TL;DR;
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We are developing _Prtcl, a content-management tool that supports the GIT-like flow of collaboration and that is compatible with Ethereum, IPFS and DAOstack.
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We already developed a Wiki component for Alchemy. We invite dxDAO to give it a try.
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Our roadmap is very ambitious and it includes extending the functionalities of the “Wiki” to include other types of content like tasks, calendars, tags, budgets, and others. It would be amazing to work with dxDAO to make this a reality.
Hi there 
, this is Pepo. I am one of the creators of The Underscore Protocol (_Prtcl): a GIT-inspired protocol for creating and managing online content (instead of files). The protocol is platform-agnostic and currently compatible with the Ethereum Blockchain, Holochain and a Web2 API.
We have been researching and prototyping technologies for open and distributed collaboration for more than 3 years and started developing _Prtcl one year ago with a focus on content management. Our interest in DAOs, and the fact that they are relatively unique experiments for distributed collaboration, have driven us to focus our development specifically for them.
Our first product is a content management application (think of it as a wiki or a “GitBook”) that let DAOs govern (on-chain) content in the form of multiple rich-text pages or documents. We developed this with the help of Genesis DAO as an embeddable component inside of Alchemy (DAOStack frontend application).
_Prtcl is not limited to work with Wikis. Its actually a general-purpose platform-agnostic open-source tool suite that can be used to create apps that manage other types of content, including calendars, issues, tasks, tags, blog posts. The Wiki is just the first of more modules that will come.
We are excited to see the success of the dxDAO launch and would like to invite its community to consider our technology as one strategic part of the puzzle needed to achieve its vision of effective, open, and distributed collaboration.
This post is meant just as an introduction to _Prtcl and an invitation to discuss it and how it could help dxDAO.
To give dxDAO members an idea, these are some of the ways we think are worth exploring:
Short-term
Integrate the Wiki into dxDAO Alchemy client.
Once integrated, it could be used out-of-the-box to create a Manifesto, keep the latest version of the Whitepaper, agree on a Code Of Conduct, keep onboarding material for new members, etc.
Technically, this is close to being ready based on the work we did for Genesis DAO.
Host a read-friendly version of one or more pages of the dxDAO Wiki on the dxDAO landing page.
These portions of the landing page would be automatically updated as their pages in the wiki get updated by the DAO.
Mid-term
Host the Wiki component in a separate environment (e.g. within dxDAO landing page), not only for reading but also for creating and voting on update proposals.
This would create a user experience of DAO members focused on the content, and not on the votes and proposals.
Add the option to comment on Wiki content or on the update proposals.
The comments functionality would not be developed from scratch but it would reuse existing protocols and tools for decentralized conversations (3Box threads for example).
Add a decentralized servicer provider using an existing decentralized network (candidates: OrbitDB, GUN DB, or Holochain) to replace the web2 provider.
Currently the Wiki uses Ethereum to hold the master branch (official perspective) of the Wiki, and a webserver to hold user’s perspectives to reduce the cost and facilitate the UX. A local provider using the browser storage could be used to avoid relying on a web server, but it won’t let members share their perspectives with others.
To share user’s perspectives without relying on a web server, decentralized non-blockchain networks like OrbitDB or GUN DB could be used.
Long-term
Develop a "Task Management" module, with the ability to create issues, organize them visually on a "Kanban" board, and control their status.
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Develop a "Budgeting Module" that would let dxDAO have a visual representation and collectively-managed a detailed plan of its budget.
The budget should include things like the expected revenue, the expected investments, and the expected expenditures. We have seen this as a key element to enable the effective and responsible management of a shared treasury.
Develop a DAO-controlled chat to "talk" with a DAO.
This would let external entities communicate with the DAO without having to rely on contacting their more “visible” members. Compared to the DAOtalk forum, it would be used in cases where a formal answer from the DAO is expected, instead of one made of many independent voices.
FAQs
What is the difference between governing IPFS hashes with ENS and using _Prtcl?
_Prtcl is purposely designed to handle a mix of mutable and content-addressable content as nested and linked JSON objects. It also includes a text editor that makes it easy for any DAO member to make changes to the content.
While a single IPFS hash for the landing page is very useful, for collaborative content management you need multiple mutable references that can be updated easily by DAO members, similar to how they edit a Notion page or a Google Doc.
What's the role of the Web2 API in the current Wiki implementation?
While the “official” version (perspective) of the Wiki is stored on IPFS and governed on Ethereum, the member’s “perspectives” of the Wiki can be stored on a Web Server to let them share (give read access) to their perspectives or keep them private, and to be able to work on them without having to pay transaction fees. Besides this, the Web Server should include features like real-time collaboration and notifications as its development advances.
One important aspect to take into account is that the member’s perspectives can be migrated out of the Web Server at any time. The nature of _Prtcl is such that, similar to GIT repositories, content can be moved from one platform to another without asking any kind of permission to the original platform. Simply cloning the content history of commits on another platform would mean that the object no longer depends on the original Web Server.
Also, the architecture of _Prtcl is completely modular, and the Web Server is just one “Service Provider”. It can be replaced with alternatives if the reliance on a Web Server is not considered appropriate by the community.
The simplest replacement for the Web Server is that member’s perspectives are stored locally on the browser. This means they will be exclusively private, but it also means that they cannot be shared with other members, except by making an “update proposal” to the “official” version of the Wiki.
Another alternative to replacing the Web Server, and the one that is a top priority for _Prtcl, is to support recent decentralized storage solutions like OrbitDB or GunDB to let members share and collaborate on their perspectives before proposing to update the official version of the Wiki.
. Is there going to be any kind of 3rd party plugin support at initial release? Any roadmap up somewhere with timelines & details I can look at and keep track of?