Hey @katie, appreciate the post!
We’ve been putting in a lot of effort over the past couple of quarters to improve clarity on how different chains are classified within the ecosystem. Blockspace Charters and the Superchain Registry (which Superchain Index is effectively a frontend for) have been the primary efforts there. We use the term Superchain Ecosystem to refer to all chains using the OP Stack, and the Superchain is the subset of those chains which fully (or are on track to fully) meet the standards criteria in the Standard Rollup Charter (green + orange.)
The Superchain Registry is hosted by the Optimism Foundation and represents a view into both of these groupings. The Charter column in the Superchain Index reflects which of these chains meet the SRC criteria, as determined by Optimism Governance via Protocol Upgrades. As you can see, that corresponds to the set of Chains that are eligible for incentives in Season 7. As this Season’s Intent focuses on interoperability, which requires that chains be on the Standard Charter, we have narrowed eligibility requirements in line with the Collective Intent. The Foundation also supports other nonstandard OP Chains, at its discretion, to promote innovation on the OP Stack beyond what Optimism Governance can support. There may be some chains missing as this is a relatively new repo, but the goal is for the Superchain Index/Registry to be as inclusive as possible while maintaining clear delineation between Standard and non-standard chains. Both the Superchain and broader Superchain Ecosystem are important for us to serve and grow.
In terms of the eligibility criteria changing over time, this is natural as our strategy is continuously evolving as we respond to evolving customer needs. Governance needs to remain adaptive and able to evolve along with these business needs and we don’t believe teams that have received past grants should be penalized for that. Importantly, all the chains in the Index - gray, orange, and green - are contributing revenue to the Collective, so as any of these chains grow, the entire Collective benefits.