Awesome! I’ll just finish some talks with some universities in the Bicol region. I was planning to do the next workshop in a larger venue to accommodate more students and probably two or three universities at a time. It sounds crazy, but I think it would work, and it’s more efficient in terms of time and funds.
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Happy holidays Mark! I love seeing the updates you’ve been posting!
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Hello all,
It recently came to our attention that @markbagogames has sold the LAND that was part of this SIP allowance and supposed to be solely used to host the experiences developped by the Sandbox Academy students. This is a violation of the terms of the SIP. Mark had to do it for personnal financial reason that I wont detail here.
As a result, this is the course of action that is being considered:
- Discount the price of the LAND (so 1011 SAND) from this SIP next milestone payment
- the experiences, will be moved to one of the DAO LAND, and administer by the admin team. (they are currently being hosted on one of Mark friends LAND)
- A 4 months Ban from publishing any SIPs
I’m posting here after having first exchanged with Mark on DMs:
- to make it transparent to the community,
- solicitate feedback on what is the most appropriate thing to do
- and give Mark a forum to discuss the matter with all.
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To the Sandbox DAO Community,
I want to address a personal matter and be completely transparent with everyone. Recently, I made the difficult decision to sell the 1x1 land that was entrusted to me by the DAO. This decision was not made lightly and was driven by pressing financial needs to support my family.
As a father and husband, my family’s well-being is my top priority, and at the time, I had no other means to provide for them. I exhausted all other options before taking this step, and it was the only viable solution in the face of an urgent situation.
I understand the responsibility that comes with being part of this community and the trust that was placed in me when I was granted this land. It was never my intention to let anyone down, and I deeply regret that I found myself in a position where I had to make this choice.
I want to emphasize that I remain fully committed to the values of the DAO and to contributing to the ecosystem. My goal is to return the value of the land to the DAO in the future. Whether through a direct financial repayment, purchasing and returning an equivalent piece of land, or any other way the community deems appropriate, I am determined to make things right.
I hope for your understanding as I navigate this challenging time. My commitment to The Sandbox and its community remains strong, and I will continue to dedicate my efforts to building meaningful projects and initiatives that benefit us all.
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Family first. All the time. 
Your contributions to TSB over the years have been incredible.
I applaud how well you’re handling the repercussions here.
Obviously, we want community feedback on Cyril’s post above before we take any actions, but we do need to set some kind of precedent for SIP disbursements to future SIP authors.
This will be my only reaction post on that topic and I am not going to debate or judge anything that drove your decision. The only things that matter to me is the result of your action.
You gave away the trust of the TSB community for 300 $.
SIP12 should be cancelled.
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Family comes first, I truly empathize with you Mark, and I hope things go well with you and the family.
However, I have to put emotions aside when approaching this matter. I won’t be a judge or anything, it’s not my place. but will provide feedback to the questions by Cyril.
I think 1 and 3 has to be implemented. Simply for protecting the DAO’s interest and setting a precedent for future authors regarding the consequences of breaching trust or contracts.
I also agree with KYCL, SIP12 should be cancelled.
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Hey @markbagogames, I personally am disappointed to see how The Sandbox Academy took a turn as such. It showed so much promise and as evident in this thread, many people were behind you, supporting you, including myself. There were individuals who also came out to personally vouch for you during its draft, and those individuals have also expressed their disappointment to me as well. Seb even came out to vote in support of your SIP by putting 9m VP in YES and the remaining 18M VP to help you meet quorum.
That’s how much faith everyone had in you. With this mistrust, you’ve made everyone, including Seb, look like fools.
After such an incident, it puts into question the legitimacy of everything that has been organised thus far under your SIP, including the game jam rewards. If you did it for $300usd, I am far more concerned about the bulk of the amount distributed to you, which amounts up to almost 40k SAND.
You’ve also came up to ask for more funding via your SIP Idea ‘Sandbox District’, requesting for $10k and 2x2 lands, which adds on to your culpability.
I understand that family troubles can drive a person into desperation, but it isn’t an excuse to do what you did. You’ve now lost the trust of the community you’ve worked hard for.
@Cyril, my recommendations for penalty will be as such:
- Seize all payments immediately.
- Cancel SIP 12 in light of the breach of trust and contract.
- A 1 year ban that includes 1. publishing SIPs. 2. being part of any SIPs.
As for @markbagogames, I’d recommend:
- Coming clean with the Admin team, and then the community, as to the extent of your wrongdoing. This is a first step in repairing the trust you’ve misplaced.
- Make restitutions to the amount that you’ve misappropriated.
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A tough situation no matter whose eyes we’re looking through.
Full disclosure: I have interviewed Mark twice. Once while SIP-12 was out for vote, and once showing a recent update on SIP-12’s first school event.
I’m glad we’re handling this swiftly. Mark is known as a passionate and motivated SandFam. I think we should treat this with compassion for the individual and fairness for protecting the DAO. Yes, there needs to be accountability, and it already seems like Mark is here to face them.
- #s 1 through 3 that Cyril proposed seem fair to me.
- I recommend 4 months be extended to 1 year to give the community and Mark time to heal and move forward
- I recommend an assessment of what was given to Mark be conducted to determine if any other resources entrusted to him were affected.
- I recommend Mark’s ability and willingness to continue SIP-12 be assessed. Do the conditions of his difficulty still exist? What plan has he put in place to ensure this incident is not repeated?
- I recommend enhanced oversight be implemented by requiring Mark submit receipts & invoices to be paid for future milestone payments.
- I recommend Mark make a full and complete disclosure of everything affected. Was any of the $53K used in a way it shouldn’t have been? Any other DAO resources impacted?
- I recommend Mark make a full disclosure of his intentions and willingness to remain in SandFam, even if it’s under the conditions that #s 1-5 would impose on him. There will be increased work by the DAO Admin Team to oversee enhanced oversight, and we shouldn’t proceed with SIP-12 if there isn’t a commitment from Mark to see it through.
I’m not in favor of canceling SIP-12 if the DAO Admin Team is able to secure #s 1 through 7. I think they’re fair while still allowing a path to recovery.
There’s an old proverb I’ve heard somewhere:
Punish loyalty and you’ll ensure no one is loyal.
I feel this applies to Mark’s honesty.
I request @markbagogames voluntarily post #s 6 & 7 here. If he wants to stay, knowing it’s going to be harder for him, I want him to stay. There’s not a person on this earth who hasn’t done something shameful, whether it’s publicly known or not. What Mark did was a serious breach of trust. The only question is, what type of community are we? Are we a one-mistake SandFam?
In Mark’s case, I see an opportunity for us to heal and recover.
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Agree with @Lanzer, I think there is room to reconsider canceling the SIP, as genuine commitment has been shown in prior workshops. Tbh, selling the land for quick bucks sounds like a real emergency or just too silly.
I agree to reduce payment (LAND price) for the next milestone & suspension from participating in future SIPs.
And please address the concerns mentioned and prove the capability to continue the SIP
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Thank you Sir @Lanzer for the thoughtful words and for acknowledging the complexity of this situation. I deeply appreciate the swift and compassionate manner in which this is being addressed. As someone passionate about The Sandbox and its community, I understand the trust that has been placed in me and the gravity of the situation. I am here to take responsibility for my actions and to work towards rebuilding that trust. My commitment to The Sandbox remains steadfast, and I will do everything I can to contribute positively moving forward.
Cyril’s Proposal (Points 1-2)
I agree with both proposals.
Extension from 4 Months to 1 Year
Extending the timeframe to 1 year is fair and reasonable.
Assessment of Resources Given
A complete and transparent audit of resources entrusted to me is essential. I am fully willing to cooperate with such an assessment to ensure clarity and address any concerns.
Assessment of My Ability to Continue SIP-12
I am open to an evaluation of my current circumstances and readiness to proceed with SIP-12. I have already lined up partnerships with four universities in the Bicol region for Sandbox Academy workshops starting this January, which demonstrates the ongoing interest and potential impact of this program. I will also provide a detailed plan to address any challenges and ensure this incident is not repeated. This includes strategies to safeguard the project’s integrity and success moving forward.
Enhanced Oversight
Submitting receipts after each milestone and before the release of funds has been a requirement from the start of the project, and I have adhered to this for the last two milestones. I will continue to comply with this process to maintain transparency and accountability.
Full Disclosure of Resources
The total SAND I received is 15,000 ($5,851.00) and the 1x1 land that I sold.
Intentions and Willingness to Remain in SandFam
My intentions have always been rooted in helping The Sandbox grow and succeed. Beyond conducting workshops, I actively attend events and conventions to promote The Sandbox and build meaningful partnerships. These efforts have already led to collaborations that benefit the entire community.
I want to sincerely apologize for my mistake regarding the 1x1 land that I sold. I deeply regret my actions and understand how they have affected the trust placed in me. I take full responsibility and am committed to making amends and ensuring this never happens again.
Just 2 nights ago, I posted a new idea called “Sandbox District,” which I plan to continue developing without requesting any funding from the DAO. Moreover, I am committed to allocating 20% of all profits from this project back to the DAO to support community initiatives.
The Sandbox is not just a family to me—it is where my heart belongs. I remain dedicated to its growth and success and will continue to contribute meaningfully to rebuild trust and support the vision of our community.
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I appreciate hearing you say that, @markbagogames . I think your contributions to SandFam are well-established.
Would you mind answering, was any of the 15K SAND you received used toward your difficulty?
Looking back at your proposal…I didn’t see any SAND allocated for your role in SIP-12. Before this incident occurred, were you projected to receive any compensation whatsoever from SIP-12?
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This is a sad and worrying event. We should use it to put in place safeguards.
Fortunately the amount seems to be low (pending confirmation and the results of the investigation), despite all this remains a breach of the basic agreement.
As for the current situation :
I agree that access to SIP should be prohibited for a given period, 1 year seems correct.
And all expenses must be justified.
This is a mistake that costs us all money and energy.
Maybe we should have protections like “SIP ethics committees”, multisig wallets or even create sub-daos for each SIP.
These SIP wallets would be managed by the owner of the SIP.
On the one hand this would allow the owner of the SIP to validate all expenses via the “committee of the SIP”.
And on the other hand, to remove people from the committee if it turns out that they are in bad faith and block the situation.
Of course in this case the owner of the SIP will have to justify the ousting of the members concerned.
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Thanks @Lanzer! I think I used $50 to pay for my 2-month internet service but that’s it.
There is a 10000 SAND allocation for my allowance and I don’t expect any other compensation other than the fund given to me. But I still plan on using a portion of it when I will be attending events or conventions and other expenses not related to the workshop but more on promoting TSB.
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In my eyes this is inexcusable. I would vote for the 12 month ban from SIP submission along with return of any $SAND. Failure to deliver uphold the SIP is inadvertently theft from the community. Less the 4 days after land transfer, it is sold. This is a prime example for why safe guards should be put in place #1 being ‘Any Land at all offered through a SIP will remain in procession of TSB and publication access/rights given to SIP requestee’ otherwise the DAO will simple become a faucet.
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Damn, you just did what i expect from you mark! I was very much negative about this shit funding going straight to organizers pocket. I doubted your reputation of handling this project from the very start, yet Seb and the rest of the gang were backing you up. Now, what? They look like a fool!
I hope the good guys here will hear me again, tho i may sound combative and very annoying. HERE:
Pause the SIP12 funding. Mark must be very excited unlocking SAND from this SIP as it is his ONLY SOURCE OF INCOME at the moment. It would be reasonable to pause the SIP12 for 1 YEAR, this is not to delay the progress of Sandbox Academy but to help the DAO community build trust on this guy. The Sandbox Academy initiative can wait, TSB won’t get lost in the next 10 years, and this is not an urgent call. Let mark understand that writing SIP is not a way of living.