Poll event

draft optional author:toadlyBroodle

A poll note is a nostr event (kind 6969) for conducting paid polls. A poll presents two or more voting options, which participants my vote on by sending regular zap events which include an additional poll_option vote tag. Polls may include multiple recipients which participants may choose from when zapping their votes. Poll results should be blinded, until after users have voted. Polls should specify a closed_at time, after which results be unblinded, closed to new votes, and the tally considered final. Polls may specify either value_maximum or value_minimum satoshi valuations for determining which zaps are included in the tally. Polls may also specify a consensus_threshold for assessing the state of consensus.

Purpose

The purpose of poll notes is to conduct quantitative public opinion polls over nostr by requiring voters pay to participate. By tying results to real satoshi valuations, nostr polls intend to provide superior signal compared to other free polling models. Imposing real monetary costs for participation should also discourage undesired attempts to sway results.

Pollers may specify multiple p keys, to allow participants to choose which recipient they zap, regardless of their vote choice. The option for such distribution of funds should also incentivize participation by increasing voter optionality, poller authenticity, and legitimacy of results by mitigating certain unauthentic attack vectors.

By including a value_maximum limit, polls can stop single 'whale' votes discounting many smaller 'shrimp' votes. Likewise, by including a value_minimum limit, polls can make automated low-value vote flooding attacks prohibitively expensive. However, both limits remain optional to allow for freedom in poll design.

By setting value_maximum and value_minimum equal, a more traditional style poll may be designed, which weights each vote equal and limits each participant to a single vote.

The optional consensus_threshold is intended as a simple 'measuring bar', defined as the minimum percentage for any single poll_option's percentage of the total tally to attain poll consensus status.

A careful balancing of all poll attributes should enable pollers to conduct tailored polls that deliver meaningful and valuable outcomes.

Poll format

A poll event:

MUST specify an e tag that includes a primary hosting relay URL
MUST specify 1 or more p tags, each including the same primary hosting relay specified in the e tag
MUST contain a primary description string, specified in the content field
MUST contain at least 2 poll_option tags, each specifying an index and a unique description string, formatted as below
SHOULD specify a closed_at time:
- when specified, MUST include a valid ots tag, proving original poll publishing time
- a closed_at value of null or less than or equal to the created_at field indicates a poll SHOULD NOT be closed.
MAY specify a value_maximum satoshi value for zapped votes to be included in the tally
MAY specify a value_minimum satoshi value for zapped votes to be included in the tally
- value_minimum MUST be less than or equal to value_maximum, when both are specified
MAY include a consensus_threshold (0-100), representing a percentage threshold for any single vote option to achieve poll consensus
- a consensus_threshold of '0' indicates no threshold is specified.

{
  "id": <32-bytes lowercase hex-encoded sha256 of the serialized event data>
  "pubkey": <32-bytes lowercase hex-encoded public key of the event creator>,
  "created_at": <unix timestamp in seconds>,
  "kind": 6969,
  "tags": [
    ["e", <32-bytes hex of the id of the poll event>, <primary poll host relay URL>],
    ["p", <32-bytes hex of the key>, <primary poll host relay URL>],
    ["poll_option", "0", "poll option 0 description string"],
    ["poll_option", "1", "poll option 1 description string"],
    ["poll_option", "n", "poll option <n> description string"],
    ["value_maximum", "maximum satoshi value for inclusion in tally"],
    ["value_minimum", "minimum satoshi value for inclusion in tally"],
    ["consensus_threshold", "required percentage to attain consensus <0..100>"],
    ["closed_at", "unix timestamp in seconds"],
  ],
  "ots": <base64-encoded OTS file data>
  "content": <primary poll description string>,
  "sig": <64-bytes hex of the signature of the sha256 hash of the serialized event data, which is the same as the "id" field>
}

Zap voting

Poll options are voted on by sending zap events (referencing the original poll event's e and p values) that indicate their chosen vote option in a poll_option tag. To ensure all eligible votes are included in the tally, all e and p tags must specify the same primary hosting relay.

A voting client:

SHOULD NOT allow submission of zap events with amounts greater than value_maximum (when specified)
SHOULD NOT allow submission of zap events with amounts less than value_minimum (when specified)
SHOULD NOT allow submission of zap events after closed_at time (when specified)
SHOULD hide tally results, until after a user has zapped the note

Zap vote format

The zap request event (kind 9734):

MUST specify an e tag that references the original poll event
- MUST include a primary hosting relay URL in the e tag
MUST include at least 1 p tag specifying the recipient's key, chosen from the original poll event's list of keys
- MUST include the same primary hosting relay URL in all p tags as is specified in the e tag
MUST include exactly 1 poll_option tag which references the chosen vote option by its corresponding index n
MUST include a valid ots tag, if the original poll event specifies a closed_at time

...
"tags": [
  ["e", <32-bytes hex of the id of the original poll event>, <primary poll host relay URL>],
  ["p", <32-bytes hex of the recipient's key>, <primary poll host relay URL>],
  ["poll_option", "n"],
  ...
],
"ots": <base64-encoded OTS file data>
...

Poll outcome

Polls results are tallied by summing the exact satoshi values from all eligible zaps for each poll_option. The total tally is the sum of all individual poll_option tallies, and poll_option results are calculated by their percentage of the total tally value.

To avoid ambiguity of results, strict adherence to the following rules is vital when tallying and rendering poll outcomes.

A tallying client:

MUST ONLY include full satoshi value amounts in option tallies from ALL eligible zaps that meet ALL following criteria:
MUST ONLY tally zaps that reference the original poll event by its e tag value
MUST ONLY tally zaps sent to a p key specified in the original poll event
MUST ONLY include zap amounts less than or equal to value_maximum, if specified
MUST ONLY include zap amounts greater than or equal to value_minimum, if specified
if both value_maximum and value_minimum are specified AND are equal:
- MUST ONLY count 1 zap (the most recent) per participant (to allow for changes to vote choice, while enforcing 1 vote per participant)
if a closed_at time is specified, clients:
- MUST ONLY tally zaps including a valid ots tag indicating a sent time greater than or equal to the original poll event's ots time
- MUST ONLY tally zaps including a valid ots tag indicating a sent time less than or equal to closed_at time

Additionally, a tallying client:

MUST display the distribution percentages, from the tally total, for each vote option tally
MUST display the consensus_threshold (if specified) relative to the winning vote percentage
SHOULD show tally results to all note zappers, even if they haven't voted on an option
SHOULD publicly show results after the closed_at time has passed (if specified)
MAY display the counts of zap events received for each option, along with other poll statistics

Strict adherence to these requirements should enable a standardized means of quantitatively assessing the distribution of opinion regarding a poll's content amongst poll participants, determining a winning outcome, and possibly achieving consensus. However, until this protocol is further tested, refined, and proven robust, polls should probably not be considered authoritative nor binding.

TODO

refine NIP#69 based RFC feedback
implement polls in 2 clients
merge with nostr-protocol/NIPs

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