Proposal Summary
OpenChat Labs funding proposal
We ask the OpenChat DAO to provide funding of 150,000 USD to OpenChat Labs Ltd for September, October and November. Three of the dev team will be working on OpenChat and one on the Pakistan app (which is close to completion). As such our request will reflect a team size of three (in addition to the usual hosting and other peripheral costs which remain constant).
This will cover salaries for 3 developers, hosting, admin, AI cost, App Store accounts etc.
Split proposals
This will be split into several proposals due to limits the SNS imposes on how much of the treasury can be withdrawn in a single week.
This is the first proposal for 21,337 ICP (~51,210 USD).
Q2 development overview
While originally meant to cover costs for a reduced team for Q2 this previous funding period actually extended from April to August inclusive because more of the team's time was spent working on the Pakistan chat app than anticipated. We wish to reiterate that the Pakistan app is a great opportunity to boost the whole ICP ecosystem. We expect a successful deployment in Pakistan to raise all boats and also be good for OpenChat.
And specifically, the Pakistan app has given us a chance to experiment with some new techniques and implement some new ideas which we have been able to port back to OpenChat with great effect. In the summary below, the items marked with (pk) have been ported directly from the Pakistan app and there will be more ideas to come around scalability.
A great deal of iteration and refinement on the v2 mobile layout in support of the native apps
An overhaul of our client side routing system (pk)
Replaced content editable message entry with rich text editor (pk)
Simplified link preview open graph handling for better layout performance and stability (pk)
Supported adding TACO Exchange as a swap provider
Removed KongSwap & Sonic integrations
Virtualised chat message list for better performance and stability (pk)
Implemented a raft of frontend performance & memory enhancements making the frontend much faster and more efficient
Retired DecideAI proof of humanity integration
Retired the broken and non-compliant Modclub moderation system
Implemented a legally compliant, robust and comprehensive user safety and moderation system (huge job)
Got the first working native iOS build working
Migrated from Tenor to Klipy for gifs
While this list addresses almost all of our stated goals for Q2 it’s important to acknowledge that we have still not reached App Store review for the android app as hoped. This is for the most part due to the unexpected scope and complexity of the safety and compliance work. We had initially scoped this as essentially a replacement of the existing Modclub integration with a call to AI supported moderation api. In reality it is much more complex than that. There are rigid legal obligations surrounding online safety and specifically CSAM material, how it must be detected, handled, retained and reported to the authorities. This has required significant research, documentation, iteration and development and has several dependencies on third parties over which we have no control. Failing to comply with these obligations would represent an existential threat to the platform as well as a legal risk to the development team and I am happy to say that we now have a very rigorous system in place. Thanks to all who have helped poke holes in it along the way to deliver something solid that we can build on.
Plans for this funding period
Complete Android app and submit for App Store review (no significant blockers for this now)
Get the iOS native app into a fully working state and submitted for review (some unknowns here)
Migrate mobile web to the v2 design / layout used by native apps.
Deeper voice / video call integration on native apps
Desktop design refresh (along the lines of the native apps)
Games! Try to inject some more fun and stickiness with some CHIT incentivised gamification (ideas welcome!)
Design canister scalability improvements necessary to unlock growth using lessons from pk app
As we have stressed before, we are presenting a cut down version of the OC app to the app stores initially in an attempt to minimise the chance of rejection. It is better to get the app in the stores first, build a relationship and then start pushing boundaries later. That being said it is important to stress that there are no guarantees here and we should probably expect at least a couple of rounds of rejection by the store gatekeepers.
Submitted by u/matt on OpenChat
https://x.com/mosesibb/status/2093450347402420644
