In modern society, coordination is everywhere. Whether it is the choice of friends for a dinner party or the formulation of a cross-border agreement, coordination plays an indispensable role in it. From cooperation between people, to collaboration between groups, to cross-chain operations in the blockchain world, coordination is a basic force that runs through different scenarios. However, coordination does not always go smoothly, especially when the goals are not clear, the mechanism is not transparent, or there is a lack of consensus, it often evolves into interest disputes or disordered "collusion." This article will explore the definition, types and application of coordination in the blockchain ecosystem, analyze the culture and practices behind it, and provide some suggestions for achieving efficient coordination.

01 Coordination

Coordination definition

Coordination is a way for a large number of participants to work together towards the same goal. Coordination is an extremely broad behavior. In daily life, it can be as small as deciding which restaurant to go to tonight between friends, or as large as making decisions between friends. It is a manifestation of coordination. Coordination is the most powerful force in the universe. Good coordination can unite people to achieve a great cause.

Good coordination can lead to the birth of some great undertakings, such as the research and development of disease drugs by different departments and the provision of basic relief services for the general population. Bad coordination can lead to the birth of some great undertakings. A stable order has become turbulent, such as the Russia-Ukraine war. Some people initiated wars between countries because of conflicting interests, causing many people to lose their lives. Another example is the recent turmoil in South Korea. This kind of internal discord The failure of coordination and collective decision-making is an important factor leading to social division and trust crisis.

Antonym of coordination

The antonym of coordination is unreasonable coordination. We often describe this behavior as 'collusion'. The more dangerous coordination is that a person only coordinates with a small group of people and not with other people, resulting in Falling into an abyss, such as vote-buying in a small circle, a small group of people discuss certain interests that benefit the small group, thereby harming the interests of the wider public. We often describe this result as "collusion."

02 Coordination practice in blockchain

1. Between people Coordination: working together

When you are working with your colleaguesThere will also be many coordination issues during the process. How team members determine the workload, how different positions in a team coordinate their work, and how people agree on a thing through some mechanism. This part of coordination is coordination between people, including governance, collaboration, distribution, etc.

Some coordination tools in the world of blockchain

Coordinape: Based on Appreciation Behavior A protocol that rewards contributors, suitable for decentralized teams.

CharmVerse: A management tool for building relationships and co-creating projects, helping team members synchronize tasks and progress.

FairSharing: An on-chain contribution distribution protocol that can distribute rewards in a transparent and trustless manner.

2. Coordination between communities: cooperation

One ​​group and another When negotiating between groups, there will also be some coordination issues, such as how to cooperate between different communities, how to determine the same goal, how to jointly host a hackathon, etc. The goal of collaboration is usually to achieve a win-win situation by combining resources, sharing experiences, or solving common problems.

Some coordination cases in the blockchain field

Hackathon cooperation: Gitcoin often holds cross- Community hackathons encourage talents from different communities to share knowledge and resources.

Joint governance protocols: such as joint proposals between protocols (such as multi-chain DAO voting), making cooperation between communities more efficient.

3. Coordination between chains: cross-chain

Chain-to-chain Inter-chain coordination is also a method of coordination, how to use the same set of cross-chain standards between different chains, how to transmit information between chains, and how to have better interoperability between chains.

Ethereum Interoperability Forum (EIF): A landmark event occurred during this year's Devcon - the Ethereum Interoperability Forum (EIF). This gathering brings together key players from across the Ethereum ecosystem, putting aside competition and focusing onShared mission: Make Ethereum truly interoperable.

The core of coordination is clarity, transparency and consensus

Whether it is between people Whether it is coordination, cooperation between communities, or interoperability between chains, the essence of coordination lies in establishing clear goals, transparent mechanisms, and reaching broad consensus. With the right tools and methods, coordination can not only reduce friction costs but also create greater value for all parties.

How to define a coordination standard

The core of coordination is clarity, transparency and consensus. Although We cannot define a unified coordination standard, but there are some paths through which we can gradually realize a coordination standard. Although we cannot define a unified coordination standard, we can gradually realize it through the following paths:

Transparent governance: Ensure that the decision-making process is publicly visible and enhance trust among participants. Use some tools such as Snapshot and CharmVerse to implement on-chain governance and improve transparency.

Reasonable resource allocation: Allocate resources based on contribution or demand to avoid resource waste and unfairness. For example, tools such as Coordinape and FairSharing can be used to provide data-driven allocation mechanisms.

Effective feedback: Establish a clear feedback channel so that each member understands the impact of his or her work on the whole. Use tools (e.g. Discord, governance forums) to conduct open discussions and optimize decisions.

Conflicts are inevitable during the coordination process

The antonym of coordination is "unreasonable coordination" , we usually call it "collusion", that is, a small group of people join together to make decisions and make behaviors that are detrimental to the interests of the larger group. This situation is likely to occur when coordination fails.

In reality, different people or groups have different judgment standards, so conflicts are inevitable during the coordination process. When facing conflicts, we need to solve problems in the following ways:

Establish common standards: Establish clear processes to reduce differences caused by subjective judgments

Listening and negotiation: Let all stakeholders fully express their opinions and find a balance between both parties through discussion

The last option: fork

When conflicts cannot be resolved through coordination, the blockchain world provides a unique mechanism of "bifurcation". Bifurcation allows both parties to the disagreement to follow their own visions and avoid continued confrontation caused by compromise.

For example, after The DAO incident was hacked, the community was divided on how to respond. Some people chose to roll back the chain data and eventually formed Ethereum; others insisted on the principle that the chain cannot be tampered with and continued Ethereum Classic.

The fork of Steem and Hive. Justin Sun's acquisition of the Steem community triggered a governance crisis. Some community members were dissatisfied with the new management and finally chose to fork and create the Hive community. .

03 Culture and coordination: choices of different ecologies

Interestingly, the cultural perspective is also An important consideration for community coordination, similar to the Ethereum and Bitcoin communities

Bitcoin's coordination method

Anyone can join and exit at any time

If you don’t agree with the current status of Bitcoin, you can modify the client and fork it out

If you don’t agree with an upgrade , you don’t need to upgrade the client, you are still on the Bitcoin network

Ethereum’s coordination method

Anyone can join and exit at any time, but they need to agree to Ethereum's roadmap

If you don't agree with the current situation of Ethereum, you can modify the client and fork it out

If you don't agree with an upgrade, If you don’t upgrade the client, thenOtherwise, they will be kicked out of the network and cannot continue to be in the Ethereum network

When we talked with ChatGPT, we can clearly find the gap between the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities.

Ethereum community: Wearing colorful costumes with a strong sense of the future, interacting with high technology, embodying the spirit of openness, cooperation and innovation.

Bitcoin community: Wearing simple and practical clothes, standing in an ancient fortress, showing tenacity, focus and commitment to stability.

Ethereum prefers to solve problems through open discussion and technological innovation, attracting diversity of participants. Bitcoin is more concerned with maintaining the integrity of existing rules and avoiding too many changes.

From the comparison between Bitcoin and Ethereum, we can see that communities with different cultural backgrounds have chosen coordination methods that are consistent with their own goals and values

Bitcoin’s rules are simple and solid, suitable for the ecology of long-term value storage.

Ethereum’s flexibility and innovation make it an ideal platform for technological experimentation and application development.

04 Summary

Whether it is cross-chain operations in the blockchain or different communities The core of coordination always lies in clear goals, transparent mechanisms and broad consensus. By combining the right tools with cultural awareness, we can find balance in conflict and create greater value in collaboration. Understanding and applying the nature of coordination is an important way to achieve continuous progress.