by 0x5b5cc427c1d81db4f94de4d51d85ce122d63e244 (Fehz)
Linked Draft Proposal
Open Source all code generated using DAO funds
Summary
The governance proposal outlines the specifics of making open-sourcing a prerequisite for grant approval and designating the Decentraland DAO public GitHub repository for code storage.
Abstract
This proposal advocates for a significant shift in the approach of this DAO for its Grants Program by requiring that all projects funded through DAO resources make their code open source.
Motivation
Decentraland DAO Grants Program has already allocated $13,272,124.00 to different projects since its creation. As of the beginning of 2023 open-sourcing the code was made a requirement for the Platform category. Prior to 2023 and up till today, across all other categories, only a limited number of projects were open source and/or accessible to the community, with some of them even quitting and not creating value for the environment.
To avoid that happening, it has become evident that there is a clear need to mandate that all grant recipients publish their project code in a manner that is accessible to every creator seeking to build, advance, and enhance their projects and the platform as a whole. The barriers to entry are already too high for new creators; open-sourcing and maintaining a public repository will help to make it easier for new creators to be onboarded and for existing projects to enhance their performance and content.
All code produced with DAO funds should start being considered in terms of ‘public goods’ from now on, promoting the idea of collaboration and the ethos of decentralization of the project, fostering the modular growth of the ecosystem. The GSS has created a DAO Github REPO as a repository for DAO Platform Grants, and it can be used for all grants.
Specification
- Code under GNU GPL-2.0 or GPL-3, Apache 2.0, MIT or public domain
- Images, documentation, videos, 3D models (or any other non-code assets) under Creative Commons Version 4.0, either CC-BY, CC-BY-SA or CC0 (public domain)
- Any code developed before or without DAO funding is optional and not required to be open source, with the exception of code that is required for the scene to work (e.g. a scene that necessitates a server - that server should be opensourced even if developed before the grant, else the scene isn’t usable).
- .env vars/custom APIs/databases can be considered private and no need for open source for security.
- If the project uses proprietary services such as AWS, Azure, GCP to manage the server or Playfab to host the server, the grantee must provide a setup guide for it to be replicated. If the server can be hosted anywhere, via a docker image for example, this is not necessary.
Impacts
- Accessibility and inclusive environment for creators while embracing the ethos of decentralization.
- Public and easy to access available repositories
- Enables better scalability and modular growth
- Increased accountability, transparency and security
Implementation Pathways
- From the date of approval of this governance proposal, all projects seeking funds from the DAO must commit to open-sourcing their code as a mandatory condition (this includes both Grants Program and Bidding & Tendering Process)
- All code generated using DAO funds must be hosted in the Decentraland DAO public GitHub repository (Decentraland-DAO · GitHub), which will be overseen by the Grant Support Squad. GitHub repository set up will be a part of the onboarding process.
- The Grant Support Squad will possess the authority to establish the pathway and specifications necessary to manage and ensure the open-sourcing of projects within the designated GitHub repository.
- Failure to open source code or maintain the GitHub repository up-to-date may result in an immediate pause and potential revocation of a grant.
Conclusion
This proposal marks a significant step towards transparency, collaboration, and value-driven development within the DAO Grants program. Open-sourcing of code will promote a more accessible and inclusive environment for creators while embracing the ethos of decentralization.