Clear DefinitionsMeta‑governance
1 min read
Pronunciation
[met-uh guhv-er-nuhns]
Analogy
Like the constitution and Supreme Court that define how a country’s laws can be amended and how elections are run.
Definition
Governance over governance systems: the process of setting rules, parameters, or frameworks by which DAOs or protocols conduct their own on‑chain governance and decision‑making.
Key Points Intro
Meta‑governance defines the higher‑level rules that shape on‑chain voting and protocol upgrades.
Key Points
Constitution setting: Defines voting quorums, proposal thresholds, and timelocks.
Parameter tuning: Adjusts governance variables like quorum percentage or voting period.
Governance delegates: Determines who can change governance rules.
Upgrade paths: Specifies processes for smart contract or module upgrades.
Example
A DAO passes a meta‑governance proposal to increase the minimum token holdings required to submit new governance proposals.
Technical Deep Dive
Meta‑governance contracts expose functions like `setQuorum(uint256)`, `setVotingPeriod(uint256)`, protected by a higher threshold multisig or time‑locked governance module. Changes emit events for off‑chain monitoring.
Security Warning
If meta‑governance is too centralized, it undermines decentralization; balance flexibility with checks and balances.
Caveat
Frequent meta‑governance changes can destabilize participant expectations.
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