Member Guide

Governance & Voting Guide

What is DAO Governance?

SpiritDAO uses on-chain governance: all proposals and votes are recorded on the blockchain. This creates:

Requirements for Participation

To Vote on Proposals

Required:

Advocate is auto-delegated when it is minted, so your voting power is active immediately. There is no manual delegation step.

How to Check:

  1. Go to Governance page
  2. See "Voting Power" in top section
  3. It reflects your Advocate holdings automatically

To Create Proposals

Required:

Voting Power

What is Voting Power?

Activating Voting Power

Your Advocate credential is delegated to you automatically when it is minted, so your voting power is active from day one. If it ever is not (for example a credential minted before auto-delegation existed), the Create Proposal form shows an Activate voting power step: one gasless transaction that delegates the credential to your own address.

Delegating to Someone Else

The app does not offer delegation to another member. Each Advocate votes with their own power. The credential follows the ERC721Votes standard, so delegation is technically possible directly on the contract, but it is not a supported path and the app will not show it.

Understanding Proposals

Proposal Lifecycle

1. Pending (State 0)

2. Active (State 1)

3. Defeated/Failed (State 3)

4. Succeeded/Passed (State 4)

5. Queued (State 5)

6. Expired (State 6)

7. Executed (State 7)

8. Canceled (State 2)

Proposal Components

Title:

Description:

Forum Thread (Optional):

Voting Duration:

Actions (Advanced):

Viewing Proposals

Browse All Proposals

  1. Go to Vote or Governance page
  2. See list of all proposals
  3. Each card shows:
    • Title and excerpt
    • Current status
    • Vote counts (For/Against/Abstain)
    • Time remaining (if active)
    • Whether you voted
Governance: proposals grouped by status.
Governance: proposals grouped by status.

Filter Proposals

By Status:

How:

  1. Click filter buttons at top
  2. List updates automatically
  3. Shows count for each category

View Proposal Details

  1. Click on any proposal card
  2. See full page with:
    • Complete description
    • Voting breakdown
    • Vote history
    • Discussion link
    • Execution status
A proposal: description, tier, tallies, and the vote buttons.
A proposal: description, tier, tallies, and the vote buttons.

Voting on Proposals

Cast Your Vote

Requirements Check:

  1. Must hold Advocate (voting power is active automatically)
  2. Proposal must be Active (State 1)
  3. You haven't voted on this proposal yet

Steps:

  1. Go to Vote page or Governance page
  2. Find active proposal
  3. Click proposal to view details
  4. Click "Vote" button
  5. Choose your position:
    • For: Support the proposal
    • Against: Oppose the proposal
    • Abstain: Participate but neutral
  6. Add optional comment/reason
  7. Click "Cast Vote"
  8. Sign transaction
  9. Wait for confirmation
  10. Your vote is recorded

After Voting:

Casting a vote. On-chain votes are gasless.
Casting a vote. On-chain votes are gasless.

Vote Visibility

Vote Weight

Creating Proposals

Step 1: Prepare Your Proposal

Before Creating:

Proposal Quality:

Step 2: Navigate to Create Proposal

  1. Go to Governance page
  2. Click "Create Proposal" button
  3. Or go directly to /governance/executive

Step 3: Fill Proposal Form

Title:

Description:

Link to Forum Thread (Recommended):

  1. First create forum post
  2. Get discussion going
  3. Copy thread URL
  4. Paste in proposal form
  5. Helps voters see community sentiment

Token Gating (Optional):

Create proposal: title, description, tier.
Create proposal: title, description, tier.

Step 4: Review Requirements

Before submitting, system checks:

Step 5: Submit Proposal

  1. Review all information
  2. Click "Submit Proposal"
  3. Approve transaction (may have gas cost)
  4. Wait for confirmation (30-60 seconds)
  5. Proposal appears in listings

Note: Proposal creation is NOT sponsored/gasless

Step 6: Promote Your Proposal

After creating:

Advanced Governance Features

Proposal Thresholds

Quorum:

Approval:

Check Thresholds:

Per-pod governance settings: quorum, approval, and voting window.
Per-pod governance settings: quorum, approval, and voting window.

Voting Countdown

Timelock Period

Purpose:

Duration:

During Timelock:

Proposal Execution

Who Can Execute:

Execution Steps:

  1. Wait for timelock to expire
  2. Click "Execute Proposal"
  3. Sign transaction
  4. Proposal actions run
  5. Changes go live

What Executes:

Governance Best Practices

As a Voter

Do Your Research:

Vote on Everything:

Vote Before Deadline:

Explain Your Vote:

As a Proposal Creator

Build Consensus First:

Write Clearly:

Be Responsive:

Time It Right:

Accept Outcomes:

Governance Participation Tips

Voting Strategy

Read Everything:

Think Long-Term:

Check Financials:

Consider Unintended Consequences:

Delegation Strategy

By default you vote with your own power (Advocate is auto-delegated on mint). Delegating to someone else is optional.

When to Keep Voting Yourself:

When to Delegate to Someone Else:

Choosing a Delegate:

Monitor Your Delegate:

Common Scenarios

"My Vote Didn't Count"

Possible Causes:

Solutions:

"Proposal I Supported Failed"

What to Do:

"Can't Create Proposal"

Common Issues:

"Voting Period Too Short"

Reality:

Governance Analytics

Viewing Voting History

  1. Go to proposal details
  2. Scroll to "Votes" section
  3. See all votes cast
  4. Shows:
    • Voter address
    • Vote choice (For/Against/Abstain)
    • Voting power used
    • Timestamp

Checking Vote Distribution

Participation Rate

Emergency Situations

Malicious Proposals

If You See Malicious Proposal:

Examples of Malicious:

Governance Attacks

51% Attack:

Flash Loan Attack:

Defensive Measures:

Governance Improvement

Meta-Governance

Governance Experiments

Community Education

Governance is the heart of SpiritDAO. Participate actively to shape the community! 🗳️