Would suggest maybe the constitution isn’t the first step towards defining structure, but certainly an important one for governing and coordinating interactions.
I think best way of providing comment on the constitution is to break things up into sections. So, today, I’m going to offer up some thoughts on the preamble backed by a little research and then offer an alternative preamble section that builds on what’s here, but goes a little further.
What is a Preamble?
There’s actually a practical guide to constitution building published by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). I also took a look at a number of constitutions that have been submitted to the Metagov project (most of which I didn’t find particularly useful) - but is clear there’s a wide variety/uniqueness that exists.
According to IDEA:
Preambles set out the purposes and aspirations of the constitutional text, expressing embraced norms, values and principles, often making reference to values developed throughout a country’s history…
In this context, let’s look at NEAR as a country with a history, albeit fairly short. NEAR has expressed values and objectives (a billion users, sustainability, openness, inclusivity, etc…), and this very community has guidelines that is developed over time, not to mention the manifesto that builds on them. In short, these things make up the founding principles that the NDC should build itself on.
To that end, may I suggest we build on the existing preamble with something like this:
Preamble v2
We, the totality of people making up the current and future community of the NEAR ecosystem, come together to help imagine, design, and usher in a more inclusive, open, and fair future by bringing Web 3 to the masses.
Proud of our commitment to sustainability, inclusivity, diversity, and positivity, we individually and collectively seek to learn, improve, and fail productively to ensure the ecosystem and community continually evolve in an environment that fosters an open-source community dedicated to innovation, active engagement, and mutual respect.
A community that puts the health and success of the ecosystem above any individual’s interest. One that always operates transparently, seeks to reduce complexity and accessibility reducing barriers to entry, and consistently shares knowledge while seeking pragmatism over perfection.
We embrace and espouse what makes NEAR unique while concurrently supporting and building up each other and a multi-chain future, collaborating with, and promoting chains and projects that are complementary and align with NEAR’s vision, values, and principles.
We found our community on a base of experimentation, incremental and iterative improvement constantly seeking and trying forms of governance that seek decentralization, be it political, administrative, fiscal, or market. Governance that clearly outlines accountabilities, responsibilities, and authorities (ARAs). Governance that pushes decision-making to the edge where those affected possess the most abundant, relevant and timely information and are trusted to use sound judgement to make decisions that align with strategic intent.
This constitution establishes the governance framework of the NEAR Digital Collective (NDC), built by the community, for the community made up of individuals who agree to align personal beliefs and values with those of the ecosystem. People who hold themselves to high standards as representatives and ambassadors of the ecosystem, who act in good faith for the good of NEAR and the community, encouraging action, contribution and involvement, embracing the ideals of open-source and being welcoming and helpful to all.
Thoughts?