Coordination is not always smooth, especially when goals are unclear, mechanisms are opaque, or there is a lack of consensus. It often evolves into disputes of interest or disordered "collusion."
Written by: LXDAO
In modern society, coordination is ubiquitous. Whether it's choosing a restaurant for a friends' gathering or formulating multinational policies, coordination plays an indispensable role. From cooperation between individuals to collaboration between groups, and even cross-chain operations in the blockchain world, coordination is a fundamental force that runs through different scenarios. However, coordination is not always smooth, especially when goals are unclear, mechanisms are opaque, or there is a lack of consensus, often evolving into disputes of interest or disordered "collusion." This article will explore the definition, types, and applications of coordination in the blockchain ecosystem, analyze the underlying culture and practices, and provide some suggestions for achieving efficient coordination.
Understanding Coordination
Definition of Coordination
Coordination is a way for a large number of participants to work together towards a common goal. Coordination is an extremely broad behavior; in daily life, from deciding which restaurant to go to among friends to decision-making between countries, it is a manifestation of coordination. Coordination is one of the most powerful forces in the universe; good coordination can unite people and facilitate the achievement of great endeavors.
Good coordination can lead to the birth of great undertakings, such as the development of disease medications by different departments, providing basic relief services to a wide population. Poor coordination can turn stable order into chaos, as seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, where some individuals initiated wars between nations due to conflicting interests, resulting in many lives lost. Similarly, the recent turmoil in the South Korean government, where internal discord and the failure of collective decision-making led to social division and a crisis of trust, is a significant factor.
Antonyms of Coordination
The antonym of coordination is unreasonable coordination, which we often describe as "collusion." A particularly dangerous form of coordination occurs when one person coordinates only with a small group and not with others, leading to a descent into chaos, such as in small circle bribery, where a small group discusses benefits favorable to their group, harming the interests of a larger population. We often describe such outcomes as "collusion."
Coordination Practices in Blockchain
1. Coordination Between Individuals: Collaboration
When you are working with your colleagues, there will also be many coordination issues. How team members determine workloads, how different positions within a team coordinate their work, and how individuals agree on certain matters through some mechanism are all aspects of coordination between people, including governance, collaboration, and distribution.
Some Coordination Tools in the Blockchain World
Coordinape: A protocol that rewards contributors based on appreciation behavior, suitable for decentralized teams.
CharmVerse: A management tool for building relationships and co-creating projects, helping team members synchronize tasks and progress.
FairSharing: An on-chain contribution distribution protocol that can allocate rewards in a transparent and trustless manner.
2. Coordination Between Communities: Cooperation
When one group negotiates with another, there will also be coordination issues, such as how different communities cooperate, how to determine a common goal, and how to jointly host a hackathon. The goal of cooperation is usually to achieve a win-win situation by pooling resources, sharing experiences, or solving common problems.
Some Coordination Cases in the Blockchain Field
Hackathon Cooperation: Gitcoin often hosts cross-community hackathons, encouraging talents from different communities to share knowledge and resources.
Joint Governance Protocols: Such as joint proposals between protocols (e.g., multi-chain DAO voting), making cooperation between communities more efficient.
3. Coordination Between Chains: Cross-Chain
Coordination between chains is also a form of coordination, involving how different chains use the same set of cross-chain standards, how information is transmitted between chains, and how chains can achieve better interoperability.
- Ethereum Interoperability Forum (EIF): A milestone event that took place during this year's Devcon, the Ethereum Interoperability Forum (EIF) gathered key participants from the entire Ethereum ecosystem, setting aside competition to focus on a common mission: to make Ethereum truly interoperable.
The Core of Coordination is Clarity, Transparency, and Consensus
Whether it is coordination between individuals, cooperation between communities, or interoperability between chains, the essence of coordination lies in establishing clear goals, transparent mechanisms, and achieving broad consensus. With the right tools and methods, coordination can not only reduce friction costs but also create greater value for all parties involved.
How to Define a Coordination Standard
The core of coordination is clarity, transparency, and consensus. Although we cannot define a unified coordination standard, there are some paths we can take to gradually achieve a coordination standard. While we cannot define a unified coordination standard, we can gradually achieve it through the following paths:
Transparent Governance: Ensure that the decision-making process is open and visible, enhancing participants' trust. Use tools like Snapshot and CharmVerse to implement on-chain governance and improve transparency.
Reasonable Resource Allocation: Allocate resources based on contributions or needs to avoid waste and unfairness. For example, use tools like Coordinape and FairSharing to provide data-driven allocation mechanisms.
Effective Feedback: Establish clear feedback channels to let each member understand the impact of their work on the overall outcome. Use tools (like Discord, governance forums) for open discussions and to optimize decision-making.
Inevitably Encountering Conflicts in the Coordination Process
The antonym of coordination is "unreasonable coordination," which we often refer to as "collusion," where a small group of people come together to make decisions that harm the interests of a larger group. This situation is likely to occur when coordination fails.
In reality, different individuals or groups have different standards of judgment, so conflicts are inevitable during the coordination process. When facing conflicts, we need to resolve issues through the following methods:
Establish Common Standards: Create clear processes to reduce discrepancies caused by subjective judgments.
Listen and Negotiate: Allow all stakeholders to fully express their opinions and find a balance through discussion.
Final Choice: Forking
- When conflicts cannot be resolved through coordination, the blockchain world offers the unique mechanism of "forking," which allows both sides of a disagreement to follow their own vision, avoiding the ongoing opposition caused by compromise.
For example, in The DAO incident, after encountering a hacker attack, the community had disagreements on how to respond. Some chose to roll back the chain data, ultimately forming Ethereum; others insisted on the principle of immutability, continuing with Ethereum Classic.
The Fork of Steem and Hive: Sun Yuchen's acquisition of the Steem community triggered a governance crisis, leading some community members dissatisfied with the new management to ultimately choose to fork and create the Hive community.
Culture and Coordination: Choices of Different Ecosystems
Interestingly, the cultural perspective is also an important consideration for community coordination, similar to the Ethereum and Bitcoin communities.
Coordination Method of Bitcoin
Anyone can join and can exit at any time.
If you disagree with the current state of Bitcoin, you can modify the client and fork out.
If you disagree with a certain upgrade, you can choose not to upgrade the client, and you will still be on the Bitcoin network.
Coordination Method of Ethereum
Anyone can join and can exit at any time, but must agree to Ethereum's roadmap.
If you disagree with the current state of Ethereum, you can modify the client and fork out.
If you disagree with a certain upgrade and do not upgrade the client, you will be kicked out of the network and cannot continue on the Ethereum network.
In our conversations with ChatGPT, we can clearly see the differences between the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities.
Ethereum Community: Dressed in colorful, futuristic attire, interacting with high technology, reflecting a spirit of openness, cooperation, and innovation.
Bitcoin Community: Wearing simple, practical clothing, standing in an ancient fortress, demonstrating resilience, focus, and a commitment to stability.
Ethereum tends to solve problems through open discussions and technological innovations, attracting diverse participants. Bitcoin, on the other hand, focuses more on maintaining the integrity of existing rules and avoiding excessive changes.
From the comparison between Bitcoin and Ethereum, it is evident that communities with different cultural backgrounds have chosen coordination methods that align with their own goals and values.
Bitcoin's rules are simple and robust, suitable for an ecosystem focused on long-term value storage.
Ethereum's flexibility and innovation make it an ideal platform for technological experimentation and application development.
Conclusion
Whether it is cross-chain operations in blockchain or cooperation between different communities, the core of coordination always lies in clear goals, transparent mechanisms, and broad consensus. By combining appropriate tools with cultural understanding, we can find balance in conflicts and create greater value in collaboration. Understanding and applying the essence of coordination is an important pathway to achieving continuous progress.
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