# Graded Vesting in Curation - A Potential Solution for the Botting Problem **URL:** \ **Category:** Research & Development\ **Created:** [October 8, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.thegraph.com/t/graded-vesting-in-curation-a-potential-solution-for-the-botting-problem/2623 "2021-10-08T14:41:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![graph\_marine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@graph\_marine](https://forum.thegraph.com/u/graph_marine)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://forum.thegraph.com/t/graded-vesting-in-curation-a-potential-solution-for-the-botting-problem/2623/1 "2021-10-08T14:41:02Z")
Would it be possible to implement “graded vesting periods” for curation, wherein users do not receive bonding curve appreciation if they remove their signal before a certain period of time has passed? For instance, let’s say there are graded vesting periods of: 28 days signaled = 1% bonding curve gain realized 90 days signaled = 15% bonding curve gain realized 180 days signaled = 50% bonding curve gain realized 365 days signaled = 100% bonding curve gain realized How this would work: User A signals a new subgraph. User B signals the same subgraph 1 hour later. One day later, User C, followed by several other users have signaled this subgraph, and now User A, User B, and User C’s shares are significantly larger than their initial signal. User A waits **7 days** and removes his/her signal. He/she receives 100% of his/her original signal (minus the signaling tax) + a cut of query fees amassed over the 7 days, but **none of the bonding curve gains** since he/she did not remain signaled for **28 days**. User B waits **108 days** and removes his/her signal. He/she receives 100% of his/her original signal (minus the signaling tax) + a cut of query fees amassed over the 108 days + **15%** of his/her bonding curve gains since he/she remained signaled for more than 90 days. User C waits **210 days** and removes his/her signal. He/she receives 100% of his/her original signal (minus the signaling tax) + a cut of query fees amassed over the 210 days + **50%** of his/her bonding curve gains since he/she remained signaled for more than 180 days. Any users who signaled for more than 365 days would receive 100% of his/her original signal (minus the signaling tax) + a cut of query fees amassed over the 365+ days + **100%** of his/her bonding curve gains since he/she remained signaled for more than 365 days. Obviously the grading system could be optimized by the core developers, indexers, and community, but overall, these rules would augment the positive principles of curation (vetting of legitimate subgraphs, maintenance of curation signal on quality subgraphs, incentivized locking of GRT in the network for longer periods of time), minimize the risk of curation for curators, and decrease the ability of bad actors to game the system (botting would be essentially pointless, and even if botting continued, it wouldn’t negatively affect honest curators in the same way). ---
**Author:** ![ari](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.thegraph.com/ari/32/2747_2.png) [@ari](https://forum.thegraph.com/u/ari)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://forum.thegraph.com/t/graded-vesting-in-curation-a-potential-solution-for-the-botting-problem/2623/2 "2021-10-08T15:51:26Z")
Thanks for posting your idea. This reminds me about a post from Brandon [Decaying Capital Gains Tax in Curation Market](https://forum.thegraph.com/t/decaying-capital-gains-tax-in-curation-market/2497) in the sense that are both mechanisms to penalize short-term behavior by reducing the gain of positions that changes frequently. ---
**Author:** ![graph\_marine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@graph\_marine](https://forum.thegraph.com/u/graph_marine)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://forum.thegraph.com/t/graded-vesting-in-curation-a-potential-solution-for-the-botting-problem/2623/3 "2021-10-08T18:33:46Z")
Thank you and thank you for bringing that post to my attention. Brandon’s idea is obviously more intricate and more comprehensive.