Today, we (the Devcon organizing group) are thrilled to announce a novel method to engage in next year’s conference, one that aims to make Devcon an occasion that more accurately reflects Ethereum in its entirety.
Devcon Improvement Proposals (DIPs) are an innovative mechanism to include collaborative community input from throughout the ecosystem. They are designed to enhance the Devcon experience by formalizing a procedure to ensure your suggestions are acknowledged and incorporated into the event.
Why is this happening now?
In earlier communications, we have touched upon the need to better represent the entire Ethereum ecosystem during Devcon. Nonetheless, achieving that at any single event has increasingly become a daunting task over the years. In many respects, this is a welcome dilemma, as the challenge arises from the expansion in both size and variety among builders, speakers, attendees, organizations, and others who are participating.
Once upon a time, everyone involved could easily fit into a classroom; however, we have long surpassed a moment where demand has outstripped supply in various aspects (such as ticket availability, presentation slots, or tested applications).
So while we took initial steps to address specific areas of previous challenges in our launch announcement earlier this year, we have also aimed to be forward-thinking in considering aspects that no single team might contemplate including on their own. And that has brought us to this point.
How do DIPs function?
Let’s explore. The best starting point for DIPs is by visiting the DIP GitHub repository and by joining the dialogue at the new Devcon Forum.
As an initial move, we suggest posting your idea in the Devcon Forum to gain insights from a broader community. Once things are clearer, you can submit a formal proposal. From the time of your submission, you will be able to receive feedback from our team and others to assist in refining ideas, to explore how they might integrate into the program, and more.
The approach is inspired by the PEP, BIP, and EIP methodologies, and although this new initiative is slightly more centralized (in that the Devcon team retains approval of proposals), we are enthusiastic about a fresh way to expand outreach and hope to achieve consensus on a multitude of newly suggested ideas. The objectives of DIPs are for everyone to feel acknowledged, to promote more open discussion, and (most crucially) to enhance the event by listening to and learning from the innovators around us.
What could DIPs entail?
If this process seems a bit abstract so far and you’re curious about what DIPs may truly look like, you’re in luck! DIPs are just being unveiled today, but the Devcon team has collaborated with a few groups to trial the initial proposals in recent weeks.
Some of our initial proposals include endeavors to make Devcon carbon neutral, facilitating hotel and flight reservations through a FOSS decentralized travel marketplace, organizing a permissionless treasure hunt, and supplying attendees with a smart wallet card during the conference.
Conclusion
We recognize that the Ethereum ecosystem has simply expanded too vast for our team alone to be aware of every remarkable idea present. With the support of DIPs, paired with your fantastic ongoing engagement, we can make Devcon more representative of our community than ever before.
For more details, everyone is invited to review DIP-0, to examine the already submitted DIPs, and to join the forum to engage in new and ongoing discussions. We eagerly await your input!
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