RFP-4: Voting Mechanism

TL;DR

We’re looking to enable Devcon ticket holders to be able to vote on elements for Devcon 6 using TCR-like permissions and quadratic voting.

RFP DESCRIPTION

For Devcon 6 we are looking to enable an (optionally) on-chain, quadratic voting implementation where attendees can vote to determine a small subset of Devcon speakers (E.g., 1 speaker chosen by the community for each of the ~7 tracks, or something of this small magnitude).

Through this integration, we aim to achieve several goals:

  • Community involvement. Devcon is a conference for the community and as much as we can make it run by the community, the better!

  • Transparency. Though all speaking applications are reviewed by panels of community members who are experts in their area, we understand that there are benefits from increased transparency of speaker selection and this community voting integration could aid with that.

  • Dogfooding. This year we will be able to represent Devcon tickets on-chain using AlphaWallet’s on-chain attestation libraries, and as such will be able to have curated on-chain registries of Devcon ticket holders! Allowing them to vote via that on-chain curated registry would be cool. Also, using a quadratic voting mechanism, we can allow attendees to indicate the degree of their preferences rather than just absolute preferences.

  • Low risk. This is an experiment, and as such we need it to have a low impact and low risk. This vote will result in at most the selection of under 15 speakers, and perhaps may not be used for speaker voting at all. If this experiment goes well, perhaps it can be expanded in the future. Notably, the full benefit from an integration like this will not be manifested this year, rather this may pave the way for expansion of this idea in future years and, in turn, greater impact.

  • We have two options:

REQUIREMENTS

(what we wish for, specs, …)

  • The platform must have a good, simple UX
  • The platform should be able to accommodate quadratic voting mechanisms
  • The platform must be able to be extended to integrate with AlphaWallet’s attestation libraries to ensure only those that have a Devcon ticket can vote.
  • Platform should be ready by February 2021
  • The platform must accommodate our tentative voting parameters:
    • The community will be able to select one speaker for each of the 7 tracks.
    • There will be a list of ~5 speakers to vote for in each track, one will be selected
    • The voting period will last for 1-2 weeks.
    • We would prefer to use quadratic voting (the exact # of votes given to users can be discussed: 5, 10, 100, etc) to allow attendees to indicate degree of preference rather than be constrained to indicating only absolute preference.

OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS

  • Should votes be cast on-chain or off-chain? We lean for off-chain for a better UX and a lower barrier to vote/no gas costs, but are open to other thoughts!
  • Are there other considerations we should be taking into account with these voting mechanisms?
    • Maybe there is another better-suited mechanism than quadratic voting?
  • What kind of privacy preserving or anti-collusion mechanisms could potentially be integrated?

Ideate!

Comment below for questions, clarifications, or simple ideas. If you have a proposed solution, start a new topic that details it specifically, and welcome comments, feedback, and discussion! The idea should address all points made here, as well as all requirements laid out in DIP-0 . After evaluation of your idea, we may ask for a more in-depth demo.

4 Likes

Hi! I’m Fabien from Snapshot Labs. We would love to make a demo for this, i believe we can fill full all the requirements with our current solution. I will learn more about AlphaWallet attestation system and get back here with more details.

3 Likes

Hello, I’m Ferran from Vocdoni.

We’d love to study it, put all things in order and make a proposal on this in the following days! Vocdoni voting protocol 2.0 (that allows any kind of exponential voting, including quadratic) plus Vocdoni Bridge (using tokens like POAP) we can probably cover all these requirements.

3 Likes

Hi @ferranrego — glanced back at this after a while focused on other things (thanks for your patience!) and had two quick questions.

— Is there now a free & paid version of Vocdoni?

— What’s the pricing plan model you have? Is the Vocdoni platform fully open source?

— On another note, I see you guys are still planning on implementing ZKPs, right? What kind of timeline do you have on that? Just curious — do you have any plans to integrate MACI?

Thanks! Deeper evaluation still to come.

1 Like

(A formal DIP will be submitted on GitHub shortly…)

Title: Building a voting system for Devcon ticket holders to vote on elements in the upcoming Devcons.

TL;DR

Devcon ticket holders are in need of a voting system to let their voices heard. Metaforo is to build this voting system that is universally verifiable and supports various governance systems, including quadratic voting.

Motivations

This is to promote a more inclusive and democratic process for deciding the content and direction of the conference. By giving attendees a voice in the selection of speakers, workshops, and other activities, we can ensure that the content of the conference is relevant and engaging for everyone. Additionally, a voting system can help to increase transparency and accountability, as attendees will have a direct say in how their ticket fees are being used and what topics are being prioritized. Even for location suggestions, the current location suggestion process in this forum is not always organized and does not always result in a final decision that is truly representative of the preferences of ticket holders. With a voting system specifically designed for this purpose, we can ensure that all attendees have an equal say in the selection of the next Devcon location and other important elements of the conference. This can help to build trust and engagement among attendees, and ensure that the final decisions reflect the needs and preferences of the entire Devcon community. By building a voting system that is transparent, secure, and user-friendly, we can create a truly democratic process for selecting the key elements of this important blockchain conference.

Implementation

A separate domain with clear and simple UI/UX will be created for the voting system at http://prop.devcon.org. The DevCon Ops team will be able to create voting items on this site and set a predefined start and end time for voting. Attendees will receive attestation emails containing their ticket information and the items to be voted on. When they go to http://prop.devcon.org to vote, they will not need to log in again. Their access and voting power will be verified through the attestation they received.

User Flow:

  1. Attendees registered and paid for DevCon7
  2. Attestation email sent to attendees with voting information. (The exact votes to each attendees are included in the attestation).
  3. Attendees go to http://prop.devcon.org to vote without needing to login.
  4. Voting ends.
  5. The voting result is calculated based on the voting power of each individual, which is determined according to the predefined quadratic voting rules.
  6. Voting result is permanently stored on Arweave.

In addition to conference-specific elements, Devcon attendees may also be able to vote on other matters related to the health and future of Devcon. These could include:

  1. The selection of future conference locations and dates.
  2. The selection of keynote speakers and workshop facilitators for future conferences.
  3. The development and implementation of new programs or initiatives to improve the Devcon experience.
  4. The allocation of funds for specific projects or initiatives related to the Devcon.
  5. The selection of community members to serve on advisory boards or working groups for Devcon or related initiatives.
  6. The establishment of new partnerships or collaborations with other organizations or communities in the blockchain space.

Overall, Devcon attendees may have the opportunity to vote on a range of matters that impact the health and sustainability of the Ethereum ecosystem and the Devcon conference itself. These votes can help to ensure that the community’s voice is heard and that Devcon continues to evolve in a way that meets the needs and interests of its attendees and the broader Ethereum community.

About us

Metaforo is specialized in building Web3 native forums for Web3 governance.

Metaforo Website: https://www.metaforo.io

Discord: https://discord.gg/uwxYdPx2wh

Twitter: https://twitter.com/realmetaforo

Youtube: Case Study - Shapeshift moves ideation voting to Metaforo

Mockup UIs


3 Likes

Looks nice.
It can be quite useful.
Let’s make it happen for Devcon 7 and DevCoonect.

Awesome proposal, I love the mockups as well.

If attestation is used to gate the votes to devcon ticket attestation holders, then we can list the voting option under Perks Page. It might be a smoother experience, as this is also the landing page of attestation link.

Brilliant idea! We should incorporate the voting system on the Perks Page!

2 Likes