Note: @Jtathmann took a break, this MIP is currently being lead by @Davidutro
Hello Friends!
I wrote up a MIP in hopes to create a consistent (but flexible) procedure when dealing with emergencies and other urgent issues.
There have been multiple expedited changes and proposals recently (PSM discussion, urgent configuration changes, WBTC bug, multiple debt ceiling increases, and oracle whitelisting). Unfortunately, they were all handled a little differently, which caused some confusion and were generally inefficient.
I reviewed some of the more recent emergencies to see how they were handled, and wrote up these procedures in a way that could be applied to all of them. I would really appreciate your feedback, as a lot of this is intentionally vague.
Thank you!
MIP24: Emergency Voting System
Preamble
MIP#: 24
Title: Emergency Response
Author(s): @Davidutro, @jtathmann
Contributors:
Type: General
Status: Accepted
Date Proposed: 2020-09-07
Date Ratified: 2020-11-22
Dependencies:
Replaces: MIP 5
References
MIP5: Emergency Voting System
Forum Thread: Emergency / Urgent Governance Process
Forum Thread: Covid Crash: Emergency Governance Summary
Sentence Summary
MIP24 defines emergency and urgent situations for the Maker protocol, as well as the process for handling them.
Paragraph Summary
This proposal defines an emergency voting system. Emergency votes are executive votes that can be initiated by any community member. This MIP aims to provide a general guide that can be applied to a wide range of urgenct situations. Additionally, this MIP will differentiate between an emergency and an urgent situation, and provide processes which can be carried out to deal with either consistently.
Component Summary
MIP24c1: Situation Definitions
Defines the terms âurgentâ and âemergencyâ for purposes of an expedited governance change.
MIP24c2: Considerations of Expedited Protocol Changes
Outlines the various considerations that should be made before enacting expedited changes.
MIP24c3: Emergency Response Procedure
A general procedure for managing emergency situations.
MIP24c4: Urgent Response Procedure
A general procedure for managing urgent situations.
MIP24c5: Role of Governance Facilitators
Outlines the tasks of the Governance Facilitators during emergency interventions.
Motivation
The protocol has often required changes outside of the standard weekly and monthly governance cycles to help maintain the peg or to respond to changes in the ecosystem. The goal of this MIP is to provide a consistent process to manage emergencies and urgent issues.
Specification / Proposal Details
MIP24c1: Situation Definitions
The procedure for managing expedited changes to the protocol will depend on whether a situation is classified as an emergency or urgent.
Emergency: Any situation that would require immediate intervention to prevent initiation of Emergency Shutdown, severe peg divergence, or harm to members and users of the ecosystem.
Urgent: Any situation that includes a time-sensitive matter that would need an expedited governance process, where following a standard governance cycle would be too slow, risk a larger problem, or constitute an important missed opportunity.
MIP24c2: Considerations of Expedited Protocol Changes
There are several important factors to consider before expediting changes to the protocol.
- Potential for MKR holders to miss a poll or executive vote due to departure from the standard governance cycles.
- Expedited votes may not allow for sufficient discussion, leading to a sub-optimal solution.
- Increased governance burden on community and increased workload for domain teams.
- Frequent expeditate votes may signal a lack of appreciation for a consistent and predictable governance process.
MIP24c3: Emergency Response Procedure
The ability to declare an emergency will be reserved for Domain Teams and Governance Facilitators due to their proximity to, and knowledge of, the Maker Protocol and surrounding ecosystem. If a community member wishes to declare an emergency, they will follow the urgent response procedure outlined in MIP24c4. If a Governance Facilitator agrees that the status of the urgent situation should be escalated to âemergency,â they will do so.
The emergency response process will be initiated as follows:
Declare an emergency in the public forum providing sufficient detail regarding the issue and why immediate action is required. If time does not permit, a forum post will be created immediately after or in parallel to taking emergency action. Creating a signal request thread or governance poll is optional.
- If a remedy is known and uncontentious the Governance Facilitators will coordinate with necessary domain teams to expedite an executive vote.
- If a remedy is not known or is contentious the Governance Facilitators will coordinate an emergency governance call to discuss solutions and a plan for subsequent actions, explicitly inviting known stakeholders.
MIP24c4: Urgent Response Procedure
An urgent response may be requested by any community member if they believe the system is experiencing an emergency or urgent situation as defined in MIP24c1.
The urgent response process will be initiated as follows:
The process will be initiated with a signal request thread in the public forum stating the need for expedited governance action and include the following:
- Sufficient detail regarding the issue.
- Proposed action or request to discuss what action governance should take.
- Signal Poll to gauge community sentiment of whether urgent action is needed.
- Tag
@Gov-Facilitators
at the bottom of the post, so that they will be notified and oversee discussion.
Signal Poll Requirement
Any signal poll must adhere to the practical guide as closely as possible given the circumstances for the change.
- In order for the community to make a change to a system parameter, a signal request must reach a 50% majority and have a reasonable quorum of voters given recent participation.
- In order for the community to make a change outside of the existing system parameters, a signal request must reach a 66% majority and have a reasonable quorum of voters given recent participation.
Mandated Actor Responsibilities
If the signal for an urgent response passes, Governance Facilitators will coordinate with necessary domain teams to expedite a governance poll for MKR holders or to advance an executive vote, at their discretion.
At any time during the urgent response procedure a Domain Team or Governance Facilitator may elevate the status to an emergency. At that time, the procedure in MIP24c3 will be carried out.
MIP24c5: Role of Governance Facilitators
Governance Facilitators will oversee emergency and urgent situation processes to ensure they are carried out in a civil and consistent manner. They will be responsible for confirming poll outcomes and identifying whether the community or external actors have attempted to abuse or game the emergency voting system, and may block a request for emergency action at their discretion.