Scytale Digital's Voting Strategy as a Delegate in Polkadot Governance

At Scytale Digital, we take our role as delegates in the Decentralized Voices (DV) program seriously, aiming to contribute thoughtfully to the decisions that shape our ecosystem. The innovation that is Polkadot’s governance system, also known as OpenGov, is an experiment that has had many successes in its short lifespan, yet still maturing. While our approach may be more conservative than other voters, we hope to support deserving contributors who display a commitment to productivity and accountability.

For Scytale, it is also important to use any available levers, like the DV program, to gain an intimate understanding of the ecosystem and its agents as we are entrusted by the community and the Web3 Foundation to manage projects such as the Polkadot Key Account Unit (PoKe) and the more recently announced Polkadot Ecosystem Fund, in addition to our regular activities as an active asset manager in this space ecosystem.

Here’s an outline of our voting strategy and principles:

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‍General Statements:

Abstention Policy: Scytale abstains from referenda where there may be a conflict of interest or when we believe we lack sufficient information and/or resources to make an informed decision.

‍Communicating with Proposers: As a DV, we typically refrain from engaging directly with proposers before referendums are live and in the discussion stage. However, if we identify concerns that can be reasonably addressed within the timeframe, we may reach out to discuss potential improvements.

‍Prioritization: Our voting efforts focus primarily on key tracks, including Big Spender, Medium Spender, Wish for Change, Big Tipper, and Treasurer. Due to time constraints, we may abstain from voting on Small Tipper and Small Spender tracks.

‍Community Input: Scytale values and collects feedback from experienced community members, ecosystem agents and opinion leaders as part of its decision-making process. By default, we will not name specific individuals who provide feedback, unless those individuals request to be quoted. Internally, we make it a point to never discuss other people’s insights outside the company.

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Referenda-Specific Guidelines:

‍Top-Ups: Scytale generally supports top-ups, especially when the proposer has fulfilled previous commitments satisfactorily and has shown that the financial discrepancy was out of their control. With that said, we cannot guarantee that we will approve all top-up requests, particularly if there is evidence that not enough precaution or risk management practices have been taken by the proposing team.

‍Bounties: While bounty programs should be held to a high degree of accountability for projects and services they curate, compared to individual or one-off referenda, which can be hit or miss, bounties offer more opportunities for scrutiny. We believe that a generally favorable position is necessary and continuous monitoring and adjustments are preferred over dismantling or discontinuation of programs that have been collectively decided on to be a benefit to the community. 

Due to the experimental and decentralized nature of OpenGov, Scytale puts a premium on efforts towards self-organization of subject matter experts, delegation of responsibilities and continuity of teams as ingredients for long-term success. 

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Reach out!

To ensure a streamlined review process, we have decided to open a public channel in our Discord, where we will accept any requests related to our decision-making position and OpenGov. This is our preferred channel for such communications, so please use it instead of reaching out to members of the team individually. 

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to actively participate in shaping the future of Polkadot!

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