Introduction
Welcome to the governance development- and documentation-pages of the Tagion network. (For an overview of what Tagion "is", have a look at the website tagion.org or read the Technical Concept Paper)
Here, you will find the current state of ideas and deliberation regarding Tagion's governance.
We have chosen to publish these ideas throughout their development process because we want the evolution of the network to be shaped by the collective will of its "community" (the meaning of this and other terms will be specified in the glossary). The only guiding principles that should always be adhered to are the values outlined in the Tagion "Manifesto".
Our Manifesto is the first approved and foundational element of Tagion's governance - download it as a PDF, or read it online here. Moving forward, you will be able to easily identify all approved elements via the menu. Everything else on these pages is considered a proposal and remains open for discussion.
About Governance
To us, governance means both the processes of managing a decentralised system and the structure of the network that emerges from that same management process. This contrasts with the view that governance is synonymous with rules-setting. However, as seen below, "decision making" is one of our four governance areas and plays a central role.
As our manifesto states, we use the word "decentralised" to mean a system in which no entity can impose its will and interests on the rest of the users and participants. This also means that the governance of a decentralised system cannot be established upfront by the founders but must be co-developed, tested and refined with its stakeholders.
Governance Areas
To make it easier for our community to navigate our governance ideas and contribute to their development, this website divides governance into four interdependent areas. The ideas and processes of each area affect all others, directly or indirectly, so sometimes you will need to follow links to different sections or the glossary to get the full picture. These four areas are:
Decision Making: This encompasses all rules and procedures related to voting and proposal procedures, eligibility criteria, or council privileges. Decision-making influences all other governance areas because if the community follows the rules set out here (and honors the values of the Tagion manifesto) everything else can be modified.
Network Formation: This governance area focuses on the distributed computer network that forms the basis of Tagion, and the relationships between its active components. In a nutshell, this area is concerned with how to become an active node. Consideration about security (Sybil resistance mechanisms) and consensus are central, as well as ensuring the network becomes and remains decentralised, permissionless, and efficient.
Token Economy: This governance area covers everything related to the TGN utility tokens and how it is used within the network. Like any economy, this includes both the supply side of the TGN tokens (issuance, allocation, vesting) and the demand side (fees and incentives).
Software Development: This governance area focuses on the maintenance and ongoing upgrades of the software that powers the Tagion Network. Through the principles described here, community members will deliberate and vote on node software updates, the integration of new technologies, and system performance enhancements
Process
Currently, Tagion and its underlying technology do not yet meet the criterion for decentralisation. Accordingly, the governance will evolve, step by step, along with the different stages of releasing the network from the stewardship of Decard into full decentralisation. (See the following page for the sequence of that phased release).
Only with Phase 3 will we have reached a consolidated governance system, that will then be tested in practice. That system will be described in our "Governance Working Paper", which will be published here in due time.
Until then, everything (but our manifesto) is to be considered a proposal or only preliminary formulated, and open to your input. Colored flags(boxes) will alert you to the parts that are deemed certain, or those that are currently debated in our Discord channels.
There, we will also communicate any major updates of these pages.
Please feel invited to contribute on Discord: join here!