ZIP: Unassigned
Title: The Zcash Town Square: Official Discussion and Announcement Cross-Posting
Owners: Blake Benthall (emersonian) <[email protected]>
Status: Draft
Category: Process
Created: 2026-11-08
License: MIT
Discussions-To: <https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zip-the-zcash-town-square/59049>
Pull-Request: <https://github.com/zcash/zips/pull/1454>
Updates: 1015, 1016
The key words “MUST”, “MUST NOT”, “SHOULD”, “SHOULD NOT”, and “MAY” in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 1 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals.
The terms “Zcash Community Grants” (or “ZCG”), “ZCG Committee”, “Financial Privacy Foundation” (or “FPF”), “Autonomous Entities”, and “Discretionary Budget” in this document are to be interpreted as defined in ZIP 1015 2.
The terms “Protocol-defined Ecosystem Funding”, “Coinholder-Controlled Fund”, and “Key-Holder Organizations” in this document are to be interpreted as defined in ZIP 1016 3, as amended by any later ZIP that updates those definitions.
“Zcash Community Forum” (or “the Forum”) means the discussion forum hosted at https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/, or any successor forum designated by a ZIP in accordance with Succession of the Zcash Town Square.
“Zcash Town Square” is the designation given to the Zcash Community Forum by this ZIP.
“Other Platform” means any public or semi-public communication channel other than the Forum. This includes, but is not limited to: X (formerly Twitter), Bluesky, Farcaster, Nostr, Mastodon and other federated networks, Discord, Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp groups or channels, Reddit, YouTube, podcasts, livestreams, Medium, Substack and other blogs, an organization’s own website, press releases, newsletters, and GitHub release notes or discussions.
“Zcash Funding Source” means any of the following:
“Covered Organization” means any of the following, for as long as the condition holds and for 12 months afterwards (the “Covered Period”):
An organization that receives payment from a Covered Organization solely as an arm’s-length vendor of goods or services (for example a hosting provider, an auditing firm, or a law firm), and that does not itself receive a grant from a Zcash Funding Source, is not a Covered Organization by reason of that payment.
An individual who receives a grant from a Zcash Funding Source in their own name, rather than through an organization, is treated as a Covered Organization of which they are the sole Executive.
“Executive” means, for a Covered Organization, any natural person who holds any of the following roles in that organization:
“Official Account” means any account on an Other Platform that is operated by or on behalf of a Covered Organization and that represents itself as speaking for that organization, or for a product or project of that organization.
“Covered Speaker” means an Executive of a Covered Organization during its Covered Period, or an Official Account of a Covered Organization during its Covered Period.
“Announcement” has the meaning given in Definition of Announcement.
“Official Discussion” has the meaning given in Official Discussion.
This ZIP affirms that the Zcash Community Forum is the Zcash Town Square: the one official venue for discussion of Zcash governance, funding, and protocol direction, and the canonical public record of announcements made by organizations that are funded by the Zcash community.
It requires every Executive and Official Account of any organization that receives funding from a Zcash Funding Source (the ZCG stream, the Coinholder-Controlled Fund, or any future ZIP-defined fund), together with the Key-Holder Organizations, FPF, and the ZCG Committee, to cross-post to the Forum every Announcement they make on any other platform, including but not limited to X, within 24 hours. It defines what counts as an Announcement, how a cross-post must be made, and how compliance is reported and enforced through the grant agreements and disbursement processes that already exist.
This ZIP does not restrict anyone from speaking on any platform. It has limited privacy implications, which are discussed in Privacy Implications: it does not require pseudonymous participants to reveal legal identities.
Zcash is funded in large part by the Zcash community itself, through block subsidies directed to Zcash Community Grants and to the Coinholder-Controlled Fund. Organizations that receive those funds are accountable to the community that funds them. That accountability depends on the community being able to see what those organizations say and decide, in one place, in a durable and searchable form.
In practice, important announcements are increasingly made first, and sometimes only, on X and other commercial platforms. This creates several problems:
The Forum already plays a central role in Zcash governance. ZIP 0 8 directs ZIP authors to post new ideas there and asks Editors to check that substantive ZIP updates have been announced there, ZCG grant proposals are discussed there, and the questions and results of the NU7 coinholder polls were published there 9. However, no ZIP states that the Forum is the official venue, and no ZIP requires funded organizations to publish their announcements there. This ZIP fills that gap.
This ZIP does not affect the privacy of Zcash transactions or of Zcash users in general.
It requires Covered Organizations to publish a register of their Executives and Official Accounts (see Register of Covered Speakers). Some Executives, particularly of small grantees, participate in Zcash under a pseudonym. The register identifies Executives by the public handle under which they already act for the organization, and does not require a legal name, address, or any other identifying information that the Executive has not already made public.
Cross-posting copies content that a Covered Speaker has already chosen to make public. It does not require the publication of private messages, of communications within private groups that are not Announcements, or of security information that is under responsible-disclosure embargo.
The Zcash Community Forum is designated the Zcash Town Square.
The Zcash Town Square is the sole official venue for Official Discussion, and the canonical public record of Announcements made by Covered Speakers.
“Official Discussion” means public discussion, proposal, or decision-making concerning any of the following:
Discussion of these matters MAY take place on any platform. However:
An “Announcement” is a public post, statement, release, or broadcast made by a Covered Speaker on an Other Platform that communicates, for the first time on that platform, any of the following in relation to Zcash, the Covered Organization’s Zcash-related work, or Zcash governance:
For an Executive, a post is an Announcement if it meets the above test and is made in, or could reasonably be understood as being made in, their capacity as an Executive. A post by an Executive that states a position on a matter listed in item 8 is presumed to be made in that capacity unless the post clearly states that it is a personal view.
The following are not Announcements:
A post in a semi-public channel (such as a Discord or Telegram channel that anyone may join) is public for the purposes of this definition.
The definition is written as a list of subject matters, rather than a test of importance, so that a third party can apply it without judging how significant a post is. Item 8 is included because positions taken by funded organizations on governance matters are exactly what the community most needs to see in one place, and are most often stated only on X. The presumption that an Executive speaks in their official capacity on governance matters prevents the obligation from being avoided by speaking “personally” on a matter where the Executive’s role is the reason their view carries weight; a clear statement that a post is personal rebuts it.
Whenever a Covered Speaker makes an Announcement on an Other Platform, the Covered Speaker, or the Covered Organization on their behalf, MUST cross-post it to the Forum as specified in this section.
The cross-post MUST be made within 24 hours of the Announcement first being made on any Other Platform. Covered Speakers SHOULD make the cross-post at the same time as, or before, the Announcement on Other Platforms.
For an Announcement relating to a security or privacy incident under item 3, the cross-post MUST be made within 24 hours of the end of any applicable responsible-disclosure embargo, or of the Announcement, whichever is later.
If the same Announcement is made on several Other Platforms, one cross-post is sufficient, and it SHOULD link to each of them.
A cross-post MUST include the full text of the Announcement (every post, for a thread), its attachments or working links to them, a link to the original on each Other Platform, the name or handle of the Covered Speaker (and, for an Executive, their role and organization), and the UTC date and time it was first made. A link alone is not a cross-post.
For audio or video, the cross-post MUST include a link to the recording and a written summary of each matter announced, and SHOULD include a transcript where one exists. For an Announcement not in English, it MUST include the original text and SHOULD include an English translation.
A cross-post MUST be made from a Forum account listed for the Covered Speaker in the Register of Covered Speakers, in the Announcements category under Forum Categories, or in a relevant existing thread (such as the thread for a ZIP or grant) with a link from the Announcements category.
If an Announcement is materially edited or deleted on an Other Platform, the Covered Speaker MUST, within 24 hours, update the cross-post or add a reply to it that states what was changed or that the original was deleted. A cross-post MUST NOT be deleted, and MUST NOT be edited in a way that removes the original text, except where required by law or to remove information whose publication would cause harm (such as private keys or personal data published in error); in that case the reason MUST be stated in the cross-post.
Each Covered Organization MUST publish on the Forum, and update within 7 days of any change, a register of its Executives (by the name or handle under which they act for it, with their role), its Official Accounts, and the Forum and Other Platform accounts each of them uses for Announcements.
FPF, for ZCG, and the Key-Holder Organizations, for the Coinholder-Controlled Fund, MUST each keep on the Forum a list of the Covered Organizations they fund, linking to each register.
Nothing in this section requires anyone to disclose their legal name or any information they have not already made public.
The operator of the Forum is requested to maintain a category for Announcements by Covered Speakers (limited to cross-posts and replies), and a category or thread for reports of non-compliance under Enforcement.
If the operator is itself a Covered Organization, it MUST maintain these, MUST publish its moderation policy, MUST NOT remove, hide, or edit a cross-post or non-compliance report except for spam, illegal content, or doxxing (recording each such action and its reason in a public moderation log), and MUST publish a downloadable archive of the Announcements category at least quarterly.
Each Covered Organization that reports quarterly under ZIP 1014 10, ZIP 1015 11, or ZIP 1016 MUST state in each quarterly report whether it, its Executives, and its Official Accounts complied with this ZIP, describe any non-compliance and how it was remedied, and link to its register. Grantees SHOULD include the same statement in milestone reports.
From the Effective Date, FPF (for ZCG) and the Key-Holder Organizations (for the Coinholder-Controlled Fund) MUST include compliance with this ZIP as a condition in every grant agreement entered into, renewed, or amended with a Covered Organization. Grant agreements in force at the Effective Date SHOULD be amended to include it at the earliest opportunity, and in any case MUST include it on renewal.
FPF, the ZCG Committee, and the Key-Holder Organizations are themselves bound by this ZIP as Covered Organizations, and compliance with it forms part of their Transparency and Accountability obligations under ZIP 1015 and ZIP 1016.
Any person MAY report an apparent failure to comply with this ZIP by posting in the category or thread designated under Forum Categories. A report SHOULD include a link to the Announcement and an archived copy of it.
When a report is made, or when FPF, the ZCG Committee, or a Key-Holder Organization otherwise becomes aware of an apparent failure to comply, the body that administers the relevant Zcash Funding Source MUST give the Covered Organization notice on the Forum. The Covered Organization has 7 days from the notice (the “cure period”) to make the missing cross-post or correction, or to explain on the Forum why the post in question is not an Announcement.
A failure that is cured within the cure period is a “cured failure”. It is recorded, but has no further consequence except as set out below.
A Covered Organization commits a “substantial violation” of this ZIP if:
When a grantee commits a substantial violation:
When FPF, the ZCG Committee, or a Key-Holder Organization commits a substantial violation, it constitutes a failure to meet its Transparency and Accountability obligations under ZIP 1015 and ZIP 1016, and is subject to the enforcement provisions of those ZIPs 13.
All notices, explanations, cures, suspensions, and resumptions of disbursement under this section MUST be published on the Forum.
If a Covered Organization disputes that a post is an Announcement, the body that administers the relevant Zcash Funding Source MUST decide the question and publish its decision and reasons on the Forum. Where a Key-Holder Organization or FPF is itself the Covered Organization concerned, it MUST NOT take part in that decision; the decision is instead made by the remaining Key-Holder Organizations, or, for FPF, by the ZCG Committee.
A Process ZIP cannot compel anyone to do anything except through the obligations and processes that the community already controls. For funded organizations, that is the grant agreement and the disbursement schedule. Tying the obligation to existing grant agreements and quarterly reports adds no new institution, and uses the same enforcement path that ZIP 1015 already uses for its Transparency and Accountability obligations.
The notice-and-cure step keeps the consequence proportionate: a missed cross-post is easy to fix, and an organization that fixes it promptly loses nothing. Only an organization that refuses to fix a failure, or repeatedly fails, has disbursements suspended, and even then only until it complies.
The designation of the Zcash Town Square may be transferred to a successor forum only by a ZIP.
If the Forum becomes unavailable for more than 7 consecutive days, Covered Speakers MUST, for as long as it remains unavailable, publish cross-posts on their own website or in a public GitHub repository, and MUST additionally cross-post them to the Forum within 7 days after it becomes available again.
This ZIP takes effect 30 days after its Status becomes Active (the “Effective Date”). Covered Organizations MUST publish their registers within 30 days after the Effective Date. Announcements made before the Effective Date are not covered, but Covered Speakers are encouraged to comply voluntarily from the time this ZIP becomes Active.
The Forum is already the venue that ZIP 0 and the funding ZIPs rely on in practice. It is readable without an account, its threads are durable and searchable, it supports long-form, threaded discussion, and it is not operated for the purpose of maximizing engagement. Designating it formally makes the existing practice explicit and gives the community one place to check.
Reaching people where they are is important for Zcash adoption, and requiring funded organizations to stop using X or other platforms would be both unenforceable and harmful. Cross-posting preserves outreach on every platform while ensuring that the Forum holds a complete record. Covered Speakers are encouraged, but not required, to post on the Forum first.
A short window keeps the Forum record current enough to be useful for discussion of the Announcement, while allowing for time zones and for Announcements made outside working hours. A longer window would allow discussion to form elsewhere before the Forum sees the Announcement.
This ZIP covers the Executives of funded organizations because they speak for those organizations. Official Accounts are added because organizations most often announce through their own brand accounts, and leaving them out would leave the largest source of announcements uncovered. Ordinary employees and contributors are not covered, to keep the obligation focused and administrable.
These bodies administer Zcash Funding Sources on the community’s behalf. Their Announcements about funding and governance are at least as important to the community as those of grantees, and they are covered whether or not they themselves receive grants.
Designating one venue as official gives its operator influence over what is seen. If the operator is a Covered Organization, the moderation-log, archive, and non-removal requirements limit the risk that this influence is used to suppress Announcements or reports of non-compliance. The Succession section lets the community move the designation if the Forum ceases to serve it.
The following questions are left open for discussion while this ZIP is a Draft:
Information on BCP 14, “RFC 2119: Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels” and “RFC 8174: Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words” ↩︎
ZIP 1015: Block Subsidy Allocation for Non-Direct Development Funding ↩︎
ZIP 1015: Block Subsidy Allocation for Non-Direct Development Funding, Zcash Community Grants ↩︎
ZIP 1014: Establishing a Dev Fund for ECC, ZF, and Major Grants ↩︎
ZIP 1015: Block Subsidy Allocation for Non-Direct Development Funding, Transparency and Accountability ↩︎
ZIP 1016: Community and Coinholder Funding Model, Disbursement process ↩︎
ZIP 1015: Block Subsidy Allocation for Non-Direct Development Funding, Enforcement ↩︎