Deep Research

The DEEP-tier research layer for the ZAO Fractal repo. Where /reference/ is the curated survey of the fractal-governance lineage, /research/ is the source-heavy depth - each file is a hub doc with primary sources, frontmatter, and verdict-first sections.

Structure

/research/
  README.md                              this file
  01-foundations-deep.md                 theory + math + ORDAO + comparative
  02-live-communities-deep.md            Roy/Eden/Aquadac/OF post-mortems
  03-music-cignals-deep.md               Cignals + Fractal DJ + music DAOs
  04-async-identity-deep.md              Respect.Games + Frapp-GH + identity

  whitepaper-foundations/                seven sub-docs for the whitepaper
    INDEX.md
    README.md                            the 718 dispatch hub
    01-theory-foundations.md             Larimer + sortition + academic frame
    02-respect-game-mechanism.md         Fibonacci math, decay, Sybil, Gini
    03-ordao-onchain-architecture.md     OREC three-phase cycle in code
    04-comparative-dao-governance.md     vs token-weighted, quadratic, Nouns, Moloch
    05-critiques-failure-modes.md        the honest chapter
    06-whitepaper-craft.md               document structure + voice
    07-zao-fractal-distinctness.md       ZAO's specific story

  primary-sources/                       the canonical mechanics specs
    INDEX.md
    ordao-respect-system.md              ORDAO + Respect Game system, full mechanics
    respect-deep-dive.md                 decay, Gini, tiers, voting weight

  context/                               adjacent governance frames
    INDEX.md
    superchain-ordao-crosschain.md       cross-chain fractal governance
    sociocracy-circles-small-teams.md    consent-not-consensus, role rotation
    plural-events-deliberation-toolkit.md  large-scale deliberation tools

  external/                              cross-cutting deep research
    INDEX.md
    fractal-governance-external-deep-research.md  beyond ZAO's immediate lineage

  code-walk/                             annotated walkthroughs of running code
    INDEX.md
    01-fractalbot-walkthrough.md         the Discord bot (52 commands, Python)
    02-ordao-contracts-walkthrough.md    OREC + Respect1155 Solidity + orclient SDK

  fractal-deep/                          end-to-end history of every fractal + offshoot
    INDEX.md
    01-eos-fractally-origins.md          EOS chain + Fractally protocol (both dormant)
    02-eden-fractal-full-history.md      Eden on EOS through Epoch 2 Base
    03-optimism-fractal-full-history.md  Oct 2023 launch through Jan 2026 pause
    04-optimystics-tools-survey.md       full Optimystics tool catalog with ZAO verdicts
    05-other-fractal-communities.md      Roy/Hispano/Alien Worlds/Aquadac/EOS Respect/ZEOS/Eden Korea/Upland/Upscale/Dynamics of Hegemony
    06-adjacent-governance-tooling.md    Hats Protocol, Snapshot, Pol.is, Loomio, Decidim, Consul, Sociocracy 3.0, Safe, Tally, Aragon OSx
    07-larimer-essays-academic-bibliography.md  Larimer essay archive + deeper academic bibliography (Fishkin, Landemore, Habermas, Ostrom, etc.)

Top-level hub docs (01-06)

#	File	Topic	Lines	Sources
01	01-foundations-deep.md	Larimer + sortition history + Respect Game math + Sybil defenses + ORDAO contracts + comparative DAO frameworks	~700	23
02	02-live-communities-deep.md	Roy Fractal at 700+ scale, Eden Fractal Epoch 2, Aquadac 12-week season, Optimism Fractal pause autopsy	~400	10
03	03-music-cignals-deep.md	Cignals, Fractal DJ, music DAOs that tried peer-ranked governance, what changes if ZAO ranks tracks	~530	20
04	04-async-identity-deep.md	Respect.Games, Fractal Circles revival, Frapp-GH spec, identity interop landscape	~780	12
05	05-targeted-gap-fillers.md	Targeted fills for 3 UNKNOWNs: Roy Fractal founder (Shakruz Azirof) + facilitation, Mikael/Fractal Circles dormancy, Aquadac season themes	~600	21
06	06-frapp-gh-prd.md	Full Product Requirements Document for Frapp-GH (GitHub-native async fractal) - build-ready spec, ~3-5 sprint days for Phase 1 MVP	~1350	18

Sub-folders

Folder	What	When to use
`whitepaper-foundations/`	Seven sub-docs that feed the 11-chapter ZAO Fractal Whitepaper. Each is a chapter-foundation.	Drafting the whitepaper
`primary-sources/`	The canonical ORDAO + Respect mechanics specs (the original DEEP docs every other doc traces back to)	Implementing or reviewing contract behavior
`context/`	Adjacent governance frames (Superchain cross-chain, sociocracy circles, plural events)	Writing the comparative chapter or designing sprint adaptations
`external/`	Cross-cutting external research, sources beyond the immediate ZAO lineage	Literature reviews, breadth checks
`code-walk/`	Annotated walkthroughs of the Discord bot and ORDAO Solidity contracts	Engineering onboarding, security review, fork or extension work
`fractal-deep/`	End-to-end history of every fractal community + the full Optimystics tool catalog	Need depth on a specific fractal (EOS, Eden, OF) or want to know which Optimystics tools to USE/PILOT/IGNORE/ABANDON

Total in /research/: ~13000 lines, 420+ unique sources. Plus /whitepaper/draft/ (Ch.1-3 first drafts, ~8200 words) - see whitepaper/README.md.

How to navigate

First time here? Read this README + the four hub docs (01-04). Then dive into whitepaper-foundations/ if you are writing the whitepaper.
Writing the whitepaper? whitepaper-foundations/INDEX.md maps each sub-doc to a chapter.
Implementing contracts? primary-sources/INDEX.md.
Comparing fractal vs other governance models? context/INDEX.md + the comparative section of 01-foundations-deep.md.
Need a source we haven’t cited? external/INDEX.md.
Onboarding a new contributor? Start them at /reference/ for the shallow pass. Send them to /research/ only when they need depth.

Tier policy

Every file in this folder is DEEP-tier (per the zao-research skill): minimum 10 unique sources per doc, each classified [FULL] / [PARTIAL] / [FAILED], with at least 3 specific numbers (dates, versions, percentages, addresses) per section. No “consider/might/explore” hedging language - direct verdicts only. Frontmatter on every file. No fabrication - unknown facts marked UNKNOWN.

Re-validate every 4-6 weeks. APIs, contract addresses, and community participation counts churn fast.

Source provenance

External claims are sourced to primary URLs (Larimer’s books, official websites, Medium articles, GitHub repos, governance forums, academic papers). ZAO-internal claims (contract addresses, OREC transaction counts, bot version history, weekly cadence) draw from the ZAO OS V1 research library and on-chain data.

The sub-folders (whitepaper-foundations/, primary-sources/, context/, external/) are imported verbatim from the ZAO OS V1 research library (docs 056, 058, 184, 497, 657, 705, 718a-g). They retain their original cross-references to ZAO research doc numbers - follow the trail in the source repo for full lineage.