Crowdsourced governance is gaining popularity, with platforms like Discord and Reddit leading the charge. Crowdsourced governance is a decision-making process that involves collective participation, meaning a group of people—particularly those who hold a stake in the business or project—shape the policies, rules, and changes within a system collectively. This approach enables diverse perspectives and knowledge to be heard regarding a particular policy or idea, leading to better, more democratic, and fair decisions. It is often used in decentralized systems, blockchain projects, online communities, and other platforms that involve a high level of participation.
Crowdsourced governance supports decentralization by distributing decision-making power among participants instead of relying on a single authority. This approach is popular because it is transparent; everyone can see the processes, suggestions, and outcomes, which helps build trust in the project. It also encourages inclusivity, allowing a wide range of voices to be heard and ensuring that all viewpoints are considered.
Decisions made through crowdsourced governance are often more effective because they include insights from those directly involved—the participants. People who are actively engaged in the project are likely to offer more practical and realistic input compared to those with only a high-level view. NeoWorlder adopts this model by using crowdsourced governance to empower its community to actively shape policies and decisions on the platform.
MDR (Multiverse Drawing Rights), a native token of NeoWorlder used primarily for obtaining commercial licenses within the ecosystem, is a key component of governance on the platform. MDR is generated exclusively through the Prism, an auction platform where participants mine MDR by bidding on unique artworks during Prism auctions.
As they bid for each artwork, they mine MDR. This mechanism ensures that only active participants who engage in the bidding process in the Prism can mine MDR. Once MDR is mined, it is transferred into a buy-back pool, which acts as a reserve of MDR that only Prism miners can access. This is important because only individuals who own $MDR in the buy-back pool can propose motions.
Motions are proposed plans or changes suggested by the community for the NeoWorlder platform. All motions go through two rounds of voting: a preliminary round and a final round. The first round takes place in Versa, an advanced web 3 wallet. Here, motions are initially placed. Eligible participants can create motions by selecting a motion topic from a list of predefined topics. Each motion in the governance system features a title, a description, and a set range (a defined scale within which changes can be made, similar to how you see a price range like $10–$100. For instance, if the motion is to adjust the joining fee, the proposed fee must fall within this specified range.
Currently, there are three main motion topics available for community voting:
- Community Levy: Proposals can adjust the levy between 0% and 10%. For example, someone might suggest a 9% levy, but they cannot propose anything above 10%.
- License $MDR Staking Fee: Proposals can adjust the fee within a range of 0% to 25%.
- License $MDR Amount: Changes can be proposed in blocks of 1,000 $MDR.
Multiple proposals can be made within the same topic. This allows members with different perspectives or opinions to challenge the initial proposal and let their voices be heard. For instance, if someone proposes a 9% levy, others might feel that this rate is too high or too low based on their personal, financial, or community goals. Someone else might propose 2%, and another might suggest 5%, 1%, or 7%. Since only one proposal under each topic can move to the final voting stage at a time, the first voting round in Versa helps select the most popular motion.
How Voting Works in the Preliminary Round
Participants in Versa who have MDR in the buy-back pool can use their tokens to vote on motions. Each vote costs 1 $MDR, which is burned once the vote is made. The voting mechanism allows members to cast multiple votes on a proposal, where each “yes” vote adds one point to the proposal, and each “no” vote subtracts one point, both burning 1 $MDR per vote. All positive votes from all members are summed together, as are all negative votes.
The overall outcome is determined by calculating the net points for that motion: total positive points minus total negative points. For example, if you vote “yes” six times on a 9% levy proposal, you contribute +6 points and burn 6 $MDR. This will be added to other “yes” votes made by other voters to determine the sum total of points supporting the motion. If the proposal has a total of 56 positive points and 24 negative points, the net outcome is 32 points (56 – 24).
Let’s say there are two other proposals under this same topic: one proposing a 5% levy, which received a net outcome of 24 points, and another proposing a 7% levy, which received a net outcome of 11 points. This means that the 9% levy proposal would win the preliminary round as it received the most positive support. It will therefore advance to the final voting stage, which takes place on the official parliament platform, where it involves broader participation.
Voting Schedule
When a motion is proposed in Versa, it will be visible to everyone for a month, but voting won’t be allowed during this time. This month-long period ensures fairness by giving all participants ample time to propose and challenge motions, making the process inclusive and balanced for everyone.
After this initial month, preliminary voting begins in the following month, running from the 1st to the 14th, ending at 00:00 UTC. During this period, Prism participants can vote on motions within each topic to determine which proposal advances to the final voting stage in the parliament. The final voting stage occurs from the 15th of that same month until the end of that month, allowing more participants to weigh in on the motion.
On the third day of the third month, the winning proposal from the final votes will be implemented. This cycle operates continuously, with a maximum of 12 motions considered each year, meaning that platform changes will occur up to 12 times annually, aligning with the parliamentary decisions.
Stay tuned for our next article that outlines the second and final voting stage!
