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⚙️ Operational Guidelines

Transparent systems. Responsible growth. Coordinated decentralization. UDS operates like a decentralized startup — agile, contributor-powered, and guided by shared principles. These guidelines define how we work, collaborate, and evolve together.

🧭 Purpose of This Page

This page exists to:

  • 📌 Define how decisions are made and by whom

  • 🧠 Align contributors, learners, and working groups with clear expectations

  • 🔐 Outline safeguards, risk management, and contributor onboarding

  • 🛠️ Serve as a foundational framework for DAO scalability and iteration

These are living documents. As the DAO matures, operational frameworks will evolve — through proposals, working groups, and contributor input.

🧱 Core Operating Principles

All UDS operations are anchored in five foundational values:

1

Openness by Default

All decisions, processes, discussions, and budgets are made publicly visible. Transparency is not an afterthought — it’s a design requirement.

2

Autonomy with Accountability

Contributors and working groups operate independently. But autonomy requires check-ins, milestone tracking, and delivery reviews.

3

Trustless but Coordinated

We use smart contracts, reputation systems, and multisig wallets to minimize gatekeeping — while preserving executional clarity.

4

Composability & Modularity

Systems at UDS are designed to be forkable, upgradable, and replaceable. This includes curriculum, funding mechanisms, and team structures.

5

Pragmatic Decentralization

We decentralize where it improves transparency and resilience. But we also automate or centralize temporarily when it optimizes velocity.

UDS doesn’t just teach decentralization — it operates by it.

🧑‍💼 Key Roles & Responsibilities

Role

Responsibilities

Learners

Complete tracks, give feedback, engage in proposals, co-create Capstone projects

Mentors

Lead sessions, review Capstones, refine curriculum, support DAO onboarding

Contributors

Build tech, write docs, manage ops, design systems, or propose tools

Core Leads

Lead working groups, track KPIs, publish updates, manage contributor pipelines

DAO Voters

Vote on proposals, approve funding, elect leads, co-sign treasury transactions

All roles are rotational, DAO-auditable, and progressively permissionless.

💼 DAO Tools & Operational Stack

UDS operates on a lean, open-source, and interoperable stack:

Category

Tools We Use

Project Management

Notion, Clarity, Linear

Comms & Collaboration

Telegram, Discord, Google Meet

Governance & Voting

Snapshot, Tally, GitBook, Community Forum

Treasury Management

Gnosis Safe (3/5 multisig), CSV/Notion-based reporting

Bounties & Reputation

Guild.xyz, Zealy, Galxe, and internal badge systems (NFTs, contributor tiers)

Role access is gated via verifiable credentials, contributor history, or DAO vote.

📋 Work Cycles & Contributor Sprints

Every funded team or Working Group (WG) functions on a cycle-based model (4–6 weeks). This allows iterative delivery and structured scaling.

A Standard UDS Work Cycle Includes:

  • 🎯 Milestone Definition — scoped, agreed-on deliverables

  • 📅 Weekly Async Check-ins — Notion updates or Loom recaps

  • 🧾 End-of-Cycle Review — demo, audit, or retrospective

  • ♻️ DAO Feedback Loop — proposal extension, reassignment, or reward disbursement

Contributors are held accountable not by hierarchy, but by public performance and token-voter trust.

🔐 Security & Risk Management

Security isn’t optional — it’s embedded. UDS protects its students, data, contributors, and treasury via:

Key Safeguards:

  • Gnosis Multisig (3-of-5) to secure treasury actions

  • Role-based access gating for tools and documents

  • Proposal-based spending thresholds to prevent abuse

  • Community bug bounty program for smart contracts and dApps

  • Optional wallet-based contracts for contributors (no KYC required)

Sensitive roles (e.g., treasury ops, token engineers) may require anonymous contributor contracts, signed via ENS/wallet.

📖 Code of Conduct & Contributor Ethics

We are building a culture of trust, responsibility, and radical respect.

🚫 Zero Tolerance For:

  • Hate speech, toxicity, harassment

  • Misuse of DAO tokens or multisig funds

  • Copying proprietary content from UDS or other contributors

  • Taking advantage of community members or students

Breaches may result in: → Funding bans → Proposal rejection → Delisting from contributor roles → Onchain bad rep badges

🗺️ Evolution & Scaling Strategy

As UDS expands, we will evolve these guidelines through:

  • Formal governance proposals

  • Contributor onboarding roundtables

  • Community feedback and audits

  • New governance frameworks (e.g., Seasons, token-based KPIs, zk-voting)

We’re building to scale beyond 10,000 contributors — without ever compromising transparency.

📎 Related Resources

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