- Author: Kyle Olney, Director of Product @ SuperRare Labs
- Status: Implemented
- Type: Governance
- Implementer: Contributors, as directed by SuperRare Labs
- Sponsor(s): John Crain
- Link to Temperature Check Poll: Discord
- Created Date: 04/15/22
Summary: Allocate 5M RARE to fund developer bounties for ongoing network development activities
Abstract: As a modestly sized startup with limited resources - the ability for SRL to parallelize development objectives necessary to accommodate voluminous stakeholder demands is severely limited. Given the competitive landscape and endless product opportunities, we propose the allocation of 5M RARE to fund a pool which will be earmarked for product development bounties that benefit SuperRare Network in its mission of decentralization.
Motivation: In Q1, SuperRare Labs was informed by one of its 3rd party software providers (Mirror Labs) that they would be sunsetting their Token Race product effective immediately in Q2. This product is currently used to facilitate the Space Race, SuperRare’s first decentralized curation game. The sudden loss of this product will negatively impact the ability of SuperRare Labs to continue with its mission to decentralize curation of the world’s premier cryptoart marketplace. Engineering bandwidth constraints, combined with a roadmap full of existing development objectives, require that we immediately begin a search for 3rd party contributors who can build a replacement so that the Space Race can continue and SuperRare Labs can keep fulfilling its mission to decentralize control of the network.
Specification: Following the completion of product design specs, SuperRare Labs will open a request for proposal (RFP) process, where various developers (whether open source, contract or volunteer) can bid to build + deploy a replacement Token Race product so that the Space Race can continue unimpeded.
SuperRare Labs will, in consultation with the Governance Council, select the best 3rd party developer as needed to deliver the desired scope of work in a reasonable time-frame and at acceptable cost. After the initial Statement of Work (SOW) is completed, this software will be *open-sourced and made available for ongoing contributions by network participants.
Excess funds not utilized for the purpose of a Space Race replacement will remain allocated for subsequent development grants as necessary to fund ongoing product development bounties, subject to authorization of the Governance Council.
Benefits: The allocation of these funds will i.) allow SuperRare Labs to augment its existing development capabilities in the midst of a historically tight labor market, ii.) prevent discontinuation of the Space Race for an unknown period of time and iii.) set the stage for further community development grants which will multiply the development velocity of SuperRare Network.
By developing the muscles necessary to manage 3rd party software contributors, we begin the process of decentralizing and open-sourcing core software development assets that can serve as public goods for the SuperRare Network.
Drawbacks: The allocation of these tokens to 3rd party development means they can’t be allocated to other programs. SuperRare Labs staff will still need to provide managerial oversight + acceptance testing of work executed by 3rd party developers. Final decision of the winning RFP will likely be decided by SuperRare Labs in consultation with the Governance Council for the sake of expediency, rather than via plenary vote of the DAO.
Outcomes: Upon passage, SuperRare Labs will begin the scoping and solicitation of RFPs as needed to deliver the desired product experiences. After delivery of the final SOW, a natively owned product platform will be used to facilitate further Space Races and its code will be *open-sourced for the benefit of ongoing community contributions.
*To prevent against the cannibalization of treasury resources by competitors who would outsource their product innovation to SuperRare, the Apache 3 / copy-left licensing framework will be applied so that novel intellectual property developed by SuperRare network cannot be misappropriated for commercial purposes without compensation being provided to the community who funded it.