Proposal- Discourse Widget To Improve DAO Governance Participation Rate

Proposals
1

Non-Constitutional

1. Executive Summary

Integrate a custom Discourse Theme Component for the Arbitrum DAO forum to reduce delegate fatigue and increase token holder participation significantly. This solution eliminates governance friction by displaying live, binding vote status directly within forum discussions.

2. Motivation

Currently, ARB delegates and token holders face significant friction when tracking proposals because crucial governance data is siloed. Discussions happen on the forum, while voting data lives on Snapshot (off-chain) and Tally (on-chain).

A user reading a substantive forum debate often must manually leave the site to check if the final on-chain vote has started or if a proposal has reached the required Quorum. Delegates currently lack a native triage layer to quickly distinguish between active votes, temperature checks, and discussions.

The Problem (Friction Points):

  • Disconnect: Crucial discussion happens on the Arbitrum forum, but binding on-chain data is external.

  • Delegate Fatigue: Constant context-switching reduces efficiency and increases the risk of missing narrow voting windows.

  • Quorum Failure Risk: Lack of real-time visibility contributes to quorum failures, resulting in wasted governance effort and affecting the DAO’s operational capacity.

  • Ambiguity: Old forum threads remain active long after a proposal has failed or been executed, leading to confusion.

The Solution: Installation of a dedicated Governance Widget providing:

  • Visual Triage: Immediate clarity on proposal status.

  • Efficiency: Reduced time-to-action for active delegates.

  • Zero Infrastructure: No backend changes; it lives entirely as a UI layer.

. Here is a quick demo of the widget in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpP-1eKCCoA
You can see the live implementation on Aave here **https://governance.aave.com/t/temp-check-update-forum-features/22672/14?u=davidlen
**

image
image1920Ă—1038 247 KB

3. Specification (The Deliverable)

We will integrate a standalone, modular Discourse Theme Component built for long-term maintenance.

A. Tally On-Chain Status Widget (Core Feature)

  • Trigger: Automatically display the live status active or past Arbitrum Governor Proposal status directly in the forum discussionn .

  • Action: Fetches live data via the Tally API to track the final, binding on-chain vote.

  • Display: Renders a persistent, sticky widget in the right-hand sidebar showing:

    • Status Badge: (e.g., Active / Failed / Executed)

    • Countdown: “Ends in X hours” (crucial for the 3-day window)

    • Live Metrics: Real-time metrics for Quorum Reached and For/Against totals.

    • Link Out: A clear “View Tally/Vote Now” button.

B. Snapshot Status Card (Community Feedback)

  • Trigger: Dispay Snapshot links in the post body.

  • Action: Transforms the raw text link into a styled “Governance Card.”

  • Purpose: Clearly signals the status of Community Feedback or Temperature Check polls, distinguishing them from final on-chain binding votes.

C. Technical Approach

  • Native UI: Styled to match Arbitrum’s official theme automatically, ensuring a seamless delegate experience.

  • Sustainability: Built as a standard, modular Discourse Theme Component for easy long-term maintenance.

4. Compensation Request

Requesting $2,990 USD equivalent in ARB/USDC. This covers the component’s end-to-end lifecycle, polished for long-term use:

  • Development & Core Logic: Complex JavaScript logic, GraphQL fetching, and native integration with the Discourse virtual DOM structure (including sticky sidebar behavior).

  • UI/UX & Mobile Testing: Full testing across major browsers and mobile devices to match Arbitrum’s official theme.

  • Documentation: Complete implementation and maintenance documentation.

  • 12-Month Maintenance: Bug-fix guarantee, including coverage for Discourse platform upgrades and API changes.

5. Timeline

  • Deployment: 1 day from proposal approval (The widget is already built and configured).

  • Ongoing Support: 12 months of maintenance and bug-fix guarantee.

  • Payment Terms: 100% upon successful installation and verification by the Foundation/Admin.

  • Recipient: 0xa2aa0a2fa97f600040ebcdfd02bfd65cb4c4feba

Who Are We?

We are a two-person team who built the Aave and Celo governace widget combining deep expertise in decentralized application development and data integration to deliver a robust, high-quality solution designed for long-term governance .

Timeline

  1. Forum Period (March 5 - March 12): Requesting comments and time to edit the proposal with delegate/broader community suggestions

  2. Snapshot Period (March 12 - March 19)

2 Likes