Written by: LXDAO
Coordination is everywhere in modern society. 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 to cross-chain operations in the blockchain world, coordination is a fundamental force that runs through different scenarios. However, coordination does not always go smoothly, especially when goals are unclear, mechanisms are opaque, or consensus is lacking, it often devolves into disputes or disorderly 'collusion'. This article will explore the definition, types, and applications of coordination in the blockchain ecosystem, analyze the culture and practices behind it, 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 the same goal. Coordination is an extremely broad behavior; in daily life, from deciding which restaurant to go to among friends, to decisions between nations, it is a manifestation of coordination. Coordination is the most powerful force in the universe; good coordination can unite people together and facilitate the achievement of a great cause.
Good coordination can lead to the birth of great endeavors, such as joint research on disease drugs by different departments, providing basic relief services to the vast population. Poor coordination can turn a stable order into chaos, such as the Russo-Ukrainian war, where some people initiated wars between nations due to conflicting interests, causing many to lose their lives. Similarly, the recent turmoil in the South Korean government, where internal discord and failure of collective decision-making led to social division and a crisis of trust.
Antonyms of coordination
The antonym of coordination is irrational coordination, which we often describe as 'collusion'. Dangerous coordination occurs when one person coordinates only with a small group of people, omitting others, leading to a downward spiral, such as in the case of small circle bribery, where a small group discusses benefits favorable to their group, thereby harming the interests of a larger population. We often refer to such outcomes as 'collusion'.
Coordination practices in blockchain
1. Coordination between people: Working together
When you work with your colleagues, there will also be many coordination issues. How team members determine workloads, how different positions within a team coordinate work, and how people agree on a matter through some mechanism are all part of coordination, including governance, working together, allocation, etc.
Some coordination tools in the world of blockchain
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 negotiating between one group and another, there will also be some coordination issues, such as how different communities can cooperate, how to define the same goal, and how to co-host a hackathon. The goal of cooperation is often to achieve a win-win situation by combining resources, sharing experiences, or solving common problems.
Some coordination cases in the blockchain field
Hackathon Collaboration: Gitcoin often hosts cross-community hackathons to encourage talents from different communities to share knowledge and resources.
Joint Governance Protocol: 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. How different chains use the same cross-chain standards, how information is transmitted between chains, and how chains achieve better interoperability.
Ethereum Interoperability Forum (EIF): A milestone event occurred during this year's Devcon — the Ethereum Interoperability Forum (EIF). This gathering brought together 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's coordination between people, cooperation between communities, or interoperability between chains, the essence of coordination lies in establishing clear goals, transparent mechanisms, and reaching broad consensus. With the right tools and methods, coordination can not only reduce friction costs but also create greater value for all parties.
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 gradually take to achieve a coordination standard. Although we cannot define a unified coordination standard, we can gradually achieve this through the following paths:
Transparent Governance: Ensuring the decision-making process is publicly visible to enhance participants' trust. Using tools like Snapshot and CharmVerse to implement on-chain governance and improve transparency.
Reasonable Resource Allocation: Allocating resources based on contributions or needs to avoid waste and unfairness. For example, using tools like Coordinape and FairSharing to provide data-driven allocation mechanisms.
Effective Feedback: Establishing clear feedback channels so that every member understands the impact of their work on the overall outcome. Using tools (like Discord, governance forums) for open discussions and optimizing decision-making.
Conflicts are inevitable in the coordination process.
The antonym of coordination is 'irrational 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 prone to occur when coordination fails.
In reality, different individuals or groups have different standards of judgment, so conflicts are inevitable in the coordination process. When faced with conflicts, we need to resolve issues through the following methods:
Establishing common standards: Creating clear processes to reduce discrepancies caused by subjective judgments.
Listening and Negotiating: Allow all stakeholders to fully express their opinions and find a balance through discussion.
The final choice: Forking
When conflicts cannot be resolved through coordination, the blockchain world offers a unique mechanism of 'forking', allowing both sides of the disagreement to follow their own vision, avoiding persistent opposition caused by compromise.
After the DAO incident encountered a hacker attack, the community had disagreements on how to respond. Some chose to roll back the chain data, ultimately forming Ethereum; while others insisted on the principle of immutability of the chain, continuing with Ethereum Classic.
The fork of Steem and Hive: The acquisition of the Steem community by Sun Yuchen triggered a governance crisis, and some community members were dissatisfied with the new management, ultimately choosing to fork and create the Hive community.
Culture and Coordination: Choices from Different Ecosystems
Interestingly, from a cultural perspective, it is also an important consideration for community coordination, similar to the Ethereum and Bitcoin communities.
Coordination methods of Bitcoin
Anyone can join and leave at any time.
If you disagree with the current state of Bitcoin, you can modify the client and fork away.
If you disagree with a specific upgrade, you can choose not to upgrade the client, and you will still be on the Bitcoin network.
The coordination methods of Ethereum
Anyone can join and leave at any time, but they need to agree with Ethereum's roadmap.
If you disagree with the current state of Ethereum, you can modify the client and fork away.
If you disagree with a specific 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 gap between the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities.
Ethereum Community: Wearing colorful attire with a strong sense of futurism and interacting with high technology, reflecting openness, cooperation, and innovative spirit.
Bitcoin Community: Dressed in simple, practical clothing, standing in an ancient fortress, demonstrating resilience, focus, and 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 can be seen that communities from different cultural backgrounds choose coordination methods that align with their own goals and values.
The rules of Bitcoin are simple and robust, suitable for an ecosystem of long-term value storage.
The flexibility and innovation of Ethereum make it an ideal platform for technological experimentation and application development.
Summary
Whether in cross-chain operations in blockchain or cooperation between different communities, the core of coordination always lies in defining clear goals, transparent mechanisms, and broad consensus. By combining appropriate tools and cultural understanding, we can find balance in conflicts and create greater value in collaboration. Understanding and applying the essence of coordination is an important way to achieve continuous progress.
References
https://optimism.mirror.xyz/HEd377IzSD-1IsAM5NSkg6Tu5RkYejcMPw3-bLTEZfQ
https://vitalik.eth.limo/general/2020/09/11/coordination.html
https://www.notion.so/lxdao/1220-15edceffe40b8092b13ef71ad28b9ccf
