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Role Based Bounties

Document Version: 0.5

Please update the version number whenever you update this document.

A role based bounty or RBB is the term we use for someone who receives an ongoing bounty for filling some role for the project.

This is the DA equivalent of an employee in traditional companies.

Right now the Mastercoin Foundation is managing RBBs, but management of RBBs will move over to the protocol Proof of Stake voting as soon as that's implemented.

The reason an RBB exists is to complement the traditional bounty system. We want to encourage people to work on the project full time, and even quit their day jobs, and for this they require some stability and predictability which the one-time bounty system doesn't really offer.

How it works right now

  • The Foundation decides to allocate a new Role Based Bounty, and they choose a person to fulfill that role.
  • The specific terms are on this Google Spreadsheet. The current terms are all identical and include 6000 monthly USD (paid usually in bitcoin), and some number of Dev MSC depending on the relative amount of MSC distributed that month. This will change for future hires that come into the project at a later phase.

The following standard conditions apply to all RBBs:

  • In addition to USD or BTC, each RBB also wins a proportional amount of the Dev MSCs. The amount they receive is proportional to the relative share of their USD or BTC allocation, out of all the Bounty BTC awarded that month.
  • The payment schedule is monthly, usually via bitcoins (but we can pay via other means if needed e.g. wire transfer).
  • The position is "at will", meaning both the Foundation and the RBB can terminate the RBB position without any reason.
  • We do set a mutual 30 days notice period. Both the Foundation and the RBB are obligated not to terminate this RBB position without giving a 30 days notice.
  • We generally intend to keep RBBs on for a long time, typically a year or more. However note that just like most jobs, this is not a contractual obligation given the items above.
  • RBBs qualify to receive other outstanding bounties, however the amount awarded to them via the RBB position in a given month will be deducted from the total value of other bounties received that month. i.e. if a core developer contributes above and beyond and wins 10000 USD worth of bounties in a month, the 6000 USD from their RBB would subtracted from the award giving them 4000 USD in bounties and 6000 USD for the RBB for a total of 10000 USD.
  • RBBs may manage teams, and the team may qualify for outstanding bounties. Each team's budget should be managed independently of the team lead's personal funds.

Signup bonus for C-Level positions

Any C-level hire (e.g. CEO/CTO/CMO) is entitled to a signup bonus. The purpose of the bonus is to properly reward such key members of the organization, and make sure they have an extra incentive to promote The Master Protocol. The bonus works as follows:

  1. In addition to the Role Based Bounties above, a C-Level position is entitled to $60,000 worth of MSC.
  2. These extra MSCs will be vested over a period of 12 months, via a quarterly vesting schedule, and a 6 month cliff.
  3. After the first 6 months, $30,000 will be calculated in MSC and allocated to the RBB.
  4. At the 9 month mark, $15,000 will be added to this pool.
  5. Finally, at the 12 months mark, an additional $15,000 will be allocated, and the entire bonus MSC pool will be transferred to the RBB.
  6. We want to encourage key members of the Foundation to keep these MSC long term. For this purpose, The Mastercoin Foundation will keep these bonus MSC, and will send them to the RBB after the sooner of these two events:
    1. A year passes from their signup date, or
    2. The RBB quits or is let go. In this case, only the vested portion of their bonus will be sent, and the rest will be returned to the Mastercoin Foundation's budget.

Converting USD to MSC

For the purpose of this contract, sometime a dollar amount is payable via MSC (e.g. the Bonus for C-Level positions).

Such calculations are made by taking the 3-day daily average of MSC/USD price over the last 3 days (e.g. if a bonus is awarded on Feb 6, we take the average of the closing rate on Feb 5, 4, 3). The best price source is used - either a centralized exchange, the price on a decentralized exchange, or a combination of these, by our consideration.

Hourly Bounties

Some tasks are more suitable to be carried out by hourly "employees", rather than a full fledged Role Based Bounty. We term these Hourly Bounties. The way it works is:

  1. We approve a budget for the Hourly Bounty in the usual process (see the Voting Rules). A standard budget size can be 1,000-2,500 USD, but it can vary by task.
  2. We use a standard uniform rate of 40 USD per hour.
  3. The Hourly Bounty is expected to manage and report his budget and hours. If the hours run out before the task is completed, or it is an ongoing task, the Hourly Bounty is expected to ask the Foundation for an refill of his budget.
  4. Like other bounties, the Hourly Bounty is entitled to Dev MSC, in accordance with the Dev MSC distribution algorithm

The Future

Like everything else, we will decentralize any central control to the RBB protocol. All of the above will be codified in a Proof of Stake voting system, and it will become part of the official Mastercoin spec.