zfnd/about/values.md

Values and Goals

Values

• Transparency. We are committed to accountability. Our policies, significant decisions and their rationale, and software shall all be publicly visible. We will strive to accurately and accessibly communicate the security properties of Zcash and of proposed changes.

• Inclusivity. The Zcash ecosystem consists of many subcommunities, such as end-users, developers, miners, exchanges, traders and researchers, in many countries and cultures. They should all be given a voice within the Zcash community and the Foundation’s deliberations.

• Humility. Mutual kindness, integrity, and respect are necessary for productive collaboration. We debate ideas productively assuming good faith, we are open to appropriate feedback, and we maintain intellectual honesty without hostility.

Goals

• Privacy. The essence of privacy is being able to choose what is or isn’t shared with others. To help protect that freedom of choice, the Foundation will not seek or hold privileged information beyond what is observable by anyone from public blockchains or equivalent outside disclosures. We will never knowingly facilitate or assist in surveillance, through a cryptographic "backdoor" or any other method.

• Decentralization. We will strive to encourage decentralization of the protocols and networks that we support, avoiding the placement of trust or granting of capabilities to any single party (assigned or emergent). The Foundation will not seek to place itself in a position of control over the Zcash community. Whenever current technology does not achieve perfect decentralization, we will seek to minimize, monitor, and mitigate centralization.

• Innovation. The Foundation shall support research and development to improve Zcash and other financial privacy infrastructure. It will strive to incorporate such progress into the Zcash protocol and software, while mindful of stability and security.

• Cooperation with other cryptocurrencies. No "coin" is an island unto itself, and the success and acceptance of cryptocurrencies are intertwined. We will strive to collaborate with other cryptocurrencies' communities in areas of mutual interest.