This is a cool and important topic I’d like to contribute to, acknowledging a lot of the actions that have to take place will be beyond my control. With that said I think fundamentally there will need to be a lot of coordination and scoping that will need to be done to achieve a handover and I can help with that. For some context, here’s how I’m currently approaching the task at hand:
1. Operational Consistency vs. Decentralized Structure
Decentralization, while aspirational, often encounters the ‘tragedy of the commons’ when it comes to maintaining operational consistency. The key to navigating this is through clear delineation of roles and responsibilities, as well as ensuring redundancy. Placing a primary focus on maintaining a standard of operations is necessary, but should not impede the community from progressively decentralizing.
2. Addressing the Redundancy Challenge
Creating redundancy within Rocket Pool, especially for operational tasks, is a significant first step toward achieving decentralization. While initially resource-intensive, it’s necessary for a robust decentralized environment in the long term. Transferring powers and authorities can be a bit sweaty, but if multiple entities can perform necessary tasks we greatly increase the resiliency of Rocket Pool and makes it easier to “cut the cord.”
3. Ensuring Non-Criticality of Individuals or Teams
Ideally in a DAO, no one person or team should be mission-critical. I struggle to think of examples where this is achieved in practice, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good goal for us to aim for. I think the coordination cost of having multiple teams that can work on something is made up for by the resiliency. It’s really hard to fight centralization if only some parties have the means and know-how to accomplish a task.
4. Knowledge Sharing and Documentation
The paths outlined by LongForWisdom and Langers point towards the need for extensive knowledge sharing and thorough documentation. This ensures that every team member is equipped with the necessary information to contribute effectively, thereby decentralizing knowledge and expertise. Docs are boring to make but essential for an open organization.
5. Iterative and Inclusive Decision-Making
Finally, I agree with the points raised about the necessity of an iterative and inclusive decision-making process. There is no one way to decentralize, and each tech stack is going to have different needs, just like each community is going to have its own definitions of what constitutes adequate decentralization. Helping push this charge forward is about empowering community members rather than directing them. Seeing these conversations was pretty personally motivating and I suspect others are willing to throw in a few hours if they feel like the collective is serious about the goal.