I’ve been getting some great questions, so I thought it’d be helpful to dive deeper in a FAQ format:
—FAQ—
1. What are the benefits of Vanguards to the Reserve community?
The more you see something, the more you like it. Familiarity hacks your brain. That’s why advertising works. Repetition creates value, even if there’s nothing inherently better. In advertising this is called the MERE-EXPOSURE-EFFECT. More people talking about Reserve protocol and RTokens is a step in the right direction. The Reply-Guy strategy is key to boosting the signal-to-noise ratio for Reserve Protocol. Just yesterday, I posted something, and within hours, three replies popped up—coincidentally all promoting a competing stablecoin. Funny how that works.
2. Why is the proposed Vanguard contribution Discord-first and 𝕏 second?
Actually, I got that wrong in the original post. A balanced investment in Discord and 𝕏 is ideal, but ultimately, it’s up to the Vanguard to decide. The ‘Reply-guy’ is hands down the most effective way to cut through the noise and raise the signal in the Reserve ecosystem, both in Discord and 𝕏. As mentioned in the original post above, “Fast, quality responses drive growth.” Community votes during Vanguard epochs should also bring in valuable feedback. If you want more on why Reply-Guy is so critical, check this out:
3. The Vanguard proposal references the previous Community Education Rewards (CER) program - what is that?
CER pushes and rewards content that actually educates and strengthens the Reserve ecosystem. From June 2023 to July 2024, it drove nearly 900,000 impressions, educating stablecoin and DeFi users at just $0.04 per impression. On top of that, it got major DeFi educators like @0xMughal and @Dynamo_Patrick consistently talking about Reserve to their communities. Mind you, Reserve protocol TVL 10x’d from $23M to $230M during the same period. That’s real impact. Fun fact: In early 2023 the Reserve BD team would go to conferences and people would ask, ‘Reserve is still around?’ Fast forward to today, and almost everyone in DeFi knows Reserve. Now, protocols are stalking Reserve to participate—just look at Stader and Frax jumping in with ETH+.
4. What were the challenges with CER, and how does Vanguard solve them?
CER had monthly epochs—12 a year—that required a lot of cat-herding for submissions and judging by the core team. It became a burden. Plus, shorter participation periods limited real engagement and didn’t allow contributors to build long-term momentum. Vanguard shifts to just 3 epochs a year, cutting the workload by 75%. With longer participation windows, contributors can go deeper and really build muscle and higher quality contributions.
5. But is the proposed Vanguard program a 1:1 substitute for CER?
No. Vanguards will produce how-to guides and semi-technical explainers, but they might not have the same reach as someone like @0xMughal and @Dynamo_Patrick. The difference is Vanguard brings in the Reply-Guy strategy, combining it with solid educational content. Plus, with @ReserveProtocol now at 120k followers, can amplify Vanguards and help Rangers who are aiming to step up as Vanguards.
6. Will Vanguards be a game-changer for the Reserve community like Link Marines were for Chainlink?
We won’t know until we try. To be fair, Vanguards are just one piece of a larger, multi-faceted ecosystem education strategy. Success comes from a lot of things aligning in sync. But Vanguards play a crucial role—they’re here to help the Reserve ecosystem unite and expand.
7. The original post mentions Chainlink God and the Chainlink ecosystem, but he wasn’t compensated—right?
Wrong. This is a common (and intentionally obscured) misunderstanding in Web3 marketing. Educators always get compensated; it’s just not obvious how. Either they already hold a bag of tokens, get paid directly, or they’re doing it for social clout and deeper learning, which leads to alpha—and eventually back to a bag of tokens (many investors take this latter route).
8. What is the point of the Vanguard’s monthly status report on the public Reserve Forums?
Simple—transparency. Sharing observations, data, and receipts keeps everything out in the open. It invites questions and comments, which sharpens the process. Public feedback matters—it’s how we improve and stay accountable
9. The post suggests starting with just three Vanguards—why is that the right number?
Well, it’s a starting point, but it could be four, five or six. When I wrote the proposal, the goal was to keep overhead low for the core team and the community. It’s better to focus on cultivating three solid Vanguards than spreading resources across six mediocre contributors. If it works, we can always scale up.
10. The post proposes $12,000 per epoch split between three Vanguards, is this enough?
It’s just a starting point. The community or Confusion Capital can absolutely push for higher amounts if needed.
11. What’s the deal with the proposed #Rangers-Vanguard Discord channel, and why require a minimum balance of RTokens or stRSR to join?
Simple. It’s meant to be a high-signal, low-noise space for real collaboration—no distractions, no fluff. We want Vanguards to be actual users of the protocol, not just mercenary farmers chasing quick profits. The minimum balance ensures alignment and keeps the quality of the conversation high
12. I want to be a Vanguard, but I’m not sure how to present my proposal to the community or what questions to answer.
During Vanguard election season before each epoch, post your proposal on Reserve Forum and cover these key points, ending with a clear call to action:
- Your Discord handle
- Your 𝕏 handle
- ERC20 address to receive grant if selected by the community
- Share your crypto journey—how it started, how it’s going. Go deep here!
- Showcase proud examples of content you’ve contributed to any ecosystem (links, screenshots, data, charts)
- Why does the Reserve ecosystem matter to you?
- What’s your engagement strategy as a Vanguard? Outline the personas, platforms, metrics, and messaging styles you’ll focus on.
- Call to action: Ask for questions and feedback from the community so you can refine your proposal before final judgment.
Make it clear, make it compelling, and invite the community to engage
13. How should Vanguards work with Confusion Capital and ABC Labs to identify what matters most?
A lot of the ecosystem’s priorities will be obvious—just check the Reserve Discord, 𝕏, and governance forums. It’s mostly about gathering, researching, and connecting the dots. But I’d also recommend a quarterly call (open to everyone) where Confusion Capital, ABC Labs and Vanguards recap the last quarter and share what’s critical for the months ahead. From there, it’s on the Vanguards and their Rangers to curate, synthesize and distribute the info however they see fit
14. @0xJMG, what’s your role in the proposed Vanguard program? What’s in it for you?
I’m here to support Vanguards with strategy, messaging, and resource connections. I won’t be competing in epochs as a Vanguard, but I’ll always be a Vanguard at heart. I’ve got 6 years invested in the Reserve ecosystem—first as a seed investor, then as Head of Ecosystem, and now as a community contributor. The mission’s not finished yet.
What questions did I miss in this FAQ?