The following reflects the views of L2BEAT’s governance team, composed of @krst, @Sinkas, and @Manugotsuka, and it’s based on their combined research, fact-checking, and ideation.
We voted FOR.
During the first iteration, we backed the first six-month trial, noting that the document would need real-world feedback and progressive iterations. This new version is exactly that: it removes an unenforceable self-voting cap, broadens the language to cover all paid contributors—not just delegates—and addresses two governance gaps by clarifying how to replace an elected member and how to wind down an underperforming program.
For a clearer understanding, we created a comparison between the initial iteration and the proposed changes.
| Item | What v1 (Oct 2024) Introduced | What v2 (Jul 2025) changes | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audience & vocabulary | Uses “delegate” everywhere; COI & enforcement tied to Delegate Incentive Program (DIP) | Re-labels participants as “contributors”; expands to any DAO-approved program (AAEs, councils, etc.) | Broadens the code so it applies to everyone paid or elected by the DAO, not just voting delegates |
| Trial window | 6½-month pilot Nov 11 2024 → May 30 2025 | Second pilot Jul 24 2025 → Jan 31 2026 (Arbitrum Foundation can auto-extend to Mar 31 2026 if a new version isn’t ready) | Extends the experiment and gives the DAO ~7 additional months of data |
| Responsible Voting Policy | Introduces detailed limits on self-voting weights for multi-seat elections | Completely removed (vote-buying services make it “impossible to enforce”) | Simplifies elections; candidates may now self-vote 100 % (but must still disclose COI) |
| New operational processes | None (other than voting schedule & shielded elections) | • Member replacement procedure when an elected person steps down | |
| • Initiative cancellation process & quorum (Snapshot, 3 % FOR votes) | Fills two governance gaps repeatedly encountered during the last iteration of the CoC. | ||
| Constitutional ambitions | Envisions adding the Code & procedures to the Constitution after the first trial | Calls that premature; keeps procedures as a living social contract; only high-level values likely to become Section 7 someday | Lowers stakes, makes it easier to iterate annually |
| Voting schedule & shielded elections | Weekly cadence (Thursday starts), shielded + weighted voting as default | Kept unchanged, but shielded voting pilot extended | Confirms delegates liked 2024 rhythm; continues to study shielded effects |
| Holiday break | Dec 20 2024 – Jan 6 2025; recommends no new forum posts | Dec 18 2025 – Jan 5 2026; forum posts allowed, but voting strongly discouraged | Slightly longer, more flexibility for non-urgent forum activity |
One thing that we would like to point out is that we believe that this is the type of document that needs to be treated as a living document, one that will be flexible in response to the situations that may arise in the DAO. We see no blocker to another trial run and look forward to this new version.