The Legislative Process
Every PIP has a lifecycle that starts with the basic idea being shared with the community.
Last updated
Every PIP has a lifecycle that starts with the basic idea being shared with the community.
Last updated
A POLIS Improvement Proposal (PIP) is how members of the Star Atlas community propose, review, and vote on changes within the DAO.
On a general level, every PIP will contain the following:
A concise rationale and specification for a feature or change
Input from the community through engaged discussions
Levels of review by the community, the Star Atlas Council, the full DAO, and the Star Atlas Foundation
If the DAO votes to approve a PIP, the proposal will be implemented by the DAO, Foundation, or others specified in the PIP.
The Council will guide authors through the drafting and review process, and every PIP will need to be voted on by the full DAO.
Below, you'll find a step-by-step guide to the PIP process, providing community members with a clear path from brainstorming to implementation. For a TLDR, see the image above.
Any DAO member with an idea for a PIP can introduce it in the #pip-ideas channel on the Star Atlas Discord. This space allows members to discuss and refine the idea together, providing feedback that strengthens the proposal.
Gathering input from the community early on helps gauge initial interest and refine the idea before it becomes a formal draft.
This step is a requirement. Drafts can not be created without refining your idea first and passing the Temperature Check.
When the idea is ready, and the temperature check is passed, the [Discord] author creates a draft and posts it in the #pip-drafts channel on Discord. The draft should follow the format and guidelines set out in Creating a Proposal to ensure it includes clear goals, technical specifications, and rationale.
The Star Atlas Council, representing the community, reviews each draft. Council members focus on ensuring that the proposal aligns with the DAO’s rules and meets technical, legal, and feasibility standards.
The Council’s review process follows a list of clear criteria. If the proposal requires revisions, the Council provides specific feedback, highlighting the formatting requirements and rules the draft must follow. This ensures the author knows exactly what to address.
Once all pending issues from the technical review have been solved, the Council will host a public event where they will:
Do a public review of the PIP
Host a short AMA with the author of the PIP
Note that the Council will strive to combine multiple reviews and/or AMAs into one session.
If the proposal meets the Council’s standards and achieves the required public support, it advances to the Star Atlas Foundation for a more formal review. As the DAO’s legal entity, the Foundation ensures that each PIP aligns with legal and practical requirements, assessing feasibility, potential risks, and overall impact on the Star Atlas ecosystem.
The Foundation has three options at this stage:
Advance to Voting: The PIP is cleared for voting.
Request Revisions: If adjustments are necessary, the Foundation explains the changes required.
Reject the Proposal: If the PIP is outside the DAO’s scope, infeasible, or otherwise problematic, the Foundation provides public reasoning.
Reasons for requesting revisions or rejection include excessive costs, conflicts of interest, missing details, or legal/tax risks. If rejected, the proposal may go through further revisions and resubmissions.
Once the Star Atlas Foundation has completed its evaluation and determined that a PIP meets all drafting requirements, the next step is to prepare the proposal for voting on the official governance voting platform. At this stage, ATMTA, as the creator and manager of the governance platform, facilitates the process by officially creating the PIP on the governance platform. This ensures the proposal is properly formatted and ready for engagement by the broader Star Atlas DAO community.
Coinciding with the PIP's addition to the governance platform, a new post will be created in the #pip-discussion channel so that the community can continue the debate.
Once opened, the window during which a proposal can be voted on is typically 14 days, although this may be adjusted for complex proposals. Voting is open to all DAO members with locked POLIS, with voting weight based on POLIS holdings and lock duration (known as PVP).
Depending on how the PIP was defined by the drafter, one of the following voting strategies will be used:
Simple Majority Vote: A straightforward majority vote; most proposals are approved this way.
Ranked-Choice Voting: Allows multiple options, with the winning choice selected based on ranked preferences.
For a proposal to pass, it must meet the required threshold, meaning it must receive enough support from the community. Most proposals require a simple majority vote, with more than 50% of the POLIS Voting Power (PVP) in favor. This specific requirement does not apply in cases of ranked-choice voting.
After a successful vote, the PIP returns to the Star Atlas Foundation for implementation. The Foundation enforces approved PIPs, especially for legal or off-chain requirements.
If any issues arise during implementation, such as new risks or feasibility concerns, the Foundation may return the PIP for additional review or adjustments. Once implemented, the proposal becomes an official part of the DAO’s operations, reflecting the community’s decision.
After you've posted your idea, community members can give it a thumbs-up () if they want to see it progress to the drafting stage. At least 25 thumbs-ups are needed to demonstrate community support before the proposal can proceed to the next step.
