Decentraland DAO support squad rules on the paused MetaTrekkers grant

In early January, the DAO paused the vesting contract for a grant secured by MetaTrekkers due to concerns and doubts raised by the community. These worries centered on the lack of clarity in budget breakdowns, allegations of fund misuse, and a generally poor level of communication from the team.

Zino, a DAO’s Grant Support Squad (GSS) member, published the report several days ago. The report reviewed several points that had been ambiguous regarding the number of events, where they were hosted and certain additional payments. Zino concluded with a recommendation that the grant should not be reinstated due to a lack of transparency, further stating that if Metatrekkers still desire to complete the second part of the original BeatTrekkers event, they should request a new grant:

If the grantee (@MetaTrekkers) wants to keep going with the second part of BeatTrekers, they should request a new grant with clear goals and without ambiguous language.

MetaTrekkers responded to the GSS’s recommendation not to reinstate the grant claiming that the GSS had not fully understood the purpose of the grant, citing a lack of comprehension of Zino’s behalf, and provided several screenshots showing set times, venues, and artists who featured.

Ultimately, the recommendation was made due to the GSS’s failure to understand the MetaTrekkers project and multiple instances of communication gaps and constraints…. Zino was my main point of contact throughout the investigation period…. Many times, Zino would mention that he did not understand some of the topics being discussed. Even today, Zino does not comprehend what the “pre, main, and post shows” are, albeit the topic was addressed many times over in spoken and written forums.

MetaTrekkers stood firm on the issue of fund misuse, stating that no such incident occurred, and called on Yemel and HPrivakos, saying he would be willing to meet in person if necessary to present the facts of the case again.

At minimum, I request that the GSS and DCL DAO release the funds to complete payment of the competition prize money to the BeatTrekkers Series 1 winners as soon as possible until we are able to further discuss.

A concern flagged by several DAO members revolved around the new precedent this decision had set, with Reyean commenting:  

The Grant Support Squad is setting an extremely dangerous precedent by abusing their authority in this way. Refusing to pay on this passed proposal goes directly against the purpose and mandate of the DAO.

What Now?

Yarasita, an advisor to the GSS, recommended a one-time payment to MetaTrekkers to allow them to pay DJs who won the competition, stating that this part of the proposal had been delivered.

Yemel delivered the payment. MettaTrekkers then provided proof that all payments had been sent via Etherscan.

Several artists who had attended the events weighed in supporting MetaTrekkers, including MrBigMouthBeats, who stated:

I don’t profess to fully understand all of this but I did want to share my experience as it does not marry up with the criticism leveled in this forum….I’d love to take part in future competitions and will gladly play shows for Chris, MT and any associated parties. This is because I trust they put in the time and effort to make these things a success.

The End Result

The final word belongs to the GSS- the grant will not be reinstated. This grant and the resulting fallout have proved highly divisive for the community.

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