Nillion has always been community driven. 

With Nillion 2.0 that became more concrete. The community started taking a more active role in the network beginning with independent operators running Blacklight nodes.

But contribution across Nillion takes many forms.

Some run infrastructure. Others create resources, build tools, support operators, and make the Nillion ecosystem easier to understand and participate in.

Nillion Guilds is a new way to recognize that work.

It gives contributors a clearer place in the ecosystem, organized around the different ways they help Nillion grow.

The first pilot under Nillion Guilds is Operator Guild – a track for Blacklight node operators who support the operator community in practical ways.

How Nillion Guilds Works

Nillion Guilds is built around a simple structure.

Different Guilds for different kinds of contribution.

Each Guild has its own audience and contribution categories, so every track can be shaped around the work it is meant to recognize.

Operator Guild is the first track. It focuses on independent Blacklight node operators and the work they contribute to the operator ecosystem.

The structure keeps each Guild focused while giving Nillion Guilds room to grow with the ecosystem.

Operator Guild

Blacklight already gives operators a direct role in the network through verification work and protocol rewards. 

Operator Guid builds on that role by recognizing contributions that strengthen the Blacklight node operator community.

For this pilot, that includes support, education, feedback, tooling, and overall community impact. Over time, Operator Guild can evolve to include more ways operators contribute to the network and the community around it.

Operator Guild is open only to independent Blacklight node operators.

The Nillion Managed Node Program is not included in this pilot.

To remain eligible, operators must keep their node active throughout the pilot.

Operators must also maintain their self-stake for the full pilot period. They can add tokens to their node, but cannot lower their self-stake while the pilot is running.

How Operators Can Take Part

For this pilot, Operator Guild focuses on contributions that make the Blacklight operator ecosystem easier to participate in.

Operators can be recognized across five categories.

Community Helper

Community Helper recognizes operators who consistently support the operator community.

This includes:

• helping operators troubleshoot issues
• answering questions in Discord
• assisting with upgrades and configuration
• sharing useful solutions
• supporting others during incidents or network changes

Educational Contributor 

Educational Contributor recognizes operators who create resources that make Nillion and Blacklight easier to understand. 

This includes:

• written guides
• tutorials
• walkthroughs
• documentation
• videos
• educational threads
• troubleshooting resources
• translations

The focus is quality and usefulness, not volume.

Feedback Contributor

Feedback Contributor recognizes operators who provide actionable feedback that helps improve the operator experience and wider ecosystem.

This includes:

• product feedback
• UX feedback
• operator onboarding feedback
• testing reports
• operational suggestions
• clear descriptions of pain points and possible improvements

Strong feedback should identify a real issue and help the team understand what can be improved.

Ecosystem Contributor

Ecosystem Contributor recognizes operators who build tools or technical resources that benefit operators or the wider ecosystem.

This includes:

• dashboards
• scripts
• monitoring tools
• integrations
• automation resources
• open-source utilities
• other technical resources that make operation easier for others

Guild Champion

Guild Champion recognizes the operator with the strongest overall positive impact on the operator community during the pilot.

This category will be selected through community nominations, shortlist review, and a final Discord vote by the Nillion community.

How Contributions Are Recognized

Across all categories, the goal is to recognize work that is useful to other operators.

The main focus is impact, not volume.

A strong contribution should help other operators understand or improve their experience with Blacklight.

That could mean a guide that clears up a recurring setup issue, feedback that explains where the operator experience can improve, a tool that saves other operators time, or consistent support inside the operator channels.

Each winner will be selected based on the quality, usefulness, consistency, and visible impact of their contribution during the pilot.

Rewards 

Each category will have one winner during the pilot.

Winners will receive rewards from the prize pool, including:

• $1000 equivalent in $NIL
• $200 in nilAI credit 
• a Discord role or badge tied to their category
• public recognition across Nillion’s main channels

Selected operators will be featured through Nillion’s social channels, highlighting the work they contributed to the Blacklight operator community.

This pilot is the first version of the Guilds framework. Future seasons may expand the reward structure as the program grows.

Timeline

Submissions open on June 15 through the Operator Guild form.

The contribution period will run from June 15 to July 15.

Winners will be announced on July 20.

During the pilot, operators can submit contributions across the relevant categories through the form. Community MVP will follow a community nomination and voting process.

Start Contributing Now 

If you are an independent Blacklight node operator, you can submit your work through the Operator Guild form.

That could be support you have given, resources you have created, feedback you have shared, tools you have built, or other work that strengthens the Blacklight operator community.

Submit your contribution here.

Program Terms & Disclaimers

This pilot is offered by Nillion Association (Nillion) at its sole discretion and may be modified, suspended, extended, or cancelled at any time, including its timeline, categories, and rewards. Submission of a contribution does not guarantee selection or any reward; all winner selections are final and no correspondence will be entered into. 

Participants are responsible for ensuring their eligibility to receive $NIL and nilAI credit under the laws of their jurisdiction, including any applicable sanctions restrictions, and Nillion may require identity verification before distributing rewards. The USD value of $NIL rewards will be calculated based on the spot price at the time of winners announcements. Recipients are solely responsible for any taxes arising from rewards received.

By submitting a contribution, participants confirm they own or have the necessary rights to the submitted content and grant Nillion a license to use, reproduce, and publicly share it (and the contributor’s name or handle) for promotional purposes. Nillion reserves the right to disqualify any submission or nomination it determines to be fraudulent or plagiarized.

Participation in this program does not create an employment, agency, or service-provider relationship with Nillion, and does not modify any existing staking obligations or protocol rewards. Nothing in this program constitutes an offer, solicitation, or advice regarding $NIL, and participation is subject to Nillion’s general Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.