Steem Foundation Proposal

This is a proposal for the election and the initial steps of the foundation, which was the initial working group purpose at the start.

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1. Location of the foundation

The foundation shall be based in a crypto friendly country.

Country suggestions:

1. Switzerland
2. Malta
3. Gibraltar
4. Singapore
5. Estonia

(The US is not on the list as it is far from crypto and has very permissive legislation in violation of personal data)

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2. Foundation Board Members

Foundation Board Members are honorary members that shall not receive any monetary compensation. (This ensures that dedicated people are in the board, not freeloaders.)

Funds of the foundation shall not go on salaries, as they are limited. By adding salaries, especially for the western world pegs the funds will be drained faster than expected. (Till today Steem Inc did not manage to get profitable.)

Board of the foundation shall be global, 2 members of each continent shall be represented. This ensures a global scale of idea exchanges and blocks monopoly.

An additional member shall be presented by Steem Inc to have a quorum of +50%.

Members don't need to disclose their public identity on Steem as it is against the GDRP rules in the EU. They need to register only on the foundation papers. An NDA on the identity of the others shall be signed by all the board members.

A term shall have 2 years. Each member can be reelected only once. (This prevents dictatorship)

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3. Election of the Board Members

The elections shall be announced at least 2 months in advance till the voting period starts. (This ensures that candidates can run a decent campaign and the voters can make themselves an image)

Vests shall be taken as votes. Only personal vests matter, like with the witness votes. It does not matter if the vests are delegated as people can do whatever they want to do with them.

Pros:

• multiple accounts are fought
• people who invest in Steem have more to say than others
• value of Steem shall go up as power-up is encouraged
• even if a multiple account holder votes, his total vests matter not the number of accounts

Cons:

• some big accounts can monopolize the outcome of the elections

To combat the cons the structure of the board is definitory. Electing two members from each continent prevents the concentration of votes in one region.

So there will be:

• 2 from Africa
• 2 from Asia
• 2 from Australia (Oceania)
• 2 from Europe
• 2 from North America
• 2 from South America
• 1 Steem Inc representative to have +50% on votes

Here the first two candidates from any of the region get their sit in the board, independent if they are lower than the candidates from another continent.

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Elections duration shall be at least 3 days. With this time frame, most people can vote, especially in the times from Friday-Sunday where every day is a religious holiday in the world.

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Other members of the foundation

There is a need for a lawyer and an accountant. They shall be based on where the location of the foundation is. This are the only persons who shall receive monetary compensation.

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Budget of the foundation

Can't be set till the foundation is started and a clear written claim is made by Steem Inc on the blockchain.

There is an ongoing discussion between handing over the funds to projects or the projects receive funding in a delegation.

I'm in favor of delegation as a project can fail and then the given funds are gone. With delegation, a better budget overview and track record are made.
I would go for 80% delegation and 20% in liquid form.

Yes, there is the constant issue with the reward pool, but don't forget if you work somewhere there is a limited budget in your entity and you get a share of it, same with the reward pool. I don't mind a good project to take a bigger chunk from the reward pool.

Main focus shall be on development so that new business strive on the blockchain. With more business, more users will join.