Voiceban Application

[Ali-Usama]

Project Abstract

VoiceBan is a fully decentralized social media protocol and resilient access layer built on Substrate, designed to eliminate the single points of failure that currently undermine both Web2 and Web3 communication platforms. The project introduces two novel mechanisms: decentralized name resolution via deterministic IPNS, and decentralized backend discovery for browser-based clients to ensure the continuous availability of frontends and validator endpoints even under DNS censorship, gateway outages, or coercive network conditions. By combining an installable Yew.rs PWA, a rotating IPNS-based discovery mechanism, and a Substrate runtime for social interactions and identity management, VoiceBan delivers a censorship-resistant social coordination layer that remains accessible even during infrastructure disruptions.

This proposal seeks support to advance VoiceBan from its early MVP, where frontend-to-backend discovery, user authentication, and core social actions are already functional, toward a production-grade decentralized social protocol and reusable infrastructure component for the Polkadot ecosystem. The grant will fund the transition from prototype ink! contracts to optimized Substrate pallets, completion of core UI modules, decentralized gateway logic, and a public testnet. Once the associated intellectual property filings are finalized, VoiceBan will be open-sourced to enable adoption by parachains, dApp developers, and governance-focused projects seeking resilient, censorship-proof access layers.

Grant level

• Level 1: Up to $10,000, 2 approvals
• Level 2: Up to $30,000, 3 approvals
• Level 3: Unlimited, 5 approvals (for >$100k: Web3 Foundation Council approval)

Application Checklist

• The application template has been copied and aptly renamed (project_name.md).
• I have read the application guidelines.
• Payment details have been provided (Polkadot AssetHub (USDC & DOT) address in the application and bank details via email, if applicable).
• I understand that an agreed upon percentage of each milestone will be paid in vested DOT, to the Polkadot address listed in the application.
• I am aware that, in order to receive a grant, I (and the entity I represent) have to successfully complete a KYC/KYB check.
• The software delivered for this grant will be released under an open-source license specified in the application.
• The initial PR contains only one commit (squash and force-push if needed).
• The grant will only be announced once the first milestone has been accepted (see the announcement guidelines).
• I prefer the discussion of this application to take place in a private Element/Matrix channel. My username is: @_______:matrix.org (change the homeserver if you use a different one)

[github-actions]

CLA Assistant Lite bot All contributors have signed the CLA ✍️ ✅

[Ali-Usama]

I have read and hereby sign the Contributor License Agreement.

[keeganquigley]

Hi @Ali-Usama thanks for the application. Can you please add some rough mockups of the front-end UI? Either as images or Figma links? Additionally, I'm not seeing any comparisons to competitors in the application. Can you add a section that briefly compares to Frequency and other decentralized social media networks? Thanks.

[Ali-Usama]

Hi @keeganquigley, I've expanded the Related Works section to provide a more detailed comparison to other alternatives and Frequency.

The Figma designs for our frontend-UI are also attached in the Additional Information section. Please let me know if you're able to access these, or I will update the application to add some images in the respective milestones.

Thank you for reviewing the application, and I look forward to your kind feedback.

[semuelle]

Hi @Ali-Usama, good to see you again. Thank you for the application and the effort you have put into it! However, the Web3 Foundation has decided to shut down the Grants Program. Therefore, we are not accepting any new applications.

I hope you will find another way to fund this project. In any case, best of luck!