The second question is best understood in the context of the first. The poll as a whole is intended to determine whether there is community consensus to establish a new Dev Fund and funding model, and if so, which proposal is preferred. The first question asks which proposal you support or whether you believe the Dev Fund should end and all block rewards should go to miners. The second question asks whether you support implementing a new Dev Fund and funding model, even if it results in further delays to NU7.
This second question matters because even if a proposal receives the most votes in Question 1, it won’t move forward if a majority of respondents say “No” to Question 2. In that case, no new Dev Fund or funding model would be implemented until after NU7 is completed. NU7 is an important network upgrade with several features under consideration, including Zcash Shielded Assets (ZSAs), the Network Sustainability Mechanism (NSM), Memo Bundles, and more. NU7 depends on the deprecation of zcashd, which is still in progress and has already been delayed multiple times. These delays have been a point of frustration for many in the community.
Depending on the proposal selected, implementing a new funding model could cause further delays. Some proposals, like the C&C model, are relatively straightforward. Others, such as the Zcash Governance Bloc (zBloc), are more complex and would take more time to implement. However, even simpler funding models could shift engineering focus away from zcashd deprecation and NU7 and result in additional delays. The second question is meant to assess whether the community believes establishing a new Dev Fund should take priority, or whether the focus should remain on delivering NU7 as soon as possible.
Shielded Labs does not have an official position on the second question. We believe this is a decision that should be made by coinholders and the broader community based on the trade-offs involved.
The below threads provide context to help better understand Question #2: