v4- Updating Cagendas Rules - Implementing Minimum Vote Threshold for Optimism Town Hall

Proposal Summary

This proposal establishes a minimum threshold of 2,000 Optimism Fractal Respect votes required on any topic proposal to trigger an Optimism Town Hall event, updating our current Cagendas rules to ensure sustainable resource allocation while maintaining community-driven discussions.

Purpose and Context

Since its inception in May 2024, Optimism Town Hall has hosted 39 events serving both the Optimism Fractal community and broader Collective. Topics for these events have been primarily chosen through our Cagendas system for community agendas. This proposal represents a strategic evolution in how we coordinate Optimism Town Hall events, introducing a minimum vote threshold that balances community autonomy with sustainable resource allocation.

Current Cagendas Rules

1. Anyone with OPF (Optimism Fractal Respect tokens) can propose topics by creating polls in the Optimism Town Hall snapshot space
2. Anyone can vote on polls with their OPF to help determine discussion topics
3. The poll with the most votes by Monday at 17 UTC becomes the topic for that week's Town Hall
4. Town Hall events are held every other Thursday at 18 UTC following Optimism Fractal events

Proposed Rule Changes

Update Rule 4: Town Hall events are held every other Thursday at 18 UTC following Optimism Fractal events if at least one topic proposal receives a minimum of 2,000 respect votes by Monday at 17 UTC.

Add Rule 5: If no proposal reaches the 2,000 vote threshold by Monday at 17 UTC, Optimism Town Hall will not be scheduled to occur that week.

Update Rule 1: Anyone with OPF or OFR (Optimism Fractal Respect tokens) can propose topics by creating polls in the Optimism Town Hall snapshot space.

Implementation Details

Upon approval, this rule takes effect immediately. Key clarifications:

• Independent Events: Optimism Fractal Respect Game events continue their regular biweekly schedule regardless of Town Hall status.
• Snapshot Space Specificity: Only votes cast in the Optimism Town Hall snapshot space count toward the 2,000 vote threshold. Votes in the Optimism Fractal snapshot space have no effect on Town Hall scheduling.
• Respect Token Counting: Optimism Fractal Respect tokens are OPF tokens (from Optimism Fractal seasons 1-4) and OFR tokens (from Optimism Fractal seasons 5-6). Token counts and details can be found at OptimismFractal.com/account.
• Cumulative Vote Counting: The 2,000 vote threshold represents the total cumulative votes on a proposal, regardless of how votes are distributed among options. For example, a yes/no poll with 1,200 "yes" and 800 "no" votes meets the threshold with 2,000 total votes.
• Future Adjustments: The threshold can be modified through future governance proposals as we learn from implementation.

Strategic Rationale

1. Quality over Quantity: Ensures meaningful discussions with engaged participants who are invested in outcomes, naturally elevating the caliber of conversations and attracting contributors who can provide valuable insights.
2. Resource Efficiency: The Optimystics and Eden Creators teams can focus efforts on events with greater community interest, allowing reallocation of resources to other critical initiatives when Town Hall demand is lower.
3. Ecosystem Balance: Enables teams to support other vital initiatives like Eden Fractal Epoch 2, technical infrastructure development, and expanding fractal governance tools across the Superchain without neglecting Town Hall when it's needed most.
4. Community Empowerment: Maintains full democratic control while respecting practical constraints - the community determines when Town Hall events occur by demonstrating collective interest through voting participation.

Stakeholder Context

Optimism Town Hall serves two essential stakeholder groups:

1. Optimism Fractal Community: Provides a dedicated space for consensus formation, critical governance discussions, and collective action coordination. This forum enables discussion of council proposals and fractal governance matters.
2. Broader Optimism Collective: Creates educational content and facilitates important discussions that help newcomers understand the ecosystem while keeping experienced builders informed about cutting-edge governance innovations.

Balancing service to both audiences requires thoughtful resource allocation, which this proposal helps achieve while ensuring we continue meeting both communities' needs effectively.

Governance Context and Framework

Understanding the governance structure of Optimism Town Hall provides essential context for this proposal. As founder and host of Optimism Town Hall, I (Dan Singjoy) maintain executive authority over hosting decisions, but I believe legitimacy comes from democratic approval and community consent, and I want to serve all of our stakeholders as effectively as possible. This is why I'm proposing this change to the Optimism Fractal Council for their consideration and approval.

This approach reflects a governance philosophy where executive functions (my role in hosting and production) seek alignment with legislative decisions (community consensus through the Council). The Optimism Fractal Council, whose members are elected based on the Respect they've earned through consistent participation in the Respect Game, represents the most democratic and meritocratic body available for advising on these decisions. By seeking their approval, we help ensure that changes to Town Hall operations reflect genuine community will.

Optimism Town Hall has evolved to serve dual purposes that make the Optimism Fractal Council an ideal body to provide governance input. While separate entities, Optimism Town Hall has evolved to serve as a critical forum for Optimism Fractal's consensus-building needs while simultaneously creating valuable content for the broader Collective. This dual purpose - serving as both a consensus forum for Optimism Fractal and educational content for the Collective - means the Council understands both immediate community needs and broader ecosystem impact.

How This Governance Approach Benefits the Optimism Collective

By seeking governance input from the Optimism Fractal Council on Optimism Town Hall decisions, we create a model that serves the entire Collective effectively. This approach demonstrates how community-driven democratic processes can guide resource allocation and operational decisions in ways that benefit multiple stakeholder groups simultaneously.

Meritocratic Representation: The Optimism Fractal Respect Game provides one of the most sophisticated mechanisms available for measuring genuine contributions to the Collective. Unlike simple token holdings or arbitrary metrics, Respect is earned through consistent peer evaluation of actual contributions. This creates a governance advisory system where input reflects insights from those actively building and contributing to the ecosystem.

Responsive Governance Infrastructure: The Optimism Fractal community maintains bi-weekly touch points with ecosystem developments through regular events, creating direct feedback loops with builders and contributors across the Collective. This consistent engagement means Council input reflects current ecosystem needs. Their proven track record of thoughtful governance over 60+ events makes this community uniquely qualified to advise on Town Hall operations.

Bridge to Pluralistic Governance: While current voting is limited to OPF and OFR tokens due to technical constraints, this system serves as an important bridge toward more inclusive governance. We're working to implement custom voting strategies that would allow OP token holders, badge holders, and other stakeholder groups to participate in topic selection. This threshold mechanism demonstrates how effective governance can function during this transition period and in the system as it evolves.

Note: I believe Optimism badgeholders can also propose topics and vote in the snapshot space, but we need to test this functionality to confirm. If verified, this would already provide some pluralistic participation in our current system.

Conclusion

This proposal represents thoughtful evolution in our coordination systems. By implementing a reasonable threshold, we ensure Optimism Town Hall remains a vibrant forum for critical discussions when the community needs it, while enabling sustainable operations across our growing ecosystem. The governance approach we're using demonstrates how executive and legislative functions can work together to serve both immediate community needs and broader Collective benefits.

Your support for this proposal helps create sustainable governance infrastructure that adapts to community demand while maintaining the quality and impact that make Optimism Town Hall valuable for all stakeholders.