Delegates
Delegate Responsibilities
Delegates play a critical role in maintaining and guiding the protocol's evolution. They are elected by token holders to serve as stewards of the protocol, evaluating proposals, implementing upgrades, and ensuring the system evolves in a sustainable and thoughtful manner. Like all aspects of Talos, delegation is not permanent. If the community determines that a new form of leadership or coordination is more effective, the system can evolve.
Core Responsibilities
Delegates are empowered by the community to:
Evaluate Protocol Upgrades Review and assess proposed upgrades, parameter changes, and technical improvements.
Vote on Modifications Actively participate in governance by voting on protocol changes that impact the network’s functionality or direction.
Maintain the Protocol Monitor the health of the protocol, respond to urgent issues, and help guide ongoing development efforts.
Delegates are expected to act in the best interest of the protocol and its users, balancing agility in development with thoughtful governance.
Checks and Balances
While delegates have decision-making authority, they remain accountable to token holders. Governance mechanisms such as:
Delegate replacement
Proposal vetoes
Time-locked implementations
can be enacted by the broader community to ensure transparency and decentralization are preserved.
Post launch, it will be important to develop and present a way for the community at large to veto and/or vote to enact emergency actions to modify the current leadership if things are not being performed in a satisfactory manner. This should be codified and prioritized post launch so as to give token holders the ability address issues without waiting for a new delegate election.
Delegates do not hold unchecked power; instead, they exist to reduce governance overhead while maintaining accountability and agility in protocol development.
Incentivization
To support sustained engagement and high-quality governance, delegates may be fairly compensated. Incentive models can include:
A direct token allocation
Ongoing treasury payments
These should be designed to:
Reward meaningful participation
Avoid undue dilution or unsustainable cost to the protocol
Be proposed and agreed upon post-launch for fairness and alignment
Delegates will have the opportunity to present incentive frameworks to the community for approval.
Why Delegation Matters
Delegates help scale governance by making protocol maintenance more manageable. Token holders can focus on high-level decisions and influence the delegates in open discussion, but the delegates should be trusted to handle day-to-day evaluations and improvements.
By electing responsible delegates, the community ensures the protocol evolves smoothly, securely, and in alignment with its long-term vision.
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