EOS - Article XV
What It Says
Article XV - Termination of Agreement
A Member is automatically released from all revocable obligations under this Constitution 3 years after the last transaction signed by that Member is incorporated into the blockchain. After 3 years of inactivity an account may be put up for auction and the proceeds distributed to all Members according to the system contract provisions then in effect for such redistribution.
The nuts and bolts of this are apparent, if a member does not use their allocated resources for three years, (EOS tokens are resources), the 'network' will close down the account and potentially auction off the funds or distribute the tokens equally to all other active members. As far as I know, these are 'proposed'; the exact actions that will be taken have not been agreed upon or if this is will be an automated process. I have reached out to the team for confirmation.
What is not apparent is why this is needed. Once again, this will be a contentious point of discussion; there is already one block producer that I know of who will be who will be fighting to have this removed or amended, EOSVIBES.
To talk about this constructively, not just for this article but all entries within the constitution, we need to understand and agree on what we the community want EOS is going to be holistically. Then we will be able to agree or disagree on an item and move forward. I can guarantee this task is going to raise some tempers, but as always, the free market and majority will decide.
Avoiding This Action
Humans will always find a way to cheat the system; it is in our DNA is make things more comfortable and more efficient, even if that means bending the rules a little.
The simple way to not fall foul if the article is to use your EOS resources within the three-year time frame. Cast votes on a monthly basis (remember to look into vote decay), transfer tokens to another account as there are no transactions fees.
If you still feel that is too much effort, then delegate your voting power to someone you trust. The delegated individual will not have access to your funds, all that will happen is that when they vote, your voting power gets included; therefore your tokens have voted and been 'used.'
Those who are super paranoid will feel uncomfortable delegating any of there allocated 'power,' again we have options. With a little technical know-how, a simple script (python is my poison), can automate the voting process on a system that you control that also has access to your keys. I currently vote every week but I know this will become a chore, so I will be writing a script to do this for me. I would be more than happy to upload this script when complete to GitHub (gross) and allow anyone to use it.
Never A Dull Day In The World Of EOS
The constitution is the foundation of the Governance implementation within EOS and is a key differentiator from other crypto's. Although this is the theory, we have seen a recent example of how in practice, it is difficult to enforce. I will not labor the topic again, but the current account freezing saga is still a sore and live discussion within the entire crypto community.
I want to point you to a critical choice of word in Article XV, that word is Member. If you own EOS, you are part of the entire community; you do have a voice. If you disagree with something, you can rally like-minded members and start a petition within the EOS ecosystem to get things changed. Championing change is not a new phenomenon, we see rallies/protests all the time within the current nondigital word, some are successful, some not so much. I like to always go back to a simple phrase when I run into an obstacle.
If you don't ask, you don't get.
We have already seen the amount of attention the account freezing situation has garnered which means people care about what is happening. What a great example of how much passion is behind this project, let's use that passion to improve things for all and not merely talk and complain about it.
Before we all go and grab torches and pitchforks, it is crucial that we understand the fact that the current constitution is not in a final state meaning it is still not a single point of truth, yet. I would like to refer you to Article XX.
Article XX - Interim Constitution
This constitution is interim and is intended to remain in effect until a permanent constitution is written and ratified in a referendum
Let me stress; this statement is in the current constitution within the live mainnet. There will be a referendum within 90 days from when the network launched, and you will have the opportunity to participate in the discussion. There are so many resources available, (too many if you ask me), make sure you communicate your concerns within a platform that matters. Every block producer seems to have a telegram channel, which is useful for direct dialog, but for governance discussions, we have a telegram channel dedicated for that exact topic, moreover all block producers and Block One staff frequent there and are open to questions and ideas.
Link to the EOS Gov telegram
https://t.me/EOSGov
What are you thoughts on how EOS have progressed so far?
Yes article XV is highly controversial, and again in this structure and government heavy chain not totally unexpected. The fun thing of course is, if you had been an early btc investor, those three years would have been exactly the timeframe to eventually harvest those ridiculous amounts available last year by just doing that: nothing. But eos is different, your tokens are not some abstract entity of value but it represents resources for the whole system. Just hodling drains needed resources from the network and harms everybody. Circumventing disappropriation is also just so simple, just delegate your riches or vote at least once in three years and nothing happens. If you don't do this in that timeframe you must be really dead or trying to benefit from harming the chain. I have no issue with redistributing coins in that cases. ..