Announcing Console
Web3 Discord and DAO Tooling
The future of work is pushing the boundaries of how we organize.
We work remotely. We work on a variety of projects at once. We are self-starters. Leaders among leaders. Some of us get paid in cryptocurrency. Some in fiat. In some communities we identify by our first names. In others we’re pseudonymous apes. The truth is, we’re all still experimenting.
Console is crypto-native chat. It’s an open-source project for Bitcoin (built with Stacks) and Ethereum communities.
We are Web3 builders. And as such, we’ve built Console to support the Web3 movement. If you’re on Team Web3 then we believe we’re all in this together. And we want to support you.
Console is Built on Web3 Principles:
Console is decentralized — In our first release we’ve decided to decentralize where it’s most important: Identity verification, voting and multisig transactions will be on-chain and decentralized. Whereas chat conversations and select file storage will not be fully decentralized in order to optimize for scale and speed. Moving forward, we’re open to employing a progressively decentralized approach based on the needs of our communities.
Console is open source — Read our code, contribute to the repo, and help us build a better future for Console.
Console is secure by design — Users are verified with native smart contracts, not third-party bots. Because identity is stored on the Bitcoin blockchain, you can feel safe knowing that your identity is secured by Bitcoin. And unlike Facebook, Instagram, Discord and nearly every other social media app, Console doesn’t own access to your identity, you do.
Console will be community owned — After Console launches we will release ConsoleDAO, an organization with the mission of influencing, contributing to, and sharing in Console’s future growth.
We believe passionately that we — the Web3 community — are building the future of work, governance, and the creator economy; and therefore we must build on a foundation of tools that we can trust respect our vision and values.
A Community Powered by Trust
Security on Discord is a huge problem. When I’m chatting in Discord servers I’m often on high alert for phishing attempts, DM bots, and random mutant apes shilling their latest rug-pull NFT. These types of hacks not only bankrupt our wallets, they bankrupt our trust in our community. Trust is something you can’t buy with your sats. It can’t be minted. Without trust, organizations fail.
Now, imagine your community super-powered by trust. Imagine being able to click on a community member to review their contribution to the community.
When did a particular member join? How many proposals have they voted on? How many bounties did they complete? The answers to these questions give users a snapshot of who is active in your community. Imagine all that in one app and without the need of third-party bots like Collab.land or MEE6.
This summer we will launch our beta for Console. And when we do, our first Console community—Crash Punks—will be closing its Discord server of 25,000 members and moving over. In the meantime, we are accepting applications for the next batch of ten Console communities. In the meantime, I’d like to share a sneak preview:
Decentralized Identity Means: Zero Sock Puppets
Sock puppets plague social media. A sock puppet is a phony name or identity used to argue, troll, or take advantage of other users. For example, if you’re on Discord, you may not know if the person you’re talking with is an active community member or a puppet.
Console is different. We use verified identity to silence sock puppets. When you arrive at Console, you log in with your favorite web wallet: Hiro Wallet, or MetaMask.
Console validates your membership into communities based on your ownership of NFTs, FTs, .eth or your .btc decentralized ID.
With Console’s built-in identity verification, you can trust that the people you are chatting with are in fact verified members of your community—not masquerading bots or scams. As your community grows, you can assign roles (admin, moderator, member). And when you’re ready, you can choose to gate access to your community with an NFT, FT, .eth or .btc domain. More trust, zero sock puppets.
More Secure, Better Design
Console offers a 10x improvement to Web3 chat. We’ve built in design improvements to threaded conversations, reactions, end-to-end encrypted private channels, and more.
Follow @ConsoleDAO
Console is invite-only. Want to join? Apply for a chance to bring your community to Console. If you have feedback, thoughts, or questions please reach out, we’d love to hear from you. Follow us on Twitter for early access and upcoming announcements @ConsoleDAO.