Hey all, so sorry I haven’t been active on here. A close friend of mine has been going through some intense personal stuff and that has taken up most of my time over the past three weeks. I have started trying to give a proper reply to both @Verne and @AvsA for their useful perspectives many times but all I have to show for it is a ton of partially written replies that wouldn’t make sense even I just posted them all here as is. 
Nothing is ever perfect timing, and I don’t want to lose the momentum we’ve built up so far. My one holiday wish is for us to get this in place before everyone forgets about it, and before VCs buy up half the $ENS and change this community forever. I’m seeing the balances of those who delegated to me dwindle and I can’t blame them, especially if folks have bills to pay. So I don’t consider my reply here as good as I’d like, but here’s the most important thing I need to say:
For me “The token is not the community” is the whole point of Article 0. Many people like this phrase specifically, and it gets the point across front and center. It’s also just a fact: the ENS community was here before the token. That’s what we’re trying to record for posterity. Overall I agree my wording can be improved, but I don’t think this is a “we are not British subjects” issue because the token is deeply integrated into ENS processes now, front and center in people’s minds when they think of ENS governance, and needs explicit pushback to counter assumptions new people in particular will make. There is more subtlety to how we need to acknowledge some very important points both @AvsA and @Verne have made, so I’m really sorry I haven’t taken the time to do that. This is just a last minute December 24th note to ask: are people okay if we just move this to an official vote in its imperfect form? Just like the token is not the community, Article 0 take 1 is not the community either and we can always continue to improve even after we add it in to the constitution. I just want to get this one on the books if we can while people still remember why we’re trying to do it. I’m so low on energy and time right now but I really want to make this happen. Am I off base? Please let me know.
poll cancelled, I missed this: Soft moratorium on new votes until January 3
Please ask everyone you consider a part of the ENS community to chime in on the vote and based on what it comes back as maybe we can still get this done this year! If not I will be sad but also understand. Sometimes all we can do is our best.
For those who don’t want to wade through a bunch of links this is the exact text currently in the pull request linked at the top:
0. The token is not the community
The articles which follow below, even as eventually amended, can neither embody nor enforce the entire consensus around what ENS already is, or what it should continue to be and become. Instead it is the responsibility of every ENS community member, and especially those granted higher powers and responsibilities by this constitution, to protect:
- the predictability and legitimacy of the consensus around how ENS names work;
- the legibility and credible neutrality of the ENS system for as many users and stakeholders as possible;
- and the positive social trust and goodwill which exists among the present and future set of ENS stakeholders.
It is not the intent of this constitution to confuse the mechanisms by which the ENS community expresses its consensus for a limiting definition on what that consensus can look like or how it can be achieved. Only the careful and active collaboration of the entire ENS community can maintain and grow ENS into its fullest potential.
cheers and apologies to all, however this season is going for them. People care about you and want good things for you, however hard it may be. Be well.
-Jeff