- Authors: Brennan Mulligan (DAO Program Manager @ SuperRare Labs), John Crain (CEO @ SuperRare Labs), Jonathan Perkins (CPO @ SuperRare Labs)
- Status: Draft
- Type: Ecosystem Growth
- Implementer: RareDAO Governance Council & RareDAO Foundation
- Sponsor(s): @flakoubay
- Link to Request for Comment: [RFC] Expanding the RareDAO Vision
- Link to Temperature Check Poll: Discord
- Created Date: 12/01/2023
Note: This proposal is a followup to [RFC] Expanding the RareDAO Vision, which we recently posted. It contains an outline of what we believe the DAO can and should focus on, as well as some short term steps we can take to get there. There are two other proposals stemming from the request for comment: [SIP] 2024 Governance Council Compensation and [SIP] Establish an Annual Budget for the RareDAO Foundation.
Each of these proposals will be open for public comment until December 13th, at which point amendments will be made based on feedback. Each proposal which receives council sponsorship will go to Snapshot for voting starting on December 15th and ending on December 22nd.
Proposal Update (12/15/2023)
Due to feedback on the potential impacts of this proposal, we have decided not to bring it to a vote at this time. While it may be re-proposed by us (or anyone else) in the future, we feel it is important that a greater degree of consensus exist within the community that this is the right move. SuperRare Labs, in cooperation with the DAO, will continue developing Curation Staking and other on-chain functionality under the Rare Protocol brand. However, no changes will be made to the overall branding of the DAO or token until this proposal, or one like it, is brought forward again and approved by the community.
Summary & Motivation
At present, the branding around the DAO is very SuperRare dependent. This presents some advantages by allowing the DAO to benefit from SuperRare’s name recognition and prestige. But it also limits the scope of the DAO to a particular mental model which revolves around the SuperRare marketplace. In order for the DAO to carve out its own place in the world, we believe that it and all of its properties other than SuperRare should be consolidated under the Rare Protocol brand, which we’ve been piloting since the introduction of Curation Staking earlier this year. Specifically, this proposal aims to:
- Update the token branding on exchanges from “SuperRare” to “Rare Protocol” and a new logo, without changing the ticker ($RARE)
- Update public DAO venues such as the forum and snapshot space to use RareDAO or Rare Protocol branding rather than SuperRare branding
- Update RareDAO Foundation documents to reference “RareDAO” and “Rare Protocol” instead of “SuperRare DAO” and “SuperRare Network”
Background
When the DAO was launched, there was some ambiguity about the relationship between it and SuperRare, both as a brand and as a website. Since May we have been piloting use of the Rare Protocol brand as an umbrella for the new curation staking protocol and existing smart contracts (such as the bazaar marketplace). We believe this has been successful, and the added clarity around the branding of the protocol has highlighted an opportunity for similar changes around the DAO. For additional context on the history of the SuperRare and Rare Protocol brands, please reference [RFC] Expanding the RareDAO Vision.
Specification
There are three primary components to this proposal, as outlined in the summary:
1. Update token branding
If this proposal passes, then SuperRare Labs and the RareDAO Foundation will collaboratively draft and release a press release informing the industry of the token’s new branding. Together, SRL and the RDF will send letters to centralized exchanges, informing them of the change and working directly with their teams to facilitate a timely transition.
2. Update public DAO venues
This is the simplest aspect of this proposal. Any public venues related to the DAO, such as https://forum.superrare.com and the DAO’s snapshot space will have their SuperRare branding replaced with branding specific to RareDAO or Rare Protocol, whichever is most relevant. For the forum, this includes both a change to branding as well as a migration to the https://rare.xyz domain, however this will not impact any historical data on the Discourse forum and will not result in a significant interruption of service. In most other venues, the update will be purely visual.
3. Update RareDAO Foundation documents
“SuperRare DAO” and “SuperRare Network” are referenced in the Foundation’s bylaws and incorporating documents. If passed, this proposal would authorize the foundation director and DAO council to make any changes required to update these terms. Specific implementation decisions shall be subject to unanimous approval by the council, which is the established process for similar updates to the by-laws.
Benefits
We believe that this will bring much needed clarity around the fact that the DAO’s ambitions extend far beyond SuperRare and increase our ability to drive adoption of the open data protocol, while still staying true to our roots and honoring the continued connection between the SuperRare marketplace and the underlying protocol. For more details about how this feeds into our larger vision for the DAO, please see the RFC this proposal stems from.
Drawbacks
It may not be possible to have all exchanges update token branding simultaneously, so while we can perform outreach in a coordinated way, token metadata may be updated on some exchanges more slowly than others. This may lead to some initial confusion, but we are confident that we can educate users through press outreach and our normal marketing channels.
We’re taking a Community Temperature Check over in 
