Promises vs. Reality
Every commitment, action item, or promise made across all 23 TSC meetings — tracked against what actually happened. 39 items traced from source transcript to final status at the end of the series (March 2026).
What gets done vs. what doesn't
Delivered consistently
- External deadlines: parameter updates, governance votes
- Crisis response: chain partition incident handled effectively
- Formal processes: elections, voting, approvals
- Budget-related items when finally prioritized
Consistently fails
- Internal governance: Vice Chair vacant 6+ months
- Written reports without deadlines
- Cross-committee coordination
- External communications (drafted but never sent)
| # | Promise / commitment | Made by | First promised | Status | Evidence from transcripts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | PCP00003 Parameter ChangeRatified on testnets | Alexander Moser | Oct 1 | ✓ Delivered | Parameter change ratified on testnets and deployed. Confirmed Nov 5, 2025. |
| 02 | Plutus Memory Limits Update86% DRep support achieved | Alexander Moser | Jan 14 | ✓ Delivered | Governance action achieved 86% DRep support. Confirmed Feb 18, 2026. |
| 03 | Hard Fork Naming Vote"Max Van Rossem" — 7 Yes, 1 Abstain | Committee | Oct 22 | ✓ Delivered | Formal vote conducted Dec 17, 2025: 7 Yes, 1 Abstain. |
| 04 | Hard Fork Working Group reformedFirst meeting Dec 2 | Committee / Bosko | Oct 1 | ✓ Delivered | HFWG reformed with first meeting December 2, 2025. Confirmed by Bosko. |
| 05 | Chain Partition Working GroupReport completed Jan 7 | Neil Davies / Committee | Nov 26 | ✓ Delivered | Forensic working group formed, report v0.5 finalized Jan 14, 2026. |
| 06 | Temperature Check Process for SIP-1694 | Committee | Nov 5 | ✓ Delivered | Process established by Nov 12, 2025. |
| 07 | Weekly HFWG cadenceTransitioned from bi-weekly | Committee | Dec 3 | ✓ Delivered | Cadence increased from bi-weekly to weekly as hard fork approached. |
| 08 | TSC Annual ReportCompleted by Nov 26 | Sebastian Nagel | Oct 15 | ✓ Delivered | Sebastian volunteered to compile using AI tools. Completed by Nov 26, 2025. |
| 09 | Chain Partition Incident Report v0.5 | Working Group | Nov 26 | ✓ Delivered | Finalized Jan 14, 2026 despite board interference. |
| 10 | SanchoNet Retrospective | Committee | Jan 7 | ✓ Delivered | Confirmed complete Feb 25, 2026. |
| 11 | 2030 Vision KPIs DocumentShared with Product Committee | Leandros Holleman | Jan 14 | ✓ Delivered | Comprehensive document with quarterly breakdown shared Feb 11, 2026. |
| 12 | TSC 2026 Operational Budget$371,000 proposal submitted | Kevin Hammond | Nov 26 | ✓ Delivered | $371,000 proposal across 4 work packages submitted by Mar 25, 2026. |
| 13 | Repository Adoption VotesIOSIM & Type Protocols | Committee | Nov 5 | ✓ Delivered | 8 Yes, 0 No vote conducted Nov 19, 2025. |
| 14 | Chair ElectionKevin Hammond unanimously elected | Committee | Oct 15 | ✓ Delivered | Kevin elected by acclamation Dec 3, 2025 (though poll had quorum issues). |
| 15 | Security Officer AppointmentMike Hornan | Committee | Jan 7 | ✓ Delivered | Mike Hornan appointed as Security Incident Response Officer, Jan 14, 2026. |
| 16 | Governance action for hard fork naming | Ryan Williams | Dec 17 | ✓ Delivered | Info action submitted on chain by Jan 14, 2026. |
| 17 | Committee rewards process | Bosko / Intersect | Dec 3 | ✓ Delivered | 500 ADA/month for members, 1,000 ADA/month for Chair established. |
| 18 | Holiday meeting suspension | Committee | Dec 3 | ✓ Delivered | Meetings suspended Dec 24 and 31, reconvened Jan 7. |
| 19 | Product Committee invitation for Jan 7 | Kevin Hammond | Dec 17 | ✓ Delivered | Joint session scheduled as planned. |
| 20 | Node 10.6.2 release candidate | IO / Committee | Jan 7 | ✓ Delivered | Release candidate delivered within expected timeframe. |
| 21 | Charlie 3 incubation approval | Committee | Feb 4 | ✓ Delivered | Approved via motion by default, Feb 4, 2026. |
| 22 | Risk Register for Van Rossem hard forkDraft created, still being populated | Committee | Feb 11 | ~ Partial | Draft created but still being populated as of Mar 25, 2026. |
| 23 | Constitution v2.4 Technical ReviewRepeatedly postponed, "waiting for Neil" | Kevin / Neil | Jan 21 | ~ Partial | Discussion occurred but formal review repeatedly deferred. Mar 18: "just waiting for Neil to provide us with the summary." |
| 24 | SPO Auto-abstain Mechanism promotionPost drafted but not published | Alexander Moser | Feb 11 | ~ Partial | Post drafted but not published as of Feb 25 deadline. |
| 25 | CIP Prioritization Process for DijkstraTool developed, process not implemented | Ryan Wiley | Feb 4 | ~ Partial | On-chain survey tool developed but full prioritization process not implemented. |
| 26 | Nested Transactions ResponseAI draft created but never sent | Committee / Bosko | Nov 26 | ~ Partial | Draft response created Dec 10 but never formally sent. |
| 27 | Vice Chair PositionMentioned every meeting, never filled | Committee | Oct 1 | ✗ Not delivered | Discussed in every single meeting from Oct 1 to Mar 25. Zero volunteers. Never filled. |
| 28 | Discord Bot Setup | Terence / Committee | Oct 29 | ✗ Not delivered | Promised Oct 29, still unresolved by Mar 18, 2026. |
| 29 | Linear Leios Technical Deep-diveDoodle poll mentioned, never scheduled | Committee | Feb 25 | ✗ Not delivered | Promised Feb 25. Doodle poll mentioned but session never scheduled. |
| 30 | DRep Compensation Paper ReviewFeedback requested, never provided | Committee | Feb 18 | ✗ Not delivered | Ryan Wiley requested feedback multiple times. Committee never provided review. |
| 31 | Fire Drill Written Report | Jonathan Kelly | Oct 22 | ✗ Not delivered | Promised by Jonathan after Oct 22 fire drill. Never delivered. |
| 32 | CIP for Leios | Nicolas Biri | Oct 15 | ✗ Not delivered | Promised Oct 15. No evidence of delivery across the entire series. |
| 33 | IUR Progress Review Feedback | Kevin Hammond | Oct 1 | ✗ Not delivered | Kevin suggested all provide input Oct 1. Never delivered. |
| 34 | Onboarding Slide Deck for new members | Committee | Oct 29 | ✗ Not delivered | Terence asked for volunteers. No one accepted. Never created. |
| 35 | Cross-committee coordination protocol | Committee | Dec 10 | ✗ Not delivered | Coordination with Product Committee remained ad hoc throughout. |
| 36 | RSS feed for TSC communications | Kevin Hammond | Mar 25 | ✗ Not delivered | Kevin: "I'll see what we can do about an RSS feed." No evidence of delivery. |
| 37 | Committee self-assessment | Committee | Feb 25 | ✗ Not delivered | No self-assessment or governance review conducted despite persistent dysfunction. |
| 38 | Formal decision-making procedures | Committee | Oct 1 | ✗ Not delivered | "I think we have agreement" remained the default. No formal voting procedures established. |
| 39 | Van Rossem Hard Fork executionMay/June 2026 target | Committee / IO | Oct 22 | Pending | Target shifted from Jan 2026 to May/June 2026. Node 10.7 in pre-release as of Mar 25. |
Financial & Resource Context
Budget Evolution
The TSC operated entirely on volunteer effort through Q4 2025. Kevin Hammond acknowledged: "I've not had time to do that" regarding the budget draft (Dec 10). The final $371,000 proposal for 2026 covers 4 work packages: Community Facing Coordination, Security and Incident Response, Protocol Governance and Devolution, and Technical Review — including 10 workshops (4 in-person, 6 virtual).
Resource Constraints
There is a direct correlation between lack of resources and the 46% non-delivery rate. Items requiring external deadlines (parameter updates, governance votes) get done because they are forced by the system. Items requiring internal initiative (Vice Chair recruitment, written reports, cross-committee coordination) consistently fail because volunteer effort cannot sustain them.
Methodology
Every promise, action item, or commitment was identified by reading each of the 23 transcripts in full. Items were cross-referenced across subsequent transcripts to determine whether follow-up evidence exists. "Delivered" requires positive confirmation in a transcript. "Partial" means progress occurred but the commitment was not fully met. "Not delivered" means no evidence of completion across all 23 meetings.
The ~54% delivery rate represents a committee that performs well on externally-driven technical work while consistently failing on internal governance and coordination. The gap between crisis response capability and institutional maintenance is the defining characteristic of the TSC's operational period.