Proposal Summary
This proposal establishes a minimum threshold of 2,000 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.
Current Cagendas Rules
- Anyone with OPF (Optimism Fractal Respect tokens) can propose topics by creating polls in the Optimism Town Hall snapshot space
- Anyone can vote on polls with their OPF to help determine discussion topics
- The poll with the most votes by Monday at 17 UTC becomes the topic for that week's Town Hall
- Town Hall events are held every other Thursday at 18 UTC following Optimism Fractal events
Proposed Rule Addition
Add Rule 5: A minimum threshold of 2,000 respect votes must be achieved on the winning topic proposal by Monday 17:00 UTC for that week's Optimism Town Hall to be held. If no proposal reaches this threshold, the Optimism Town Hall will not occur.
Implementation Details
Upon approval, this rule takes effect immediately, applying to all future Town Hall events while Optimism Fractal events continue their regular biweekly schedule. Clear communication about this change will go through our standard channels. The 2,000 respect vote threshold can be modified through future governance proposals as we learn from implementation.
Purpose and Context
Since its inception, Cagendas has successfully democratized topic selection across 38 Optimism Town Hall episodes, creating an innovative system that has enabled community-driven discussions while maintaining high-quality conversations about critical Collective priorities. 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.
Optimism Town Hall serves two essential stakeholder groups that are deeply intertwined. First, it provides a dedicated space for the Optimism Fractal community to form consensus, discuss critical governance matters, and coordinate collective action. Second, it creates educational content and facilitates important discussions that benefit the broader Optimism Collective, helping 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.
Strategic Rationale
- 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 and perspectives.
- Resource Efficiency: Both the Optimystics and Eden Creators teams can focus efforts on events with demonstrated community interest, allowing reallocation of resources to other critical initiatives when Town Hall demand is lower.
- Ecosystem Balance: Enables teams to support other vital projects 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.
- 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.
Governance Context and Framework
Understanding the governance structure of Optimism Town Hall provides essential context for this proposal. As 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. 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, elected through our sophisticated Respect Game mechanism, represents the most democratic and meritocratic body available for advising on these decisions. By seeking their approval, we ensure that changes to Town Hall operations reflect genuine community will rather than individual preferences.
The relationship between Optimism Fractal and Optimism Town Hall exemplifies collaborative governance design. While I ultimately execute hosting decisions, 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 makes the Optimism Fractal Council an ideal body to provide governance input for Town Hall operations - they understand 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 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. The Council's deep understanding of ecosystem needs, combined with their democratic selection through the Respect Game, ensures that their guidance reflects both active contributor perspectives and broader Collective interests.
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. The gaming resistance built into the Respect Game's design ensures that influence correlates directly with genuine value creation rather than wealth or manipulation.
Responsive Governance Infrastructure: The Optimism Fractal community maintains weekly touchpoints 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 rather than outdated assumptions. Their proven track record of thoughtful governance over 60+ events, combined with deep alignment with Collective values, makes this community uniquely qualified to advise on Town Hall operations that serve the broader ecosystem.
Bridge to Pluralistic Governance: While current voting is limited to OPF tokens due to technical constraints, this system serves as an important bridge toward more inclusive governance. We're actively 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. The precedent we set here provides a model for future pluralistic systems that balance different stakeholder interests while preventing plutocratic capture.
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 - where I seek Council approval for operational changes that affect community resources - 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.