Q&A: Find Out More About AIP-245 And The Plan To Create A Metaverse Working Group

The ApeCoin DAO is voting on an Ape Improvement Proposal this week that aims to establish a Metaverse Working Group with the goal of supporting community members in the Otherside and beyond!

AIP-245 titled “Working Group Charter – Metaverse “is an AIP written by Bored Ape Yacht Club member and former Working Group Zero Steward BadTeeth and Waabam to add to the DAO’s newly formed Working Group governance structure.

“The goal of this proposal is to establish the ApeCoin DAO Metaverse Working Group,” BadTeeth wrote. “The Metaverse Working Group’s mandate is to: Drive culture forward into the metaverse by actively supporting metaverse-related efforts within the ApeCoin DAO. Working Groups enable a sustainable community-led infrastructure that further decentralizes the DAO, creates operational efficiency, and is flexible enough to adapt to any opportunities that may arise. The guidelines for how this Working Group will function are proposed in AIP-239.”

AIP-245 will not cost the DAO anything because this proposal is simply to determine whether the DAO should have a Metaverse Working Group.

Furthermore, in the proposal, BadTeeth explained that if this proposal is passed, the Ape Assembly, “ A governing body of highly active governance participants within the ApeCoin Ecosystem,” will elect the Metaverse Working Group’s three Stewards and they will propose a budget to the community in the form of an AIP at a later date.

To find out more about what a Metaverse working group is and why the DAO needs one, the Bored Ape Gazette reached out to BadTeeth for an interview. Check it out below:

1. First things first, can you please give me a brief definition of what a Working Group is and what it does?

“For ApeCoin DAO, a Working Group is a key part of our community-led infrastructure that allows for the execution of specific DAO-approved mandates. In the most simple terms, it decentralizes DAO operations out to members of our community who are empowered to act on behalf of the DAO. This will allow the DAO to execute on many of the things the community has been asking for without the need to put an AIP to vote for every single task.”

2. In a sentence or two can you sum up what AIP-245 is proposing?

“AIP-245 is proposing to establish a Metaverse Working Group for ApeCoin DAO under the guidelines established in AIP-239. The vision of the DAO is that $APE, “will serve as a decentralized protocol layer for community-led initiatives that drive culture forward into the metaverse” – the Metaverse Working Group is where we’ll begin to actively pursue that vision on a daily basis.”

3. Why does the ApeCoin DAO need a Metaverse Working Group? What do you expect this group would do?

“The DAO is still young, but there haven’t been a lot of proposals passed that meaningfully address what the ApeCoin DAO was established to do. If we’re going to achieve the vision of our founders, we’re going to need a hub for anyone with interest or domain expertise to gather, share knowledge and ideas, collaborate on AIPs, and explore the incredible possibilities of the greater metaverse. The Metaverse Working Group will be the DAO’s hub to gather creators, builders, and developers in order to foster ongoing discussions and support community-led initiatives that help fulfill the DAO’s core vision.”

If this AIP is passed, what happens next?

"When the AIP passes the DAO is approving the creation of the Metaverse Working Group that will have three elected Stewards. The Stewards will be elected by the Ape Assembly* and are tasked with three specific OKRs prior to the August budgeting window. The will need to:

1.Develop a strategy for the purchase and usage of DAO owned metaverse assets

2. Lay the groundwork to become a lead resource for Otherside ODK integrations (based on publicly available information)

3. Lay the groundwork for an esports Initiative to explore professional metaverse gaming opportunities, excluding gambling

They will also engage the community to establish some consensus around what initiatives the WG should pursue during its first 6-month funding window and a reasonable budget to allocate towards achieving those initiatives. These initiatives could include things like:

Miniverse Dive Bar Powered by ApeCoin ,Outreach to projects and creators, Otherside content development,Uplifting content creators,Creating spaces for content creators and the community to come together, Metaverse gaming development, Championing art, media, culture, Championing data ownership and identity

This budget will be put up to a DAO-wide vote in August and once approved it will be the Stewards responsibility to lead the WG. They are required to:

Ensure that the group is acting in the best interest of the community

Support community Initiatives which are within the scope of the WG mandateOverseeing the group’s budget and expenses Providing regular updates to the DAO community on the group’s operations and decisions.

(*The Ape Assembly is a place to bring together high-context DAO members to address global issues in the DAO. We need everyone who is committed to the DAO through either sweat equity, voting participation, or holding significant amounts of $APE to be a part of these discussions. The criteria is inclusive and someone can become a part of the Ape Assembly in as little as 16 days through light participation in the Forums. Join the Discord at https://discord.gg/apecoindao to learn more about the Ape Assembly.)"

5. I know that the Ape Assembly elected stewards will make a budget for this working group if passed, but could you give me and the community an estimate of what you think the group’s budget will be?

“It’s tough to predict the budget with any accuracy as it’s based around the Initiatives the elected Stewards and community choose to pursue, but I hope to see significant funding put towards a Working Group focused on achieving the DAO’s vision. At the end of the day, the DAO will approve any budget the WG receives. To be clear, this proposal establishing the Metaverse Working Group does not require any funding.”

6. Where do you see the metaverse working group a year from now?

“I see a group of incredibly talented creators, artists, builders, and devs working together alongside the biggest companies in Web3 to build the future of the greater metaverse with the support of the ApeCoin DAO community. With the resources at hand, there is literally no limit to what we can achieve together and I fully expect the Metaverse Working Group will be an integral component of every metaverse discussion from the Otherside and beyond.”

7. Do you have anything else you’d like to add?

“I’ve heard a lot of people say they’re not quite sure where they fit in the DAO if they’re not planning on submitting an AIP. The Metaverse Working Group will be the place for creators, builders, and developers to feel at home – surrounded by like minded individuals pioneering the future of metaverse technology and experiences.”

The ApeCoin community has until Wednesday, June 7th at 9 P.M. EST to cast their coins and vote on AIP-245.

$Apes can read BadTeeth’s full proposal here: https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-245-working-group-charter-metaverse/11840

The Bored Ape Gazette will continue to follow AIP-245 and will let you know how the DAO votes on this proposal. Stay tuned for updates!