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Ethereum’s $150M DAO Opens as Researchers Call for a Halt

spectrum.ieee.org

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Re: Ethereum’s $150M DAO Opens as Researchers Call for a Halt

#3

Post by sidko »

applecore wrote: post #2

Does the governance structure of the DAO support permanently shutting itself down? What system of checks and balances exists to govern its behavior if things get really bad?

It allows a way to 'split' the DAO, and also take your 'share' of what's left and just leave.

For instance, you are already scared and don't want to deal with this anymore, you can just take all the ETH that you put into this and forget the whole thing happened.

However, there are some issues with timing, and other attack vectors/flaws in this mechanism outlined in the research being referred to in the article.

Here's the original research paper. It's a very good read: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10kTyCmGPhvZy94F7VWyS-dQ4...

Re: Ethereum’s $150M DAO Opens as Researchers Call for a Halt

#4

Post by jsprogrammer »

>“In general what you really want in any kind of a voting-governed structure like the DAO is you want the voters to vote their true preferences. You want them voting in line with what they want to see happen,” says Sirer. In other words, if a token-holder thinks that the proposal will yeild[sic] profits and increase the net worth of the DAO, he should vote yes. If not, he should vote no. But that’s not what we’re likely to see, according to the analysis.

Sorry, but I had to stop reading there. The sentences do not logically follow each other. The other words used by the author are not equivalent to what Sure was quoted as saying. In fact, the author's assertion removes all autonomy from a token holder and reduces them to a revenue maximizing rubber stamp.

Edit: if you can't deal (or even read), pls downmod

Re: Ethereum’s $150M DAO Opens as Researchers Call for a Halt

#5

Post by eterpstra »

Discussion around the issues outlined in the report have already begun (before the report was published) in the DAO forums. It's not unexpected that there will be problems. This has never been done before. But the fact that this report exists, the problems are being discussed, and there are already talks of proposals for resolving some of the issues is a good sign that the DAO is working as intended... The community discovers problems, the community fixes problems.

Compare this to a traditional investment fund where you hand over your money to a private organization with opaque investment strategies, business operations, and technology. If I invest in a Vanguard or Fidelity fund, they only report back what is required of them by regulators. They take little to no input from investors, and may be running their business on decades old technology filled with flaws and bugs.

I view the DAO as an open source investment fund in the same spirit as "The Cathedral and The Bazaar". It's not perfect, it's messy, some people are more influential than others, there's a lot of noise, and it could collapse on itself at any time. But everyone gets to participate (for better or worse). Lots of eyeballs are constantly watching, and plenty of concerns will be voiced.

I know the HN crowd is a skeptical one, but try to keep an open mind. This could grow into something great. And if it doesn't... hey, it's not your money, so don't sweat it.

Re: Ethereum’s $150M DAO Opens as Researchers Call for a Halt

#7

Post by curiousgal »

sidko wrote: post #3
applecore wrote: post #2

Does the governance structure of the DAO support permanently shutting itself down? What system of checks and balances exists to govern its behavior if things get really bad?

It allows a way to 'split' the DAO, and also take your 'share' of what's left and just leave. For instance, you are already scared and don't want to deal with this anymore, you can just take all the ETH that you put into this and forget the whole thing happened. However, there are some issues with timing, and other attack vectors/flaws in this mechanism outlined in the research being referred to in the article. Here'…

I believe you'd have to wait like 21 days for your ether to clear so that you're completely out. But I am not sure.

Re: Ethereum’s $150M DAO Opens as Researchers Call for a Halt

#8

Post by eterpstra »

awt wrote: post #6

I would be interested to know how much the creators of the DAO have studied the history of democracy.

I can't speak for the individual creators, but the 'tyranny of the majority' has been discussed at length and is the basis for the 51% attack mitigation. DAO and Ethereum enthusiasts also seem to enjoy discussing 'delegative democracy' (or 'liquid democracy') at length.
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