[EP14][Executable] Funding True Names Ltd

[khori.eth]

Thanks @lefterisjp !

1. Contingency: Yes, whatever remains will carry over. The contingency line is determined year to year and is a critical budgeting practice to manage environmental and operational risks.
2. IT: This is the tech stack. Everything from Cloudflare to Discord to Google Cloud to Tenderly. Not salaries.
3. Talent: This line covers human resources and people operations. Recruiting, hiring, HRIS, professional development, etc.

[nick.eth]

This has now been executed.

[imrulo.eth]

@khori.eth

Where we’re going…

Over the next year, TNL will:

• Move the ENS manager v3 to beta and launch
• Deploy and launch the Name Wrapper contract
• Deploy the new .eth controller contract
• Allow DNS names to be imported to ENS gas-free
• Move Thorin to beta and launch
• Move ENSjs to beta and launch
• Continue integrating CCIP-read and foster adoption across the ecosystem
• Continue improving the metadata service
• Add other features to the Universal Resolver and deploy
• Launch ability to register ENS names with fiat currency
• Deprecate ENS manager v2, and migrate to v3
• And more to come!

This group of actions does not include those that can help achieve some general objectives, such as

@khori.eth

1. increase brand awareness; 2) increase the number of integrations; 3) increase the number of domain registrations.

…and these actions (which do not exist and are not planned) will help us achieve these specific objectives:

— Build the ENS community
— Develop educational materials.

The specific objectives help us to achieve the general objectives, and not the other way around.

• General Objectives

@khori.eth

1. increase brand awareness; 2) increase the number of integrations; 3) increase the number of domain registrations.

• Specific Objectives

Important: They must be met first to help achieve the general goals.

— Build the ENS community
— Develop educational materials.

• Long-term Objective

— Grow the ENS ecosystem

@khori.eth

And more to come!

What does this point mean?

Just one thing: True Names Ltd does not have a clear and concise marketing strategy.

So how can TNL deal with it?

@theanthonyware

I fully support the funding for TNL and the ongoing work because it’s critical for the long-term of ENS.

Not Allowed : The ENS government must not use the funds to support projects that conflict with the objectives of ENS.

Do you have a detailed and measurable plan to achieve this goal? We can see it?

[daylon.eth]

@khori.eth

• Submitting Quarterly Reports to the ENS DAO

As an ongoing practice, TNL will deliver a formal quarterly report to the ENS DAO to share areas of progress, areas of challenge, and solicit feedback from the ENS DAO.

@khori.eth Did I miss these? I’m not finding anything with search. Edit - was it the Town Halls?

Also, and I mean this in the most non-confrontational way possible… is there any mechanism to hold ENS Labs accountable for how this money is being spent? As ENS Labs is contracted and funded by the DAO, can we see some receipts? Maybe an itemized breakdown of how this money has actually been used?

In my opinion, this is a reasonable bare minimum request to prevent corruption and/or embezzlement. A main component of an operation being “decentralized” is the minimization of trust wherever possible.

Especially in the context of setting up an endowment to continue funding ENS Labs at this rate, I think it’s appropriate to provide details of actual operating costs versus budgeted allocation. This proposal was for CY2022. Can we please have a report that provides detailed information for that period?

[khori.eth]

Hey @daylon.eth,
Nope; you didn’t miss anything! We’ll continue to report out every quarter at the townhalls.

Q3 2022 - ENS Town Hall | Q3 2022
Q4 2022 - ENS Town Hall | Q4 2022
Q1 2023 - TBD late March early April.

(I know you already know this, but for others reading) We also have 24/7 async accessibility in this forum and Discord. Most core team dms are open and you may have noticed the increase in Twitter Spaces activity as well.

As an LTD based in Singapore we have an annual audit process that we go through. Happy to share audit details later but here is a quick hit for you in the meantime.

The core team claimed ~$3.6M from the stream allocated by the DAO in calendar year 2022.

Here are the major expense categories:

$2.39M - Compensation
$540k - Legal expenses
$171k - Tech stack
$141k - PR/Marketing/Promotions
$30k - Conference Travel
$6k - HR operations

A number of expenses were paid on-chain in ETH, USDC, etc…

157k USDC for code audits
18.35 ETH for Ecosystem Initiatives
1,300 USDC for POAP Art
9000 USDC for bounties
4889 USDC for cloud services

Again, we’ll share annual audits when completed. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, recommendations or further questions. Happy to chat!

[daylon.eth]

Thank for you the prompt response! I’m looking forward to seeing a more detailed audit report.

[nick.eth]

@daylon.eth

Especially in the context of setting up an endowment to continue funding ENS Labs at this rate, I think it’s appropriate to provide details of actual operating costs versus budgeted allocation. This proposal was for CY2022. Can we please have a report that provides detailed information for that period?

Khori has addressed the main point, but to this point: The EnDAOment is intended to ensure the long-term viability of ENS as a whole, not specifically ENS Labs.