling total. The team discussed the scaled-down team's focus on operational issues and bug fixes, the decision not to submit a separate worker proposal for Fear relic, and the impact of token price fluctuations on treasury and runway.

Marketing Updates and Partnership Progress

Wayne provided a comprehensive update on marketing activities, partnerships, and integration progress for the month. Key highlights included successful campaigns with Haya and Freedom Handle, upcoming events in Las Vegas and Armenia, and new partnerships with Cake Wallet and Coin Plus. Wayne also discussed challenges with Binance removing the FIOBTC trading pair and the termination of the Opera agreement. The team is working on submitting a proposal for a new FIOUSDC pair and exploring opportunities with Trust Wallet to optimize handle registrations.

Marketing Budget Proposal Discussion

The steering committee discussed worker proposals for marketing activities, with Wayne submitting a reduced-spend proposal that received one vote and is awaiting further votes. Micah and his team are considering resubmitting their proposal, which would split the current $5,000 monthly budget between Gil ($2,500) and contract work ($2,500), in response to previous concerns about team disruption. The committee clarified that worker proposal voting is currently automated through Jira, requiring three positive votes from steering committee members to approve a proposal, with no mechanism for vote withdrawal.

FIO Steering Committee Conflict Rules

The meeting focused on discussing conflict of interest rules for the FIO steering committee. Pawel explained the current rules, which prohibit worker proposal leads from voting on their own proposals, and noted that this system has been in place for several years without issues. Micah presented a new proposal for stricter conflict of interest rules, which Adam and Wayne are working to integrate with their own efforts. The group discussed the potential impact of these rules on the steering committee's ability to make decisions, with Pawel emphasizing the need to ensure the committee remains operational. The conversation ended with Wayne suggesting a return to the previous model of separate departmental worker proposals to address conflicts of interest.

Conflict of Interest Governance Rules

The meeting focused on the need for better governance rules, particularly regarding conflicts of interest for steering committee members who receive payments from worker proposals. Pawel explained that while the steering committee could vote to implement such rules immediately, there was concern about the potential risk of stopping worker proposal approvals if strict rules were enacted. Luke shared his experience with a failed DAO project to emphasize the importance of maintaining project momentum, while Sarn expressed frustration about the slow progress on governance changes despite raising concerns four months prior. The group agreed to continue with the ongoing process led by Adam to develop new conflict of interest rules, while Pawel offered to put forward an immediate decision for board voting if needed.

Conflict-of-Interest Governance Model Overhaul

The meeting focused on addressing challenges with the current governance model and proposal system, particularly regarding conflicts of interest. Adam and Micah are leading efforts to define and propose new conflict-of-interest rules, with input from Wayne suggesting a potential solution of separating departments to eliminate conflicts. The group discussed Gil's proposal to work on Sarn's proposal, which he views as a transition opportunity given his experience with Emily and the growing number of integration partners. The conversation ended with Emily and Micah confirming they would submit a new worker proposal within 24 hours, and Adam expressing a preference for smaller, more focused proposals to address specific issues like partner success.

Forever Domains Proposal Discussion

The steering committee discussed a new FIP proposal for "forever domains" that would eliminate the need for renewals. Adam mentioned he was reviewing the proposal and agreed it was worth considering, as the current domain model hasn't shown much interest in traditional renewals. Pawel suggested a temporary solution of reducing renewal fees to test the concept quickly, as block producers could lower fees at their next meeting. Wayne and others raised concerns about user inactivity and suggested adding stipulations for domain owners, while Luke expressed support for the proposal as a potential way to increase passionate involvement in the network.

Next Steps

• Wayne: Submit detailed response/feedback to FIP-51 tomorrow

• Micah/Sarn: Submit new marketing worker proposal within 24-48 hours if planning to compete with Wayne's current proposal

• Steering Committee Members: Review and vote on Wayne's current marketing worker proposal

• Luke: Submit USDC payments today before travel to Seattle

• Adam/Micah: Continue developing comprehensive conflict of interest rules proposal for steering committee review

• Wayne: Continue seeking steering committee votes on reduced-spend marketing worker proposal

• Emily: Consider submitting separate partner success worker proposal

• Luke: Queue up token transfers for market maker after returning from Seattle

• Steering Committee Members: Increase engagement and responses on Jira proposal comments

• Pawel: Bring up domain renewal fee reduction topic at block producer meeting

Video