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Governance Guide

Zaal Panthaki edited this page Mar 29, 2026 · 1 revision

Governance Guide

ZAO OS has a three-tier governance system — from lightweight gasless polls to fully on-chain DAO proposals. Each tier serves a different purpose and operates on a different chain.


Tier 1: Snapshot Polls (Gasless Voting)

Where: Snapshot space zaal.eth Chain: Off-chain (gasless signatures) Frequency: Weekly

Weekly priority polls let the community signal what matters most. No gas fees, no wallet transactions — just sign a message.

How It Works

  1. An admin creates a weekly poll with the current rotating options
  2. Members vote by signing with their wallet (free)
  3. Results determine community priorities for the week

Current Poll Options

These 10 initiatives rotate through weekly polls:

Initiative Description
WaveWarZ Competitive Web3 music battles
ZAO Fractal Fractal governance + Respect Game
ZAO Festivals IRL culture-build (ZAO-CHELLA)
ZAO Cards Digital/physical collectibles
COC Concertz Community shows with live music
ZAO Newsletter Weekly updates & opportunities
Student $LOANZ Web3 education funding
ZAO Calendar Events, streams, activations
Let's Talk About Web3 Weekly live show + Q&A
Midi-ZAO-NKZ MIDI-PUNKZ collaboration

Poll choices are configured in community.config.ts under snapshot.weeklyPollChoices.


Tier 2: Fractal Governance (The Respect Game)

Where: In-app + Discord (dual mode) Chain: Optimism (Respect token: ERC1155) Frequency: Every Monday, 6pm EST

The ZAO has been running fractal governance for 90+ consecutive weeks. It's the longest-running fractal process in the ecosystem.

How Fractals Work

  1. Members join the weekly session (Monday 6pm EST)
  2. Participants are placed in small groups (3-6 people)
  3. Each group ranks members by contribution that week
  4. Rankings generate Respect tokens — on-chain reputation on Optimism
  5. Respect accumulates over time, reflecting sustained contribution

Respect Tokens

  • Contract: 0x34cE89baA7E4a4B00E17F7E4C0cb97105C216957 (Optimism)
  • Backup ZOR contract: 0x9885CCeEf7E8371Bf8d6f2413723D25917E7445c
  • Type: ERC1155 — each week's Respect is a distinct token ID
  • Use: Governance weight, curation influence, access gating, leaderboard ranking

What Respect Unlocks

  • Curation weight — your votes on music trending carry more influence
  • Publishing threshold — proposals auto-publish to Farcaster/Bluesky/X after reaching 1000+ Respect in votes
  • Access gating — certain features require minimum Respect
  • Leaderboard — community-wide ranking by accumulated Respect

Fractal Features in ZAO OS

  • Session management — create and manage fractal sessions
  • Proposal creation — submit proposals for community vote
  • Analytics — participation metrics and trends
  • Member stats — per-wallet Respect balance and history
  • Respect leaderboard — ranked by total Respect with embeddable widget

Tier 3: ZOUNZ DAO (On-Chain Proposals)

Where: Nouns Builder Chain: Base Mechanism: NFT voting (1 ZOUNZ = 1 vote)

ZOUNZ is a Nouns-style DAO on Base. Daily NFT auctions fund the community treasury, and NFT holders vote on proposals.

How It Works

  1. Daily auctions — one ZOUNZ NFT auctioned every day
  2. Treasury — auction proceeds go to the DAO treasury on Base
  3. Proposals — any ZOUNZ holder can create proposals
  4. Voting — 1 ZOUNZ NFT = 1 vote on proposals
  5. Execution — passed proposals execute on-chain

Contracts (Base)

ZOUNZ in ZAO OS

  • Browse current and past proposals
  • View auction status
  • Cron job monitors auction events

How the Tiers Work Together

Tier Speed Cost Binding? Best For
Snapshot Instant Free Signal Weekly priorities, temperature checks
Fractal Weekly Free Reputation Sustained contribution, community standing
ZOUNZ Days Gas On-chain Treasury spending, protocol changes

Snapshot tells you what the community wants. Fractals tell you who's doing the work. ZOUNZ makes it official on-chain.

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