ORDAO Deployment

ORDAO (Optimistic Respect-based DAO) deployment on Base will establish the foundational on-chain governance infrastructure for Eden Fractal Epoch 2. This implementation will leverage the respect distribution from Eden Fractal's first 75 weeks, allowing approximately 80 community members to participate in decentralized governance decisions. ORDAO provides both executive functionality for on-chain actions and potentially serves as an interim legislative mechanism during the bootstrap phase of Epoch 2. The deployment will include configuration of notification systems to ensure community awareness of governance activities and lay groundwork for more sophisticated consensus processes as they develop.

Important Note

Note: This document is in a very early draft state and may contain many errors. It will be reviewed and updated soon.

ORDAO Deployment: Foundation for Decentralized Governance

Introduction: The Next Evolution in Fractal Governance

ORDAO (Optimistic Respect-based DAO) represents a significant advancement in the technical infrastructure supporting fractal governance. Building on years of development within the fractal ecosystem, ORDAO combines sophisticated on-chain execution capabilities with democratic governance principles, creating a foundation that enables truly decentralized community coordination while maintaining efficient operations.

For Eden Fractal's Epoch 2, ORDAO deployment serves as the cornerstone upon which many other elements depend. This deployment will leverage the rich history of participation during Epoch 1, honoring past contributions while establishing new paths for community governance. By implementing ORDAO on Base, we create a robust infrastructure that can support our evolving governance needs and provide a model for other communities exploring decentralized coordination.

This article explores the multiple dimensions of ORDAO deployment, from technical specifications to governance implications, providing a comprehensive guide for understanding this essential element of Eden Fractal Epoch 2.

Table of Contents

• ORDAO Deployment
• Important Note
• ORDAO Deployment: Foundation for Decentralized Governance
• Introduction: The Next Evolution in Fractal Governance
• What is ORDAO?
• Why ORDAO is Essential for Epoch 2
• Technical Implementation Details
• Smart Contract Deployment
• Frontend Development
• Notification Systems
• Implementation Timeline and Dependencies
• Pre-Launch Phase (Current through May 22, 2024)
• Transition Event (May 22, 2024 - Event #120)
• Epoch 2 Launch (June 5, 2024 - Event #121)
• Bootstrap Phase (June-August 2024)
• Key Considerations and Open Questions
• Legislative Functionality
• Notification System Design
• Frontend Development Timeline
• ORDAO Governance Parameters
• Dan's Perspective
• Conclusion: Foundation for Growth

What is ORDAO?

ORDAO is an acronym for Optimistic Respect-based DAO, a governance system that combines several innovative components:

Optimistic Governance Mechanism: ORDAO implements an optimistic approach to governance, where proposals can be executed efficiently unless explicitly contested. This reduces the coordination burden for routine decisions while maintaining strong safeguards for more significant changes.

Respect-Based Voting: Unlike token-weighted systems that concentrate power based on capital holdings, ORDAO leverages Respect tokens earned through peer recognition in the Respect Game. This creates a meritocratic system where governance influence comes from demonstrated contribution rather than wealth.

Decentralized Autonomous Organization: The system functions as a true DAO, with community decisions executed through smart contracts rather than requiring centralized intermediaries. This creates verifiable, transparent governance that operates according to predefined rules.

ORDAO evolved from earlier work on the Optimistic Respect-based Executive Contract (OREC), which was initially developed for Optimism Fractal. The system has been refined through practical implementation and community feedback, creating a governance framework that balances efficiency with democratic principles.

At its core, ORDAO enables communities to collectively manage resources, coordinate activities, and make decisions in a way that distributes power according to demonstrated contributions while maintaining operational effectiveness.

Why ORDAO is Essential for Epoch 2

The deployment of ORDAO on Base is not merely a technical enhancement but a fundamental shift in how Eden Fractal operates. Several factors make this implementation essential for our transition to Epoch 2:

Honoring Historical Contributions: ORDAO deployment will incorporate the respect distribution from Eden Fractal's first 75 weeks, recognizing approximately 75 community members who earned Respect during Epoch 1. The distribution and allocation percentages can be found here. This ensures that the wisdom and commitment of early contributors continue to shape our community's development.

Enabling True Decentralization: By transferring control of the Eden Fractal community account to ORDAO, we move from informally coordinated governance to verifiable on-chain coordination. This creates genuine community ownership rather than relying on individuals to execute decisions.

Supporting Governance Processes: ORDAO provides the technical foundation necessary for implementing other governance elements, particularly the Respect Game and legislative consensus processes. Without this infrastructure, our ability to coordinate effectively at scale would be significantly constrained.

Creating Bootstrap Governance: During the early phases of Epoch 2, ORDAO will serve as both the executive and legislative branch, providing a functional governance system while the new respect distribution develops through gameplay. This ensures continuity in decision-making capabilities throughout the transition.

Establishing Cross-Chain Presence: Deploying on Base positions Eden Fractal within the growing Optimism Superchain ecosystem while maintaining strong connections to Ethereum. This strategic positioning enhances our ability to collaborate with complementary communities and access ecosystem resources.

In essence, ORDAO deployment represents the actualization of fractal governance principles that have been developed theoretically and experimentally during Epoch 1. It transforms abstract concepts into practical coordination infrastructure that can support our community's continued evolution.

Technical Implementation Details

The deployment of ORDAO on Base involves several technical components and considerations:

Smart Contract Deployment

ORDAO will be deployed as a set of smart contracts on the Base network, an Ethereum L2 solution within the Optimism Superchain ecosystem. Base's technical properties make it particularly well-suited for our implementation:

• Ethereum Compatibility: Base maintains full compatibility with Ethereum, ensuring our governance tools can leverage the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
• Optimism Superchain Integration: As part of the Optimism Superchain, Base benefits from shared security and interoperability with other networks in this ecosystem.
• Growing Developer Ecosystem: Base has attracted a vibrant community of developers and users, creating opportunities for collaboration and shared learning.
• Technical Performance: Base offers improved transaction speeds and lower costs compared to Ethereum mainnet, making governance activities more accessible.

The deployment process requires the creation of a JSON configuration file that specifies parameters such as:

• Initial respect distribution mapping (from Epoch 1 participation)
• Governance parameters (voting periods, thresholds, etc.)
• Contract ownership and administrative controls

This configuration work is currently in progress, with Dan finalizing the JSON format and Tadas preparing for the technical implementation.

Frontend Development

While the smart contracts form the backend infrastructure of ORDAO, an accessible frontend is essential for community participation. Tadas has expressed interest in developing this frontend before the beginning of Epoch 2, which would significantly enhance usability.

The frontend would ideally include:

• Proposal creation and management interfaces
• Voting mechanisms for governance participants
• Visualization of respect distribution and governance activities
• Notification systems for keeping community members informed

While not strictly necessary for initial deployment (as basic functionality can be accessed through tools like Fractalgram), a dedicated frontend would make governance participation more intuitive and accessible, particularly for community members without technical backgrounds.

Notification Systems

Effective governance requires awareness of proposals and decisions. Implementing notification systems is therefore an important consideration for ORDAO deployment. Several options are being considered:

Discord Integration: Optimism Fractal currently uses Discord for governance notifications, with proposals automatically posted to designated channels. This creates a centralized location for tracking governance activities.

Telegram Integration: Given Eden Fractal's historical use of Telegram, developing notification systems for this platform could provide better continuity. However, this might require additional development work.

Existing Eden Discord: There are two existing Discord servers associated with Eden (one with approximately 200 members, another with 6 members) that could potentially be revitalized for this purpose.

New Discord Creation: Alternatively, a new dedicated Discord could be established specifically for Eden Fractal Epoch 2 governance.

Frontend Notifications: The planned ORDAO frontend could potentially incorporate its own notification system, reducing dependency on external platforms.

The optimal approach will balance technical feasibility, community preferences, and effectiveness at ensuring broad awareness of governance activities.

Implementation Timeline and Dependencies

The deployment of ORDAO follows a specific timeline with several key milestones and dependencies:

Pre-Launch Phase (Current through May 22, 2024)

During this period, the technical foundations for ORDAO will be established:

• JSON Configuration: Dan will complete the JSON configuration file specifying the initial respect distribution and governance parameters.
• Smart Contract Deployment: Tadas will deploy the ORDAO smart contracts on Base using the provided configuration.
• Initial Testing: Basic functionality testing to ensure the deployed contracts operate as expected.
• Frontend Development: Initial work on the ORDAO frontend, though this may continue beyond the pre-launch phase.
• Notification System Configuration: Establishing mechanisms for community awareness of governance activities.

Transition Event (May 22, 2024 - Event #120)

The final Epoch 1 event will include:

• ORDAO Status Review: Confirming successful deployment and addressing any identified issues.
• Governance Process Explanation: Ensuring community understanding of how ORDAO will function during the bootstrap phase.
• Role Clarification: Establishing the relationship between ORDAO governance and other community roles and processes.

Epoch 2 Launch (June 5, 2024 - Event #121)

The official beginning of Epoch 2 will feature:

• ORDAO Activation: Beginning active governance through the deployed system.
• Initial Proposals: Potentially including formal adoption of the Participant Agreement and other foundational elements.
• Community Onboarding: Helping community members understand how to engage with ORDAO governance.

Bootstrap Phase (June-August 2024)

During this period, ORDAO will serve dual functions:

• Executive Implementation: Executing on-chain actions based on community decisions.
• Interim Legislative Process: Potentially serving as the primary consensus mechanism while the legislative process develops.
• Frontend Enhancement: Continued development of user interfaces for governance participation.

This implementation timeline acknowledges several key dependencies:

• Technical Development Capacity: The timeline depends on Tadas and other developers having sufficient bandwidth to implement these systems.
• Successful Base Deployment: Any technical challenges with deployment on Base could affect the timeline.
• Frontend Completion: While basic functionality can proceed without a dedicated frontend, enhanced usability depends on this development.
• Community Readiness: Effective implementation requires community understanding and engagement with the new governance systems.

Key Considerations and Open Questions

Several important considerations and open questions surround the ORDAO deployment:

Legislative Functionality

A critical question concerns ORDAO's capability to serve as an interim legislative mechanism. Specifically:

• Can ORDAO approve arbitrary proposals, such as signing attestations with text or voting in Snapshot polls by the beginning of Eden Fractal Epoch 2?
• If not, when might this functionality be available, and what resources would be required?
• In the absence of such functionality, what alternatives exist for community consensus during the bootstrap phase?

These questions affect how we structure the transition between governance models and may influence the development priorities for the ORDAO frontend.

Notification System Design

The effectiveness of governance depends significantly on awareness of proposals and decisions. Key considerations include:

• Platform Selection: Whether to implement notifications in Discord, Telegram, or both, considering community preferences and technical feasibility.
• Integration Complexity: The development effort required for different notification approaches, particularly for Telegram integration.
• Usability Factors: How different notification systems might affect community engagement with governance.

Frontend Development Timeline

While basic ORDAO functionality can operate without a dedicated frontend, enhanced usability depends on this development:

• Development Priority: How to prioritize frontend development relative to other technical needs.
• Minimum Viable Product: What constitutes a sufficient initial frontend to support Epoch 2 launch.
• Feature Roadmap: How to sequence frontend enhancements beyond the initial implementation.

ORDAO Governance Parameters

The specific governance parameters will significantly influence how ORDAO functions:

• Voting Periods: Determining appropriate timeframes for proposal consideration and voting.
• Quorum Requirements: Establishing thresholds for participation to validate decisions.
• Veto Mechanisms: Designing safeguards against potentially harmful proposals while maintaining efficiency.

Dan's Perspective

From my perspective as Dan Singjoy, the deployment of ORDAO on Base represents a culmination of years of development and experimentation within the fractal ecosystem. I see this implementation as not merely a technical upgrade but a fundamental shift in how Eden Fractal operates—moving from theoretical exploration to practical implementation of the governance principles we've been developing.

I believe ORDAO provides the essential infrastructure for Eden Fractal to truly demonstrate the potential of fractal governance. By incorporating the respect distribution from our first 75 weeks, we honor the contributions that have brought us to this point while creating new opportunities for community coordination.

The dual functionality of ORDAO—serving as both executive mechanism and interim legislative process during the bootstrap phase—creates a natural transition path that allows our governance to evolve organically. This approach acknowledges both where we've been and where we're going, creating continuity through transformation.

I'm particularly excited about the potential for ORDAO to enable more sophisticated resource allocation through mechanisms like Splits, potentially creating sustainable funding flows for fractal ecosystem development. The experimental fund distribution I’m planning (initially with $1,000) can demonstrate how fractal governance enables effective capital allocation while creating paths for ecosystem growth.

While there are certainly technical challenges and open questions, I believe we have the collective wisdom and commitment to navigate these successfully. The ORDAO deployment represents not just a technical milestone but a significant advancement in our journey to integrate fractal decision-making processes throughout society.

Conclusion: Foundation for Growth

The deployment of ORDAO on Base establishes the foundation upon which Eden Fractal Epoch 2 will build. This implementation transforms theoretical governance models into practical coordination infrastructure, enabling our community to demonstrate the principles we've been developing while creating pathways for broader adoption.

By combining sophisticated technical capabilities with democratic principles, ORDAO creates a governance system that balances efficiency with distribution of power. It honors past contributions while opening new opportunities for participation, creating continuity through our community's evolution.

As we proceed with implementation, ongoing community dialogue will help refine our approach and address open questions. The collective wisdom developed through our years of experimentation provides strong foundations for navigating challenges and discovering new possibilities.

ORDAO deployment is not merely a technical upgrade but a fundamental shift in how Eden Fractal operates—moving from exploratory experimentation to deliberate implementation of fractal governance at scale. This transition marks a significant milestone in our journey to integrate fractal decision-making processes throughout society, creating the infrastructure for a new phase of growth and impact.