# \[DRAFT\]\[GF: Phase 1 Proposal\] Pairwise

**URL:** <https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976>\
**Category:** Grants Council Cycle 10-11\
**Tags:** cycle-10\
**Created:** [February 1, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976 "2023-02-01T03:24:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 12\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2023, 3:24am UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/1 "2023-02-01T03:24:24Z")

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**Project name** : Pairwise

**Author name and contact info** (please provide a reliable point of contact for the project): Telegram: [Telegram: Contact @zeptimusQ](https://t.me/zeptimusQ) - @zeptimusQ

**I understand that I will be required to provide additional KYC information to the Optimism Foundation to receive this grant** : Yes

**I understand that I will be expected to following the public grant reporting requirements outlined [here](https://gov.optimism.io/t/suggested-public-reporting-requirements-for-grantees/4176)**: Yes

**L2 recipient address** : 0xc8d65e1bd67f16522e3117b980e1c9d2caeb9dc3 (generalmagic.eth)

**Which Voting Cycle are you applying for?** : 10

**Which sub-committee should review your proposal? (Builders Grants, Growth Experiment Grants)**: Builders Grants

**Project description** (please explain how your project works): Say goodbye to endless forum scrolling and hello to easy, efficient and fun community signaling with Pairwise! Our open-source, snapshot-style voting dapp, based on the [big brain algorithm research out of Colony in 2018](https://blog.colony.io/introducing-budgetbox/), offers a fast-paced and intuitive experience, perfect for the next generation of DAOs. Join us in revolutionizing governance with the power of algorithms and give your community a fun way to engage in governance, as opposed to boring old voting…  
  
Pairwise turns web3 voting into swiping on Tinder. Use OP or any token in the Optimism ecosystem to create new pairwise assessments!. Compatible with all EVM chains and fully open-source, our project is in active development but needs support!

**Website** : [https://pairwise.generalmagic.io/](https://pairwise.generalmagic.io/) (currently a subdomain)

**Twitter** : [https://twitter.com/Generalmagicio](https://twitter.com/Generalmagicio)

**Discord/Discourse/Community:** Discord: [General Magic](https://discord.gg/YDzmCC2qhJ)

**Other relevant links** (including any demos): Demo: [Pairwise voting - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIn0jQZlLFQ)

**Additional team member info** (please link): Pairwise is a project built by[General Magic](https://generalmagic.io/) with a lot of support from rockstar DAO OGs. [@VitorMarthendal](https://twitter.com/VitorMarthendal) is the project lead with design by [@markoprljic](https://twitter.com/markoprljic) and [@thegrifft](https://twitter.com/thegrifft) as the product owner. [@mathsguy](https://twitter.com/mathsguy), [@kronosapiens](https://twitter.com/kronosapiens), [@gichiba](https://twitter.com/gichiba)[@AAbugosh](https://twitter.com/aabugosh), [@ZeptimusQ](https://twitter.com/zeptimusQ), and the Giveth community are all supporting the effort as well.

**Please link to any previous projects the team has meaningfully contributed to** : [Aragon](https://aragon.org/)  
  
[1hive](https://1hive.org/)  
  
[xDai - now Gnosis Chain](https://www.gnosischain.com/)  
  
[Commons Stack](https://commonsstack.org/)  
  
[Token Engineering Commons](https://tecommons.org/)  
  
[ENS](https://ens.domains/es/)

**Relevant usage metrics** (TVL, transactions, volume, unique addresses, etc. Optimism metrics preferred; please link to public sources such as Dune Analytics, etc.): Development phase, N/A

**Competitors, peers, or similar projects** (please link): Pairwise is similar to Snapshot, but with a specific type of UX. Snapshot votes are built around the expectation that users will go do research in forums and read long-form discussions. Our approach leans into the fact that most of the community isn’t even going to skim the forum posts and will vote with their gut. The goal is to give a clearer signal of what the community wants through more engagement in fun and simple micro-decisions.  
  
Pairwise shouldn’t be used for EVERY decision, but we believe it is an important complement to the current voting applications that exist today.  
  
At General Magic, we believe in the power of collaboration in the open-source world. That’s why we would be thrilled if Snapshot chose to integrate Pairwise into their platform. However, even if Snapshot decides not to, we are still committed to deploying this feature independently and integrating Snapshot’s strategies into our system. We believe that this will benefit the entire governance ecosystem as we work together to create more efficient methods based on algorithms.

**Is/will this project be open sourced?:** Yes

**Optimism native?** : No

**Date of deployment/expected deployment on Optimism** : 12/31/2023

**What is the problem statement this proposal hopes to solve for the Optimism ecosystem?:**  **Problem**  
  
Current voting mechanisms provide poor user experience and require a high cognitive overhead leading to intense voter apathy.

 ![358x315](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/original/2X/f/f4c01921888a77d499a8bc25e43f5a163edd4e8a.png)  
  
As an ecosystem, we expect community members to spend a lot of time reading forum posts and have designed our tooling around this expectation. This will not scale.

**How does your proposal offer a value proposition solving the above problem?** : **Solution**  
  
Pairwise is a novel voting pattern and [dapp](https://pairwise.generalmagic.io/) that makes it easy and fun for web3 communities to signal their preferences. If this project can be well funded, it will enable much greater engagement for web3 communities across the ecosystem.  
  
Pairwise aims to make it easier for Web3 communities to signal their preferences and make informed decisions. Pairwise is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, like a dating app, allowing users to choose between pairs of options to signal their preferences as opposed to having to read endless forum posts and vote within a set time period. The system converts these simple subjective inputs into objective, measurable outputs, minimizing the cost and cognitive burden of voting.

 ![602x329](https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/original/2X/3/3d4a0e0f696eba257ff2a3a64145883c31f09c08.png)  
  
Pairwise will be implemented as a [dapp](https://pairwise.generalmagic.io/) with its own front end and an open-source backend that can be used in various contexts, such as community governance or project funding with custom front ends. Pairwise voting will be compatible with all Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains and the development will be fully open source, and will also include documentation for developers who want to use the system in their own projects.  
  
The goal of the project is to promote greater community engagement in DAO’s decision-making processes. But not only can Pairwise be used for governance with different snapshot strategies, but Pairwise can also be used to allocate budgets based on community signaling. And that’s just the beginning - we can’t wait to see how the community will discover and utilize all of the potential use cases for this tool.  
  
We are confident that this project has the potential to make a significant impact and we look forward to the opportunity to bring Pairwise voting to life with Optimism support.

**Why will this solution be a source of growth for the Optimism ecosystem?** : Pairwise will benefit the Optimism ecosystem by providing a more engaging and user-friendly community signaling mechanism. By using the Tinder-style UX, Pairwise aims to increase community engagement in governance, leading to a more informed and efficient ecosystem. Additionally, Pairwise’s compatibility with all EVM chains and open-source development will allow for greater integration and usage within the Optimism ecosystem, potentially leading to increased adoption and growth.

**Has your project previously applied for an OP grant?** : No

**Number of OP tokens requested** : 31,250.00 OP

**Did the project apply for or receive OP tokens through the Foundation Partner Fund?** : No

**If OP tokens were requested from the Foundation Partner Fund, what was the amount?** : N/A

**How much will your project match in co-incentives?** (not required but recommended, when applicable): N/A

**How will the OP tokens be distributed?** (please include % allocated to different initiatives such as user rewards/marketing/liquidity mining. Please also include a justification as to why each of these initiatives align with the problem statement this proposal is solving.): General Magic is applying to get founded by different sources and will convert the OP tokens to stablecoins to retroactively fund Pairwise after the lock up period. The budget will be used 80% for dev work and 20% for design work.  
.

**Over what period of time will the tokens be distributed for each initiative?** Shorter timelines are preferable to longer timelines. Shorter timelines (on the order of weeks) allow teams to quickly demonstrate achievement of milestones, better facilitating additional grants via subsequent proposals: .  
  
Milestones timeline:  
Milestone 1 → 10 weeks  
Milestone 2 → 6 weeks  
Milestone 3 → 8 weeks  
Milestone 4 → 4 weeks  
Milestone 5 → 14 weeks

**Please clearly define the milestones you expect to achieve in order to receive milestone based installments. Please consider how each milestone relates to incentivizing sustainable usage and liquidity on Optimism. Progress towards each milestone must be trackable:**  
This grant will be retroactively funding Pairwise and we are already developing it seeking funding from different sources such as[Aragon](https://forum.aragon.org/t/pairwise-voting/),[Meebits](https://prop.house/meebits/round-2/2963),[Nouns](https://prop.house/nouns/explorer-grants-pilot-round/2988) and more! Any extra funds from the budget will be used to improve the UX/UI and consider new desirable features for Pairwise

_Note: This budget is asuming price of 1 OP=2$_

Milestone 1: Platform development and implementation, including the improvement of the pairwise algorithm and interfaces for creating spaces, votes (with allowlists) and projects. Closed beta (20k OP)  
  
1) Interface for creating spaces, votes and projects.  
2) Interface for voting through allowlists.  
3) Interface for viewing pairwise rankings.  
  
Milestone 2: Addition of weighted votes and integration with Snapshot strategies (10K OP)  
  
1) Addition to add snapshot strategies to allow voters in addition to the allowlist.  
2) Addition of weighted votes based on snapshot strategies.  
3) Support for multiple snapshot strategies composed in the same pairwise vote.  
  
Milestone 3: Integration with decentralized storage solutions and ENS (10k OP)  
  
1) Storage of pairwise results on decentralized storage solution  
2) Generation of decentralized proof of votes (through IPFSn Ceramic or Arweave)  
3) Creation and verification of spaces through ENS domains  
  
Milestone 4: Creation of a voting incentive mechanism (7.5k OP)  
  
1) Mechanism for budgeting voting incentives along with pairwise distributions   
2) Anti-sybil voting mechanism  
  
Milestone 5: Enhancing voting interfaces (15k OP)  
1)Creation of new voting interfaces besides pairwise voting (such as list selection and ongoing updated voting).  
2) Implementation of voting interfaces as modules, making it possible to use different voting interfaces for the same voting session

| Project | Milestone Type | Milestone | Source of Truth | Deadline |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pairwise | Critical | Platform development and implementation | Codebase | 6 weeks |
| Pairwise | Critical | Addition of weighted votes and integration with Snapshot | Codebase | 6 weeks |
| Pairwise | Critical | Integration with decentralized storage solutions and ENS | Codebase | 12 weeks |
| Pairwise | Critical | Creating a mechanism for incentivizing voting | Codebase | 8 weeks |
| Pairwise | Critical | Enhancing voting interfaces | Codebase | 10 weeks |
| Pairwise | Benchmark | Pairwise adoption | 10 DAOs | EOY |

**Why will incentivized users and liquidity on Optimism remain after incentives dry up?** : N/A

**Please provide any additional information that will facilitate accountability** (smart contracts addresses relevant to the proposal, relevant organizational wallet addresses, etc.): N/A

**Confirm you have read and agree to the Eligibility Restrictions** ([here](https://gov.optimism.io/t/grant-proposal-template/3233)): I have read the Eligibility Restrictions and agree to abide by their conditions

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 9:43am UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/2 "2023-02-06T09:43:47Z")

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@lavande can you assign me ownership of the post. 🙏

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**Author:** ![FractalVisions](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/fractalvisions/32/7590_2.png) [@FractalVisions](https://gov.optimism.io/u/FractalVisions)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/3 "2023-02-06T15:15:29Z")

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> [@Zeptimus](#):
>
> **How will the OP tokens be distributed?** (please include % allocated to different initiatives such as user rewards/marketing/liquidity mining. Please also include a justification as to why each of these initiatives align with the problem statement this proposal is solving.): We will convert the token to stablecoins as soon as the grant is received as we need to pay for salaries.

This section does not entail that the funds will be distributed after the 12 month lock period as well as the request being over the maximum amount allowed for this type of grant structure.

Can you please include % allocated to different initiatives such as user rewards/marketing/liquidity mining

Please also include a justification as to why each of these initiatives align with the problem statement this proposal is solving.

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**Author:** ![GrantsOps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb9ed0/32.png) [@GrantsOps](https://gov.optimism.io/u/GrantsOps)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/4 "2023-02-06T15:31:03Z")

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@Zeptimus it is worth posting amendments to the comments prior to taking ownership of the account. Those amendments will be honored and you can add them to the proposal text later. Note @FractalVisions comment below. The grant size + acknowledgement of lockup are important for moving forward.

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**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/5 "2023-02-06T17:45:18Z")

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@GrantsOps I was hoping to take over ownership so I can make some edits to the proposal to align with the rules.

> [@FractalVisions](#):
>
> Can you please include % allocated to different initiatives such as user rewards/marketing/liquidity mining
> 
> Please also include a justification as to why each of these initiatives align with the problem statement this proposal is solving.

I made the changes to the grant with the details you mentioned, and I just wanted to reply to you directly to clarify the distribution of work. Our work is based on [Colony research](https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/61840fafb9a4c433c1470856/639b50ee30b729cb016806c1_BudgetingBoxes.pdf) wich is done ✅, we have determined that 80% of the work will be focused on development and 20% on design. At General Magic we are really excited to bring this project to life, and I believe with the right developer and design support, we’ll be able to make it happen!

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**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 6, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/6 "2023-02-06T18:35:53Z")

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Edits:

**How will the OP tokens be distributed?** (please include % allocated to different initiatives such as user rewards/marketing/liquidity mining. Please also include a justification as to why each of these initiatives align with the problem statement this proposal is solving.): General Magic is applying to get founded by different sources and will convert the OP tokens to stablecoins to retroactively fund Pairwise after the lock up period. The budget will be used 80% for dev work and 20% for design work.  
.

**Over what period of time will the tokens be distributed for each initiative?** Shorter timelines are preferable to longer timelines. Shorter timelines (on the order of weeks) allow teams to quickly demonstrate achievement of milestones, better facilitating additional grants via subsequent proposals: .

Milestones timeline:  
Milestone 1 → 10 weeks  
Milestone 2 → 6 weeks  
Milestone 3 → 8 weeks  
Milestone 4 → 4 weeks  
Milestone 5 → 14 weeks

**Please clearly define the milestones you expect to achieve in order to receive milestone based installments. Please consider how each milestone relates to incentivizing sustainable usage and liquidity on Optimism. Progress towards each milestone must be trackable:**  
This grant will be retroactively funding Pairwise and we are already developing it seeking funding from different sources such as[Aragon](https://forum.aragon.org/t/pairwise-voting/),[Meebits](https://prop.house/meebits/round-2/2963),[Nouns](https://prop.house/nouns/explorer-grants-pilot-round/2988) and more! Any extra funds from the budget will be used to improve the UX/UI and consider new desirable features for Pairwise

_Note: This budget is asuming price of 1 OP=2$_

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**Author:** ![kaereste](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/kaereste/32/2677_2.png) [@kaereste](https://gov.optimism.io/u/kaereste)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/7 "2023-02-23T16:47:45Z")

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Hi @Zeptimus thanks for all the extra info you gave us so far. As we’re getting closer to the final review, I wanted to bring your awareness of a new [Milestone Assessment](https://gov.optimism.io/t/milestone-assessment/5314) the Grant council proposed.

It is not mandatory for cycle 10 to stick to this format, but it shows what are we looking for when assessing Milestones, so you might want to adjust your Milestones to maybe get a better score on the final review.

If you’d like to discuss anything related to that, don’t hesitate to ask here or contact me directly (I’m a Builders sub-committee reviewer).

Again thank you for the effort you guys are putting into this proposal!

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**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2023, 6:06pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/8 "2023-02-23T18:06:57Z")

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Hey @kaereste, thank you so much for bringing this up! I really appreciate your feedback and I completely agree with you that transparency and accountability are essential for these systems to work.

I’ll definitely be working on adapting the milestones and taking your suggestions into account. Do you happen to know if there’s a specific deadline for updating them? I’ll need to discuss it with the dev team and might need some time.

Thanks again for your input!

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**Author:** ![kaereste](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/kaereste/32/2677_2.png) [@kaereste](https://gov.optimism.io/u/kaereste)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2023, 10:36am UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/9 "2023-02-24T10:36:32Z")

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@Zeptimus we will be reviewing the milestones on Monday, so it would be great if you could adjust by then.

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**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/10 "2023-02-26T22:31:24Z")

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Added the table in the main post

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Zeptimus](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/zeptimus/32/2198_2.png) [@Zeptimus](https://gov.optimism.io/u/Zeptimus)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2023, 6:24pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/11 "2023-02-27T18:24:15Z")

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Inlcuded new feedback

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![maxwell](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/bc41dd/user_avatar/gov.optimism.io/maxwell/32/8781_2.png) [@maxwell](https://gov.optimism.io/u/maxwell)\
**Post date:** [May 9, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://gov.optimism.io/t/draft-gf-phase-1-proposal-pairwise/4976/12 "2024-05-09T15:51:01Z")

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