L2 Moderation Bounty: Guidance for Community Moderators
Hello Moderator, and thank you for helping us uphold the quality of proposals for Fund15! Your role is crucial in helping the Catalyst Team review all "Final" proposals to ensure only compliant submissions make it to the ballot.
This is a focused mission to identify and flag non-compliant proposals. This guide will provide the expectations, compliance documents, and reward structure for this program.
📣 An Important Disclaimer for All Participants
🧑⚖️ For Our Moderators
Please note: This paid L2 Moderation Bounty is an exclusive pilot initiative for our cohort of experienced L2 Moderators introduced in Fund14. Fund15 is the iteration of that process. We are entrusting this critical task to you in recognition of your proven experience and deep understanding of the Catalyst process. Your work is essential, and this bounty is a token of our appreciation for your expertise. This is in addition to your general duties as L2 Moderator during the Fund15 Community Review stage.
TL;DR: Only invited L2 Moderators from the Fund15 cohort are eligible for bounty payments. Others may participate but will not receive payment.
🌱 For the Wider Cardano Community
If you are not an L2 Moderator but are passionate about proposal quality, we warmly welcome your contributions! The Cardano community's collective intelligence is our greatest asset.
While you are not eligible for the ADA rewards in this specific bounty, you can still help by identifying and discussing proposals that may not meet community standards. We encourage you to share your insights on a volunteer basis in the relevant community discussion channels (like Discord or Telegram or X) or submit a direct support ticket here and choose ‘Feedback: Misconduct Report’ from the type of inquiry drop down choice. Your voice matters and helps inform voters and proposers alike.
⚖️ TERMS & CONDITIONS
By participating in this Program and submitting flags, you agree to our Terms & Conditions at the bottom of this document.
Our Mission: Flagging "Final" Proposals
For Fund15, your task is to identify and flag proposals that have been locked by the proposer.
"Final" Proposals: These proposals are finalized. This is your focus. Your goal is to be a firm moderator and submit a private flag to the Catalyst Team for any "Final" proposal that violates compliance rules.
## Your Source of Truth: Category Briefs & Fund Rules
For Fund15, your flags must be based only on the official Category Briefs and Fund Rules. These are the source of truth for all compliance.
Your job is to check the proposal against the Category Brief for its specific category:
Cardano Open: Ecosystem
Cardano Use Cases: Prototype & Launch
Cardano Partners: Tier-1 Enterprise Integrations
Midnight: Compact DApps
Please find the official Fund15 Category Briefs & Fund Rules here. Before you begin, review these documents carefully. Each category has unique requirements, and your flags will be judged against them.
## Your Task: Flagging "Final" Proposals
This is the firm moderation task. These proposals are locked, so your review is final and must be private.
🔎 Your Task:
Find a proposal with the "Final" status.
Review it against the official Category Brief for its category and the general Fund Rules.
If you find a clear and undeniable violation, submit a private flag. Your justification for the flag must be clear and reference the specific rule or brief item being violated.
💰 How to Claim Your Reward:
For proposals, all flags must be submitted via form.
Fill out Google Form for each private flag [if you are eligible L2 moderator, please check your email for link]
## How Rewards Are Calculated (Fund15) 💰
We are running a single bounty pool to incentivize the accurate flagging of non-compliant "Final" proposals. We want to reward your time and sharp eye fairly. The reward system is based on the quality and uniqueness of your flags from a total bounty pool of 20,000 ADA.
Here’s how it works:
Example Scenario:
Pay-Per-Flag: You will earn 15 ADA for each confirmed flag you submit.
What is a "Confirmed Flag"? A flag is considered "confirmed" when the Catalyst Team reviews your submission and agrees the proposal clearly violates the Category Brief (and your flag justification references it) and you were the first to flag it.
What Makes a Good Flag Justification? A clear, concise, and verifiable justification is required for a flag to be confirmed. Flags with weak or missing justifications may not be approved, even if the issue is valid.
Bad Flag (will be rejected): "This proposal's budget is vague. Feels non-compliant."
Good Flag (will be confirmed): "Flagging for non-compliance. 'Proposal [NAME] violates Item XYZ of the Category Brief for 'Cardano Use Cases: Prototype & Launch', which requires a detailed 3-month milestone plan. The proposal's Roadmap section only lists 'Q1 - Launch' with no details.'"
First Reporter Rule: To ensure fairness, only the first moderator to submit a confirmed flag for a specific proposal will be rewarded. If multiple moderators flag the same proposal for the same valid reason, the reward goes to whoever submitted the Google Form first. Timestamp determinations are based on form submission time and are final. We will not adjust payments retroactively due to timing disputes or system errors.
Individual Cap: To encourage wide participation, each moderator can earn a maximum of 400 ADA. This is equivalent to 27 unique, confirmed flags (27 flags x 15 ADA/flag).
Final Program Deadline: Flags must be submitted by 6AM UTC on December 15 or until the 20,000 ADA reward pool is fully allocated, whichever comes first. Flags submitted by the deadline will be reviewed even if review occurs after the deadline, subject to the pool cap.
Finality: The Catalyst Team's decision on whether a flag is "confirmed" is final and binding. There will not be an appeals process for this program.
KYC: Payment is subject to successful completion of KYC verification. If you do not complete KYC or fail verification, you will not receive payment.
Example Scenario:
Let's say you spend an evening reviewing proposals:
You submit private flags for 12 different "Final" proposals.
The Catalyst Team reviews them:
8 flags are confirmed as valid, and you were the first to report them.
2 flags are confirmed as valid, but another moderator reported them just before you did.
2 flags are not confirmed, as the team determined the proposals were acceptable after a closer look.
Your Reward Calculation: 8 (unique confirmed flags) x 15 ADA = 120 ADA.
## A Note on Fair Play, Empathy & Good Conduct
Your job is to flag, not to judge. You are an extra set of eyes helping our team focus our attention. When you flag a proposal, you are simply stating that it may not meet the category criteria and requires an expert review. Any attempts to abuse this system in a malicious way are not going to be tolerated in any shape and form and may result in exclusion from future programs.
Please provide a clear, concise justification for each flag based on the guidance above. This helps us quickly assess the situation. There's no need to write an essay.
Thank you again for your commitment. Your work helps ensure that voter attention is focused on the highest-quality proposals, strengthening the entire Cardano ecosystem. ✨
Thank you for your work in helping to ensure a high-quality ballot for Fund15.
Happy flagging! The Catalyst Team
Terms & Conditions
- By submitting flags through the L2 Moderation Bounty Program for Fund15 (the "Program"), you ("Moderator") confirm you read, understand and agree to these Terms & Conditions and the foregoing Program guidance (together, the "Terms"). IOG Singapore Pte. Ltd. administers the Program on behalf of Catalyst FC (collectively, "we," "us" or “our”).
- All bounty payments are discretionary and subject to our confirmation that your flag is valid and you were first to report it.
- You: (a) will submit accurate flags in good faith; (b) keep all proposal information confidential and not share or use it outside the Program; (c) are an independent participant, not an employee or contractor; (d) are responsible for tax obligations and regulatory compliance in your jurisdiction; and (e) assign to us all rights in your submitted flags and materials, including intellectual property rights.
- We make no warranties about the Program, payment amounts or timing. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability will not exceed amounts paid to you, and we are not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages. We may modify or terminate the Program at any time, with notice when practicable.
- The Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York without regard to conflict of laws provisions.
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