About AlgoDirectory

Overview

AlgoDirectory is an on-chain directory of the Algorand ecosystem. It uses a decentralized, permissionless smart contract protocol to manage listings and create incentives for listing owners to maintain their own data rather than relying on the efforts of a central curator.

How It Works

The Directory extends the functionality of segments of the Non-Fungible Domain directory.algo. Segment owners can "list" their segment in the Directory, where properties of the NFD segment become details in the listing.

The AlgoDirectory smart contract uses a "Vouching Protocol" that allows listing owners to "vouch" for their listings by depositing collateral to "put their money where their mouth is" and signal that they stand behind the listing.

The web app interface allows users to sort through all listings and see individual listing details. The Directory also allows users to see how much Algo has been deposited to vouch for each listing and how recently the listing was updated.

All together, this system puts responsibility for data maintenance onto listing owners rather than centralized directory curators, who have historically been unpaid volunteers.

Anything can be listed in AlgoDirectory: businesses, apps, NFT projects, websites, individuals, open source software, or anything that may be relevant to the Algorand ecosystem.

To create a listing in AlgoDirectory, first mint a segment of directory.algo at NFDomains, then return to this site and click "Manage" to be guided through the listing process.

Vouching Protocol

AlgoDirectory's Vouching Protocol provides the following methods to manage listings:

Create: Select a segment of directory.algo that you own and deposit some collateral to vouch for your listing. The amount vouched will be displayed in the Directory and affect default listing order. You can list an NFD segment you own as long as it is not for sale or expired at NFD.

Refresh: Listings in the Directory automatically age to show their freshness. To reset the age of your listing, refresh it. You can edit the listing's tags when refreshing it. You can refresh a listing for an NFD segment you own as long as it is not for sale or expired at NFD.

Abandon: To recover the collateral for a listing, it can be abandoned, which delists that segment from the Directory. The collateral is returned to the original creator's address. If you have purchased an NFD segment, you can abandon the existing listing for it and then create your own.

Remove: If the NFD segment underlying a listing has been sold and changed owners, it is considered to be stale and can be removed by any caller. Collateral is returned to the original listing creator, so there is no penalty when this occurs. This feature is not currently available through the web app.

Delete: AlgoDirectory has administrators, a role that is granted by holding a special token, who can delete any listing at any time for any reason. If a listing is deleted by an admin, the collateral is yeeted to the fee sink as a penalty. Do not create a listing if you think it might be objectionable, lest it get deleted by an admin.

History

AlgoDirectory is the spiritual successor to directorydotalgo.xyz, a “Web2” directory site created and maintained by a generous individual until it became clear that a hand-curated model was unsustainable, the effort to maintain the listings was abandoned, and the site hosting was allowed to expire.

This was one of several Web2 directories that have been created throughout Algorand's history, most of which are now defunct. Others have included Algo Tables, AlgoAdoption, Algo Curator, Into The Algoverse, Awesome Algorand, and even a subsite created by the Algorand Foundation.

Following the news that directorydotalgo.xyz was shutting down, we endeavored to pick up the torch, take a new approach, and submit an xGov proposal to build AlgoDirectory. We remain grateful to the community for approving that grant and hope the AlgoDirectory can continue to give back to the community for many moons.

Guiding Principles

This directory aims to be best first stop new users in Algorand ecosystem, a valuable reference guide for existing Algorand enthusiasts, and the premier place for projects to be listed and discovered. To achieve that goal, AlgoDirectory improves upon previous Algorand directories in three key ways:

  1. Decentralized, Permissionless, Permanent

    AlgoDirectory leverages Algorand’s powerful on-chain capabilties to provide a directory that applies the values we love about Algorand to the Directory itself. It is decentralized across the node network, open to anyone through a permissionless smart contract, and permanent for the lifetime of the chain.

  2. Designed for Quality and Freshness

    A central challenge with directories is keeping their information up to date so it is useful to people. AlgoDirectory uses a novel Vouching Protocol to automate the process of determining if listings are still valid and actively maintained. Listing owners effectively vouch for their listings by providing collateral as a guarantee and interacting with their listings regularly. This system provides on-chain data about whether someone stands behind a listing and how long it has been since someone refreshed a listing. This way, listings can be automatically sorted and filtered so that active listings people are standing behind get the visibility they deserve while stale ones or ones that have been abandoned are discoverable but de-emphasized.

  3. Sustainable for the Long Term

    Another key objective of AlgoDirectory is to be sustainable so that it outlasts the efforts of its creators and any centralized website hosting. Algorand has had several directories over the years, some of which are now gone because their creators are no longer curating them and their Web2 sites. By putting the Directory on chain and providing open source code for the web app to interact with it, listings on AlgoDirectory will always be accessible.

Technical Design

The main technical approach to AlgoDirectory is a wrapper around NFDs. In particular, AlgoDirectory extends existing metadata functionality provided by segments of the directory.algo NFD and indexes listings on chain to display them in the web app. This enables a robust, on-chain data management process and interoperability with other parts of the Algorand ecosystem that have integrated with NFDomains.

AlgoDirectory does utilize NFD’s API for implementation convenience, so there is some technical dependency on NFD, but decentralization absolutists should note that all of the data management occurs on-chain, the NFD smart contracts are permissionless and can be locked for immutability, and and the Directory UI could theoretically be enhanced in the future to read NFD metadata directly from the chain. We think this is a reasonable and practical approach to bootstrapping an on-chain directory.

Business Model

This work has been performed with support from the Algorand Foundation xGov Grants Program. The creation of AlgoDirectory was funded by xGov-123, and we thank the Algorand xGovs for approving our proposal proactively. We hope that the Directory will be embraced by the community and become a valuable resource for it.

The Directory is not intended to generate profit for the AlgoDirectory team, so there is no markup above NFD's minimum cost to mint segments. When minting a segment of directory.algo, 100% of minting fees go to NFDomains.

Creating listings requires collateral to be deposited, but AlgoDirectory does not take any fees for any interaction (Algorand transaction fees are required, of course).

Disclaimer

Use at your own risk. Always verify in your wallet that each transaction is what you expected before signing. Once collateral is sent to the smart contract to create a listing, the collateral can only be returned to that account when the listing is abandoned. This software is provided under MIT license, and the source code is available through the GitHub link in the page footer.

Terms of Use

All AlgoDirectory listings are subject to administrator review and may be deleted at the sole discretion of any administrator without notice. If a listing is deleted, the collateral deposited for that listing will be sent to the Algorand Mainnet fee sink address. AlgoDirectory, its creators, any appointed administrators, and Distributed Ledger Technologies, LLC, are not liable for any loss or damages whatsoever resulting from the use of this software or the deletion of any listing. Play nice, keep listings safe for work, and enjoy the Directory.

App Info

Wallet interfaces provided by use-wallet. Support Free Open Source Software (FOSS) with code contributions or sponsorship!

Version 0.0.1