Continued…
5. Evidence‑to‑Policy Mapping
Click to Expand: Evidence‑to‑Policy Mapping
Purpose
This table serves as a bridge between principles and practice—mapping each section of the House of Stake (HoS) Code of Conduct to:
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Governance framework dimensions (e.g. legitimacy, transparency, inclusion)
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Supporting research from institutional, academic, and Web3 sources
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Precedents from DAO, open-source, and community codes
The goal is to anchor HoS provisions in auditable sources of legitimacy—ensuring each clause is not only normatively grounded, but also pragmatically defensible and informed by ecosystem-wide learning.
This is especially vital in the NEAR ecosystem, where governance innovation must balance on-chain decentralization, off-chain community values, and institutional trustworthiness.
| CoC Section | Framework Dimension(s) | Supporting Research / Evidence | DAO / Community Precedent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Methodology & Evidence Base | Legitimacy & Transparency. Transparent, reasoned deliberation legitimizes policy. | UNESCO, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025b] | Arbitrum DAO, 2023; Uniswap DAO, 2023; Contributor Covenant, 2023 |
| Purpose & Values | Legitimacy, Representation & Inclusivity. Establishes normative baseline. | NEAR Core, 2021; Mozilla Foundation, 2021; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | Contributor Covenant, 2023; Uniswap DAO, 2023; Arbitrum DAO, 2023 |
| Scope | Modularity & Subsidiarity; Representation. Boundaries enable scaling. | UNESCO, 2023 | NDC Transparency Commission, 2023; Django, 2023; Scroll, 2023 |
| Definitions | Transparency & Accountability. Clarifies roles and scope. | UNESCO, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025b] | Contributor Covenant, 2023; Django, 2023; NDC Transparency Commission, 2023 |
| agreed Behaviors | Representation & Inclusivity; Education. Encourages norms. | Mozilla Foundation, 2021; NEAR Core, 2021; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | Contributor Covenant, 2023; ZKsync, 2023 |
| Unacceptable Behaviors | Accountability & Enforcement. Establishes guardrails. | CIGI, 2021; UNESCO, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | Optimism, 2023; Creative Commons, 2020; Uniswap DAO, 2023 |
| Reporting Channels | Transparency & Accessibility. Trust depends on access. | Django, 2023; UNESCO, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | Contributor Covenant, 2023; Django, 2023 |
| Intake & Triage | Accountability & Procedural Justice. Predictable flow. | Django, 2023 | Django, 2023; Rare in DAOs |
| moderation standards | Procedural Justice & Representation. Fair handling. | UNESCO, 2023; Schneider, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | Django, 2023; Optimism, 2023 |
| Sanctions Ladder | Proportionality & Restorative Justice. Tiered consequences. | Contributor Covenant, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | ZKsync, 2023; Arbitrum DAO, 2023 |
| Appeals & Review | Legitimacy & Accountability. Enables correction. | UNESCO, 2023; Schneider, 2023 | Django, 2023; Optimism, 2023 |
| Anti-Retaliation | Protection & Inclusivity. Enables safe reporting. | UNESCO, 2023 | Contributor Covenant, 2023; NEAR Core, 2021 |
| Accessibility & Inclusion | Inclusivity & Education. Translation, onboarding. | UNESCO, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025a] | ZKsync, 2023; NEAR Foundation, 2023 |
| Cultural & Jurisdictional Awareness | Subsidiarity & Cultural Competence. Local variance. | UNESCO, 2023 | Creative Commons, 2020 |
| Power Imbalances & Conflict of Interest | Equity & Accountability. COI disclosures. | OECD, 2014; Schneider, 2023 | Arbitrum DAO, 2023; Scroll, 2023 |
| Data Protection & Privacy | Privacy & Trust. Protects individuals. | UNESCO, 2023; [Hack Humanity, 2025b] | Uniswap DAO, 2023; NEAR Foundation, 2023 |
| Education & Onboarding | Education & Improvement. Tools and learning. | UNESCO, 2023; Schneider, 2023 | ZKsync, 2023; Django, 2023 |
| Transparency & Reporting | Accountability & Transparency. Public data. | UNESCO, 2023 | Optimism, 2023; Creative Commons, 2020 |
| Governance & Amendments | Legitimacy & Modularity. Rules for change. | UNESCO, 2023; Schneider, 2023; Tan et al., 2024 | Uniswap DAO, 2023; Arbitrum DAO, 2023; Django, 2023 |
| Interoperability | Modularity & Portability. Cross-project synergy. | Schneider, 2023; UNESCO, 2023 | Scroll, 2023; Creative Commons, 2020 |
| Versioning & Changelog | Transparency & Improvement. History of change. | UNESCO, 2023 | Contributor Covenant, 2023; Django, 2023 |
| AI Ethics & Agent Regulation | Accountability & Fairness. AI explainability, oversight. | Gabriel, 2020; Transcend, 2023 | Pioneered in HoS; few DAO precedents |
Conclusion: Insights from the Mapping
Top-Level Insight
The HoS Code of Conduct is well-aligned with global governance standards, drawing from both institutional rigor and DAO-native practices.
Key Takeaways
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Most CoCs lack procedural depth—HoS adds missing layers: moderation standards, triage, appeals, changelogs.
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HoS is one of the few frameworks to explicitly integrate AI governance, informed by academic and civic literature.
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The use of modular, interoperable, and ratifiable design patterns reflects best-in-class institutional + Web3 synthesis.
Strategic Opportunity
HoS can position itself not just as a NEAR-specific standard, but as a model governance instrument for decentralized, community-led systems—setting a precedent for legitimacy, accountability, and evolution-by-design.
References for Evidence‑to‑Policy Mapping
References
Arbitrum DAO. (2023). Arbitrum DAO code of conduct. Arbitrum Foundation Forum. https://forum.arbitrum.foundation/t/the-arbitrum-dao-code-of-conduct/29713
Centre for International Governance Innovation. (2021). Algorithms and the control of speech: How platform governance is failing under the weight of AI. https://www.cigionline.org/articles/algorithmic-content-moderation-brings-new-opportunities-and-risks/
Contributor Covenant. (2023). Contributor Covenant: A code of conduct for open source projects (Version 3.0). https://www.contributor-covenant.org/version/3/0/code_of_conduct/
Creative Commons. (2020). Creative Commons code of conduct. https://creativecommons.org/code-of-conduct/
Django Software Foundation. (2023). Django community code of conduct: Enforcement manual. https://www.djangoproject.com/conduct/
Gabriel, I. (2020). Artificial intelligence, values, and alignment. Minds and Machines, 30(3), 411–437. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11023-020-09539-2
Hack Humanity. (2025a). Hack Humanity governance hackathon code of conduct. Personal communication, August 18, 2025.
Hack Humanity. (2025b). ArbGovHack terms & conditions. Personal communication, August 18, 2025.
Mozilla Foundation. (2021). Mozilla community participation guidelines. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/governance/policies/participation/
NEAR Core. (2021). Community etiquette. NEAR Governance Forum. https://gov.near.org/t/community-etiquette/4417
NEAR Foundation. (2023). Community guidelines. NEAR Governance Forum. https://gov.near.org/t/community-guidelines/5
NDC Transparency Commission. (2023). NDC code of conduct by transparency commission. NEAR Governance Forum. https://gov.near.org/t/ndc-code-of-conduct-by-transparency-commission/36780
OECD. (2014). Recommendation of the Council on Digital Government Strategies. OECD Publishing. OECD Legal Instruments
Optimism Collective. (2023). Code of conduct. Optimism Governance Forum. https://gov.optimism.io/t/code-of-conduct/5751
Schneider, N. (2023). Governable spaces: Democratic design for online communities. University of California Press. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520393950/governable-spaces
Scroll Foundation. (2023). Delegate & voter code of conduct. https://scroll.io/gov-docs/content/delegate-voter-code-of-conduct
Tan, J., Angeris, G., Chitra, T., & Karger, D. (2024). Constitutions of Web3: A comparative study of DAO governance documents. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.00081
Transcend. (2023). Key principles for ethical AI development. https://transcend.io/blog/ai-ethics
UNESCO. (2023). Guidelines for the governance of digital platforms. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000387339
Uniswap DAO. (2023). RFC: Delegate code of conduct. Uniswap Governance Forum. https://gov.uniswap.org/t/rfc-delegate-code-of-conduct/20913
ZKsync Association. (2023). ZK Nation code of conduct. https://docs.zknation.io/zk-nation-community/zk-nation-code-of-conduct