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Delegate Statement

Avsa.eth

My reasons for wanting to be a delegate

I have helped code and launch ENS and have promoted it on other projects, but haven't been part of the day to day operations of ENS. It's one of my projects and most proud of and I believe it is a solid building block of the internet.

My view on each section of the proposed ENS Constitution

I think Brantly presents a beautiful draft, that I (and seemingly most here) agree fully but I think they should expanded in clearer sub items. I present here my proposed comments in italic.

Name ownership is an absolute right:

Name ownership should never be taken from a user, unless by lack of renewal. ENS DAO is encouraged to experiment with renewal mechanisms but always follow these principles:

  • No discrimination: renewal mechanisms should be the same for everyone and should never be based on characteristics of the buyer or name, except character length.
  • No retroactivity: the rules a person agreed upon when renewing should be valid until your period ends
  • No allow/blocklists: content filters should be a client side decision. If a developer desires (or is compelled by an authority) to block or restrict certain content, it should be resolved on a layer above ENS. The ENS DAO should do its best to avoid being subject to any particular jurisdiction.

When ENS was launched, the Ethereum Foundation, which back then employed both me and Nick, had to bid for its name like anyone else. It's something I am proud I've thought for and I think should be enshrined in the constitution. Not only we should not have pre-reservations, we should not block someone from owning a name because of who they are. That includes not using a renewal mechanism that takes into consideration things that could be used to discriminate people (for example, treating special characters differently could lead to Persian names being more expensive than English ones, and that is not acceptable) or even trying to prove someone is a human (robots and organizations have the rights to their names too).

Registration fees exist as an incentive mechanism:

Registration and renewals should never have the aim to raise money, but to find balance in these fundamental principles:

  • ENS should be available A user who wants to buy names should be able to find enough suitable names directly from the layer one, not find out most names are privately owned
  • ENS should be accessible Names should not cost so much that it becomes prohibitively, and should be the most affordable possible without compromising the availability principle above
  • ENS should be useful Most names should be in active use by their users, and not just being held back for speculation or resale value

Income funds ENS and other public goods:

I agree with the text given by Brantly but would like to add:

  • ENS should aim to also use funds to compensate for any negative externalities caused by the system.

Every system has externalities, some are known when it is created and others are not. ENS DAO members are encouraged to find them and propose manners to help them using the funds. ENS should never try to ban an organization but can set apart any money it makes from them to counterbalance them. For example, if a few users are using ENS to promote killing Puppies for sports, it would be acceptable for ENS DAO to use whatever money they raise from these organizations (and more) to fund organizations that promote the well being of Puppies.

ENS Integrates with the global namespace ENS integrates with the broader internet and web3 ecosystem

  • ENS will respect the namespace of traditional DNS and any other major naming conventions (ex: .onion) without charging any extra fees

  • While ENS will always be deeply rooted on Ethereum, it will play well and promote integrations with other Chains, Shards and Coins (Ex: support for BTC addresses, integration with non-ethereum wallets, development of multi chain standard supports, etc) with the goal of a global Name ownership on the internet, not just on ethereum.

I would also like to propose an amendment specifically about preventing abuse of powers.

Proposed: ENS DAO should aim to disperse its powers, not acquire new ones

While the goal of the ENS DAO is to guarantee the growth and long term sustainability of ENS, it should, whenever it can, aim to make sure the powers the DAO has cannot be abused. If any of the principles above can be guaranteed technically by delegating that power away from the ENS DAO, it should.

New powers acquired through innovation (ex: from bridges to connect ENS with other chains) should also be, when the time is right, be delegated to technical solutions that guarantee the principles laid in the constitution.

My web3 qualifications / skills

  • Launched the first ethereum wallet and web3 browser
  • First wallet to have ERC20 token support
  • Coded one of the earliest codes for Tokens, DAOs and Token Sales that were used as templates on ethereum dot org. Also coded one of the first NFTs (ENS!).
  • Cofounded ENS and coded the first ENS registrar that supported staking eth for the initial distribution of names
  • All together, all these contracts held millions of dollars for years and none were hacked
  • Founded a startup for using ENS as your primary identity and login system and spent years promoting it