Across DAO Handbook

Ideas & Feedback
1

Author: neondaemon

Status: RFC

Related document: Governance Operating Manual

Purpose: To create an HR policies and procedures document for the DAO. As the DAO matures the handbook will evolve to accommodate new learnings and best practices.

Introduction

This handbook outlines policies and guidelines related to membership, conduct, contributions, governance, transparency, intellectual property, security, and other aspects of participation in Across DAO. As a decentralized organization, these policies are formed through consensus of DAO members and are subject to changes through established governance processes.

We encourage members to thoughtfully contribute to policies that allow us to collaborate successfully. Together we can build a fair, transparent, and thriving ecosystem for the benefit of all participants. The policies outlined below are designed to ensure a positive and inclusive environment within the community, emphasizing transparency, security, and adherence to a set of shared values.

DAO Community Membership

Anyone is welcome to join the Across DAO and become a member in the Discord server. Additionally, by acquiring the DAO’s token, ACX provides membership rights like participating in governance votes. Members have a voice in shaping the DAO’s policies and direction. They are expected to follow the code of conduct when participating.

Voting rights are proportional to the amount of ACX held.

Code of Conduct

Members should behave ethically, professionally, and respectfully towards others. Discrimination, harassment, threats, and abusive language will not be tolerated. Violations should be reported to DAO moderators who can issue warnings or propose banning of members through established governance processes. Members are expected to act in good faith as well as to declare and avoid conflicts of interest related to governance decisions.

The following rules are taken from Across’ Discord Server and which new members have to agree to before joining.

Expectations: Any violation of these rules may result in being kicked/banned from this server.

Be Nice To People: Above all else, this community strives to create an open and welcoming environment where people can feel safe to be themselves. We kindly ask you to treat everyone here with respect. Any threats, personal attacks, harassment, racist remarks, sexist remarks, or spammy trolling will result in being banned.

Be Appropriate: Don’t post any NSFW, offensive, or inappropriate content here. This includes server nicknames and avatars. Please limit the use of offensive language.

Be Scam-Free: Don’t advertise or share other discord servers here unless asked to do so. Don’t ask for or share APIs, private keys, passwords, seed phrases, or any other sensitive information. Don’t impersonate anyone else. Report anyone who asks you to send them money.

In addition to these rules, you are expected to abide by the Discord Community Guidelines.

Your presence in Across DAO discord server implies accepting these rules, which may be updated at any time by community consensus.

Hopes: There are a few guidelines that we hope to see people follow.

  • Use channels as they are intended. Be respectful of work spaces and keep fun content in fun spaces.
  • Don’t dismiss someone else’s idea just because it isn’t in line with yours.
  • Be helpful and be patient. If you know your way around, help others find their niche.
  • Only take on roles and responsibilities you are serious about.

Contributions and Rewards

General Conditions

Members can contribute value to the DAO through business development, community support, governance participation, and other domains. Contributions will be rewarded in ACX tokens via tipping or by transfer from the appropriate committee multi-sig wallet or programme. The rewards process will be transparent and aim to distribute value fairly based on impact.

Performance bonuses may be issued at the DAO’s discretion based on results delivered versus agreed goals. Due to the decentralized structure, paid contributors have flexibility in when and where they work. They are expected to arrange schedules allowing collaboration and accessibility that are customary to the group to which they contribute. Contributors may request leaves of absences and give as much notice as possible so their work can be covered.

Progress will be tracked on Discord either in a written format or via weekly update calls that are recorded and shared. Paid contributors should abide by the DAO’s code of conduct policies, acting professionally and ethically at all times. Any illegal activity, negligence resulting in damages, or violations of agreements (including the code of conduct) are grounds for terminating role and payment.

There are no formal contracts to be signed by members. The DAO works optimistically and assumes all are motivated by good intentions. Retaliation is prohibited against any member who raises concerns about possible violations of laws, rules, or significant harms to the DAO. Good faith whistleblowers can report anonymously via the safety form << link to be inserted>>. Their concerns will be reviewed and addressed promptly and professionally by the Community Essentials Committee and Risk Labs community managers.

Reasonable accommodations will be made for medical leave, family obligations, and other priorities with proper notice given the nature of the relationship.

Committee Members

For detailed information on committees refer to the Across Governance Operating Manual

Each committee will be between three and five persons. They will receive a base level reward for a 3 month duration (stipulated in the Governance Operating Manual) paid in ACX. At the end of the 3 months a further amount is paid to the committee unless for some reason it has been disbanded (see below).

Committee members are jointly responsible for delivering the goals that were set out in their proposal to the DAO. The goals have to be measurable so that the DAO will be able to determine whether the committee has met them.

Before the end of their 3 month term they have to put a proposal up on Snapshot to receive the additional compensation, as well as outlining any personnel changes and the next 3 months’ goals.

In lieu of a formal peer review process each committee can come up with their own agreed method to determine the distribution of the additional compensation.

Term limits

Unless specified in the committee formation proposal term limits will be 3 months. The committee will then need to set up a new proposal, including a quarterly report, outlining any changes to personnel and goals to be achieved for the next 3 months.

Payments

Payments to individuals are made either directly from a multi-sig wallet or via a streaming protocol. The streaming will be paused by and can be finally terminated if the CEC (or someone else) concludes that the member has seized to contribute meaningfully in his assigned position, which includes but is not limited to actively and in person attending and participating in any events and meetings and executing assigned contributions in an acceptable timeframe appropriate to the task and the position.

Termination and Exit

A committee member or other paid individual (e.g. a moderator) should inform their team if they intend to leave. An exit/handover interview is recommended to ensure others will be able to take on their work. Access to certain Discord channels, Google Docs and other resources may need to be revoked.

If it is the DAO that is removing a paid member that individual has a right of appeal in which case a meeting will be held with the appropriate committee and Risk Labs community manager. Until formally removed they will continue to be streamed their compensation.

The process for replacing a committee member is left at the discretion of the committee. However it needs to be conducted in the open and be clearly communicated to the DAO. This entails indicating how this change will allow the committee to continue on with its proposed purpose/plans.

Options include:

  • Committee nominates a candidate (or candidates) and holds a vote on the Across Forum.
  • If at the end of a term limit the renewal proposal will contain the name of the new committee member.
  • A call for candidates is made by the committee and interviews held in the open. The committee will publish their decision in the DAO.
  • If a member is replaced mid-term then in addition to holding a vote on the Forum a snapshot vote is necessary as it will involve treasury transaction(s).

Governance

Governance decisions are made through member votes via the Snapshot platform.

Proposals are discussed in the Discord server and on the Across DAO Forum before being put to a vote. Role-based governance enables members to elect purpose driven committees. In cases of disputes, issues will be deliberated publicly until consensus is achieved. If necessary, final votes may be used to resolve disputes.

For detailed information refer to the Across Governance Operating Manual

Transparency

Across DAO activities including funding allocation and operations will be made publicly accessible and visible voting is preferred. Anonymous voting may be used in sensitive or specially designated cases. Within this scope committees have discretion and flexibility as to the voting modes they wish to apply. Financial records, meeting minutes from working groups, and other materials will be publicly accessible to foster trust and alignment within the community.

Intellectual Property

Unless specified otherwise, code and content produced for Across DAO by the community is deemed open source by default to encourage collaboration. Licences will aim to maximize community usage while limiting misuse. Members grant the DAO broad licences to use their contributions to the project. Processes for obtaining additional member consent will apply as needed. The DAO may also produce proprietary intellectual property like trademarks which it will retain ownership and stewardship over.

Security

Members are expected to use proper security protocols like multi-sig wallets, 2FA, and hardware wallets to protect DAO assets. Committee members, moderators and others with escalated access permission in the Discord server must use 2FA and other security measures. The Across DAO Moderation handbook is the official guide on dealing with suspected scammers and spam. Postmortems will be conducted following security incidents to identify causes and prevent recurrences.

DAO Information

Official Social Channels

Resources:

Token:

Governance:

2 Likes
2

Great Handbook! Its great to see thet all aspects including transparency and replacing committee members are updated.

1 Like
3

Excellent, I think it covers all the topics. In my opinion, the CEC is doing an excellent job so far, although it seems that the 3 months go by quickly. I think it was proposed for the treasury committee 6 months?

2 Likes
4

Excellently thoughts out and comprehensive writings here, i am really bullish on the Across having an operational DAO, everything written here so far are the right ingredient for successful DAO set up

2 Likes