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RetroPGF 3
RetroPGF Rounds 1 & 2 were a resounding success, benefitting numerous dedicated individuals and teams who are passionate about creating public goods. These retroactive grants have not only made a significant impact on their projects but have also reinforced their commitment to the Optimism ecosystem. At the heart of the Optimism Collective's mission is the belief that those who contribute to public goods should be rewarded for their efforts. RetroPGF is like a refreshing twist on the traditional market economy, specifically designed to champion public goods. And the best part? It's already proving to be a game-changer for many builders within the Collective. RetroPGF, in essence, serves as Optimism's vehicle for nurturing the development of a free, open, and decentralized internet that puts the power and value back into the hands of those who create and maintain it.
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Experiment Overview
The Optimism Collective is thrilled to unveil the much-anticipated third round of RetroPGF this autumn! We're spreading the love with a whopping 30 million OP set to be distributed among the amazing builders, creators, and educators who've have supported the development and adoption of Optimism.
At Optimism, we're on a mission to craft an economy that celebrates and rewards our community members for their incredible contributions. These regular RetroPGF rounds play a pivotal role in fueling Optimism's economy, with the ultimate goal of taking the mantra "impact = profit" and sharing it with the world. Join us in making a difference!
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Process and Timeline
The Optimism Collective's third round of Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF) is set to kick off in the fall of 2023. Stay tuned for your chance to get involved and make a difference!
  1. Badgeholders Selection

    Badgeholders will be selected based on their contributions by three ways which total badgeholders in this round up to 208 people!

  2. Project Applications Live

    During this phase, builders, creators, and educators had the chance to submit their applications, showcasing their positive impact within the Optimism Collective.Theres no nominations process in this round, instead projects sign-up directly. You can apply here through the sign-up period.

  3. Voting

    Lists application allow badgeholders to leverage the expertise of other badgeholders when they cast their own votes

  4. Results & Token Disbursement

    Projects received rewards based on their received OP allocation votes from each badgeholder, celebrating their valuable work.

Scope of Round 3
At Optimism, we believe that every kind of contributor deserves recognition through Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF). Whether you're a coding wizard crafting an Ethereum execution client or a content creator sharing your love for Optimism through videos, if you're making a positive impact, you're in!
Applications for RetroPGF Round 3 are live! You can apply here
We're rolling out the red carpet for Optimism artists, creators, writers, builders, and all the passionate folks who make our ecosystem thrive.
  1. OP Stack
    If you've contributed to making the OP Stack more efficient, secure, resilient, or simply raised awareness about it, you're eligible!
  2. Collective Governance
    Did your work benefit governance participants within the Optimism Collective or bring new faces into the governance fold? You're in!
  3. Developer Ecosystem
    If you've had a hand in improving the lives of application developers within the Optimism Collective or helped newcomers find their way in, you're a RetroPGF candidate!
  4. End User Experience & Adoption
    Perhaps you've improved the experience for end users in the Optimism Collective, or you've been a champion in bringing new users on board. Your impact matters!
You can select multiple categories, but try to select the categories that best describe your impact!
RetroPGF isn't just for a select few. It's for all the amazing individuals who've left their mark in these categories. So, if you've made a difference, don't hesitate—submit an application and let's celebrate your contributions together!
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How to get involved
Guess what? This is the perfect moment to become a part of the vibrant Optimism Collective, and there are various ways to jump right in:
  1. If You're a Developer
    Take a look at the Ecosystem Contributions board where you'll find a treasure trove of ideas and projects waiting for your magic touch. Who knows, these could be your ticket to RetroPGF funding and making an impact!
  2. Got a Project in Mind?
    If you're working on something that aligns with our Collective Intents but need a little financial boost to kickstart it, check out the guide on how to apply for a grant. We've got your back!
  3. Community Builder Extraordinaire
    If you're all about building communities, consider exploring the NERD program for support and onboarding or the Ambassador program if you're into marketing and business development. There's a place for you to shine!
  4. Choose Your Adventure
    Feel like charting your own course? That's cool too! In RetroPGF 2, we celebrated and funded 195 incredible projects and people. You can check out this page to get inspired and find your unique way to contribute.
Round Design
Retroactive Public Goods Funding is a dynamic experiment, always evolving to better serve our amazing community. In this post, we're taking you behind the scenes to share the nitty-gritty of RetroPGF 3's design process.
Let's talk about what we've cooked up for Round 3. These design choices are like ingredients in our recipe for success, and they come with their own set of assumptions. We're super excited to test these out in the upcoming Round and use your feedback to keep making RetroPGF even better.
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RetroPGF Sign up
Gathering the right data from Projects
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Lists Application
Scaling the Evaluation of Projects
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Impact Evaluation
Frameworks & Definitions
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Voting Application
How badgeholders express themselves
RetroPGF Sign up
We're on a mission to make Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF) even better by helping projects showcase their impact and profit more effectively. Our goal is to empower projects to quantify their contributions and give badgeholders the insights they need.
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Our new feature, the Optimist Profile, is our first step towards this exciting future. It allows projects to share their impact and profit metrics, along with references to data sources that support their claims. We believe that projects are the experts in measuring their own impact, and we want to give them the tools to do it.
In RetroPGF 3, we're introducing a revamped sign-up process with a focus on gathering high-quality data:
  1. More Detailed Questions
    We've added thoughtful questions that align with the impact evaluation process, helping projects provide a comprehensive view of their work.
  2. Standardized Data Sources
    Now, projects can input relevant standardized external data sources like Github repositories or on-chain contracts. This allows us to create more powerful analytical tools for evaluation.
  3. Self-Reported Impact Metrics
    Projects can share their impact metrics and back them up with references to external data sources. This helps us identify standardized metrics and evaluation frameworks for the future.
Good news for projects! We've simplified the process. No More Nominations, Just Direct Sign-up. This makes the experience smoother, reducing the steps from nomination and sign-up to a single, straightforward process.
Join us in making RetroPGF even better, one step at a time! Together, we're building a brighter future for project evaluation!
Lists Application
Ever wondered how we can accurately assess the impact and profitability of all the amazing projects nominated for Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF)? It's a big task, and no single badgeholder can have all the answers. But fret not, because we have a plan to make it happen! In previous rounds, we've seen badgeholders sharing their project evaluations with each other. Now, in Round 3, we're taking it up a notch. We're introducing a cool new feature called "Lists."
Lists
Think of Lists as a super flexible way to collaborate and delegate. Each List consists of a group of projects carefully chosen from the pool of RetroPGF applicants. Not only that, but it also comes with a suggested allocation of OP token for each project.
  1. Knowledge Sharing
    Lists are all about sharing knowledge. Since no one can be an expert on everything, Lists allow badgeholders to bring their unique insights and expertise to the table within specific areas.
  2. Collaboration Made Easy
    With Lists, badgeholders can easily share their project evaluations with others. You can replicate or tweak someone else's votes if you find their approach appealing.
  3. Methodology Matters
    Each List creator provides a methodology for distributing OP to each project based on their expertise and data evaluation. It adds transparency and trust to the process.
Lists empower badgeholders to tap into each other's expertise when making their own voting decisions. It's a step toward transitioning from subjective reviews to standardized impact evaluation frameworks. We believe that Lists will become an invaluable tool for badgeholders to collaborate and leverage each other's strengths. Our bet is that this will lead to badgeholders supporting more projects than ever before.
Impact Evaluation
Retroactive Funding is a pretty new and exciting concept in the world of grant funding. It flips the script by rewarding projects for the positive impact they've already made, rather than guessing at their future contributions.
In Round 3, we're all about providing badgeholders with a clearer roadmap for evaluating impact:
  1. Clearer Roles
    We're giving badgeholders a more defined role. Instead of just sharing personal preferences or experiences, they're stepping into the shoes of impact and profit judges. It's all about assessing the real impact a project has had.
  2. Impact Evaluation Frameworks
    We're not leaving badgeholders in the dark. We're working together to create frameworks that help us nail down what impact really means. This isn't a solo effort; it's a team endeavor with badgeholders playing a crucial role.
These changes benefit everyone. Badgeholders get a better understanding of what they're voting for, and projects get a clearer picture of what they'll be rewarded for. It's a win-win! But here's the thing, defining impact and building these frameworks is an ongoing journey. Round 3 is just the beginning of our mission to establish a shared understanding of impact assessment.
Our guess? With these frameworks in place, badgeholders will find more common ground and vote in a way that makes sense to everyone. Let's build a more united and impactful RetroPGF together!
Voting Application
At RetroPGF, we're all about making the voting process smoother and more enjoyable for our valued badgeholders. We've learned from past rounds and are excited to introduce some exciting changes in Round 3.
Lists
  1. All-in-One Application
    We get it, reviewing dozens or even hundreds of projects can be overwhelming. That's why we've designed a single application that lets badgeholders review projects, check out Lists, allocate their votes, and submit their choices—all in one place.
  2. Integration Made Easy
    Project profiles and applications are seamlessly integrated with additional tools. This simplifies the process and helps badgeholders make informed decisions.
  3. Role-Aligned Design
    Our voting design is now perfectly in sync with the role of our badgeholders. It's designed to help them understand their responsibilities and vote accordingly.
  4. Flexible Voting Power
    Each badgeholder can allocate up to 30 million OP token across projects, but the beauty is that they can choose to use only a portion of their voting power if they wish. It's all about giving them flexibility.
  5. Project Allocation
    Badgeholders can allocate up to 10 million OP per project, allowing for more nuanced voting decisions.
  6. Results You Can Trust
    We calculate the results using the Median method, with some additional considerations to ensure fairness.
  7. Privacy Matters
    Your votes are kept private. Only the Optimism Foundation can access them, and that's just to enforce our Code of Conduct.
We believe these new voting applications will not only simplify the life of our badgeholders but also encourage them to vote in a way that aligns with RetroPGF's vision and goals. So, get ready for a more user-friendly, efficient, and exciting voting experience in Round 3. Let's make RetroPGF even better, one vote at a time!
More Tooling
The Optimism community is all about coming together to create amazing tools that make Retroactive Public Goods Funding (RetroPGF) even better for everyone involved. We believe that the more builders, researchers, and regenerators who join in, the faster we'll reach our goal of summoning Ether's Phoenix. And here's the exciting part: by contributing to RetroPGF development, you not only help improve the system but also earn RetroPGF rewards!
RetroPGF is all about embracing diversity. It's a place where contributors can experiment with different ideas and approaches to solve complex problems. We encourage multiple teams to work on various aspects of RetroPGF to bring fresh perspectives and innovative solutions.
We've got some fantastic core applications in the works:
Core applications in development for RetroPGF 3
  1. RetroPGF Sign-up
    Our friends at OP Labs EcoPod are crafting this gem. It makes it a breeze for projects to sign up for RetroPGF 3.
  2. Discovery & Voting
    Supermodular and Agora are hard at work on these apps. They will empower badgeholders to review and vote on projects. Plus, they're designing two different voting experiences, so badgeholders can choose what suits them best.
  3. List Creation UI
    Supermodular is also cooking up a cool feature that lets badgeholders create Lists.
But that's not all! Our community is buzzing with additional tools and experiments:
  1. OpenSource Observer
    This tool provides analytics to evaluate the impact of open-source projects.
  2. Pairwise
    Imagine a "Tinder-like" voting experience for badgeholders. It's here!
  3. Community Project Suggestions
    We're making it easy for community members to suggest projects that should sign up for RetroPGF which is us! (RetroPGF Hub)
  4. BuidlGuidl
    They're experimenting with a RetroPGF voting application. Exciting stuff! Got Ideas?
If you're itching to contribute and need inspiration, head over to our ecosystem contributions page for some fantastic ideas. And if you've got an experiment or project in mind, share it with the community in the Governance forum. Together, we're building RetroPGF into something extraordinary. Join us in this exciting journey!
Voting Badges
In RetroPGF 3, we're distributing voting badges to 208 community members to ensure a fair and diverse voting process. Here's how it works:
If you're a badgeholder, you can go to the badgeholder hub to find relevant resources and stay up to date.
Badge Distribution
  1. Returning Badgeholders
    If you voted in RetroPGF 2, you'll receive a new voting badge. Plus, you can give one to a community member of your choice.
  2. Top 50 Recipients of RetroPGF 2
    The top 50 badgeholders from RetroPGF 2 also get to share a voting badge with someone they choose.
  3. The Optimism Foundation
    They have 10 voting badges to distribute to community members of their choice.
If you've got a voting badge, it's your chance to make someone's day! Here's what to do:
  1. If you’re a badgeholder, please use this form to tell us who should receive a voting badge.
  2. If you’re one of the top 50 recipients of RetroPGF 2, please use this form.
Just so you know, the criteria for citizenship may change in the future, and it'll be decided by governance. Voting in RetroPGF 3 doesn't guarantee a permanent spot in the Citizens' House or future RetroPGF rounds.
Rules and Code of Conduct
Badgeholders must abide by the following rules and the Code of Conduct. In case of a violation, the voting badge that has been distributed may be revoked.
  1. Untransferred Badge
    You’re not allowed to distribute your voting badge to a co-worker with whom you work on your primary project. “Primary” is defined as a project to which you dedicate >25% of working hours or derive >25% of your compensation. This rule is established to counteract the concentration of voting badges among the members of a small number of projects.
  2. Be Independent
    Badgeholders represent individual members of the Optimism Collective. They can not represent a project or company in their capacity as badgeholders.
Sharing Your Voting Badge
The Optimism Foundation has some handy guidelines for distributing voting badges, and they encourage everyone to consider these criteria when making their own choices:
  1. Can this person help make RetroPGF even better as a funding mechanism?
  2. Is this person a pro in any of the categories we're funding in RetroPGF?
  3. Has this person shown a strong commitment to the long-term growth of the Optimism ecosystem and our Collective's mission?
  4. Can this person bring fresh perspectives and insights to the table, enriching our evaluations?
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Why this badgeholder selection method?
  1. Learning from RetroPGF 2
    In RetroPGF 2, we noticed something cool. When we allowed each badgeholder from the previous round to choose a new badgeholder, it created a super-committed and value-aligned group of voters. That's what we want!
  2. Steering Clear of Centralization
    But here's the twist. Sometimes badgeholders tended to pass their voting badges to their team members, which could lead to a bit too much centralization. To keep things fair, we now have a rule that stops badgeholders from picking their coworkers. We're all about diversity!
  3. Top 50 Recipients Rock
    Those awesome top 50 recipients from RetroPGF round 2? They've shown they're totally on board with Optimism's values, and they're committed to making RetroPGF a fair process. We're even experimenting to see if getting a RetroPGF badge could be a way to become a citizen in the future.
  4. Optimism Foundation's Role
    The Optimism Foundation has some badges to give away too, and they're using the same cool criteria we mentioned earlier. But they won't be involved in picking badgeholders or citizens in future rounds.
Remember, the criteria for citizenship may change in the future, and it'll be decided by the community's governance. So, we're always evolving and improving! Let's keep the RetroPGF spirit alive and make this journey even more exciting together!
The Future of Becoming a Citizen
In the exciting future of the Optimism Collective, the responsibility for selecting citizens will rest with our two-house governance system. It's all about making sure that citizenship is earned based on the reputation you build within our community.
But here's the best part: we want you, the badgeholders, and our amazing community members, to be part of this decision-making process. We invite you to join discussions about what reputation attributes (kind of like endorsements) should be considered valuable when selecting future citizens. You can share your thoughts and ideas in this thread.
By doing this, we're getting ready for the day when citizenship selection will be in the hands of the Collective. It's all about making sure the process is fair, transparent, and aligned with our collective values.
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