Layer 13: Emeritus Status

What this means

The Power system in Layer 3 is deliberately dynamic — Power decays with inactivity, which keeps the platform's governance responsive to current contributors rather than historical ones. This is good for keeping OLN current and preventing long-absent figures from dominating decisions.

But it raises a real question: what about people whose past work was foundational and whose creative output lives on in the Commons, but who have stepped back from active contribution? Their Power has decayed; their influence has properly shrunk. But their contribution is still there, still serving the platform, still load-bearing for canon.

This Layer recognizes these contributors with Emeritus status. It's not operational power — they still have only the Power their current decay state produces. It's recognition. It's honor. It's the platform saying: "your work still matters, even if you've moved on."

The Emeritus system is also important because of another consideration: people die, move, have life circumstances change. The platform needs to be able to honor long-term contributors gracefully when they step away, without pretending they're still active or erasing what they built.

Formal Text

Article I: Purpose

Emeritus status recognizes contributors whose past work remains foundational to the Network or a Franchise, even when their active Power has decayed due to reduced ongoing activity. The status honors the contribution without conferring operational authority the contributor has not currently earned.

Article II: Eligibility

2.1 A contributor qualifies for Emeritus status when both conditions are met:

• Peak threshold: The contributor has, at any point in their history, held lifetime peak Power of at least 5,000
• Current threshold: The contributor's active (post-decay) Power has fallen below 1,000

2.2 Emeritus status is automatic upon meeting both criteria. No vote, no application, no nomination is required.

2.3 The Peak threshold can be met by any combination of Commons and Home contributions that brought the contributor to 5,000+ Power at any time. It need not be maintained continuously.

2.4 Founding Contributors (Layer 12) are not automatically Emeritus. A Founding Contributor whose active Power falls below 1,000 and whose lifetime peak reached 5,000+ qualifies on the same basis as any other contributor. A Founding Contributor whose lifetime peak did not reach 5,000 does not qualify for Emeritus status, but retains their Founding Contributor designation separately.

Article III: Retained Rights

Emeritus contributors retain:

3.1 Attribution. All past work remains attributed to them, permanently and visibly. Collective ownership of Commons content does not erase authorship; Emeritus status reinforces this.

3.2 Home space. Their Home space remains accessible indefinitely — Creator Home, Profile, Journal. Content remains under their control.

3.3 Return rights. They may resume active contribution at any time. Upon return, they receive the standard 1.5× accrual boost for the first 90 days back (Layer 3 Article V.4).

3.4 Badge and visibility. A permanent Emeritus marker is displayed on their Profile, recognizing the status.

3.5 Voting and participation. They retain the right to vote, petition the Arbiters, and participate in platform life, at whatever Power level they currently hold.

Article IV: Non-Retained Rights

Emeritus contributors do not retain:

4.1 Operational Power. Their Power remains at whatever the decay floor and rate produce. Emeritus status is honor, not governance weight.

4.2 Team membership. Team seats expire with Power decay unless maintained through ongoing contribution. Emeritus status does not restore lapsed Team seats.

4.3 Governance roles. Council or Arbiter seats expire with term completion or with loss of eligibility (Power thresholds, active contribution requirements).

4.4 Kudos flow. The 5% rolling-30-day Kudos cap applies based on current Credits, which may be at the decay floor. Emeritus status does not unlock larger Kudos capacity.

Article V: Reactivation

5.1 An Emeritus contributor who returns to active contribution:

• Resumes at their current (decayed) Power level
• Builds back up through normal contribution, with the 1.5× reactivation boost
• Retains Emeritus status until their active Power again exceeds 1,000, at which point they are a standard active contributor (with the Emeritus designation visible historically)

5.2 Emeritus status can be re-entered. A contributor whose Power rises above 1,000 then later falls below 1,000 can become Emeritus again, provided they still meet the lifetime peak criterion.

5.3 The Emeritus designation on Profile is cumulative — once achieved, it is always visible in the contributor's history, regardless of subsequent activity cycles.

Article VI: Posthumous Recognition

6.1 Contributors who die or are permanently incapacitated retain Emeritus status if they qualified during life.

6.2 Contributors who would have qualified for Emeritus but died before their Power decayed below 1,000 are posthumously granted Emeritus status. Recognition should not be denied by the timing of death.

6.3 Memorial accounts are marked as such on Profile. They do not vote, do not accrue new Credits, and do not participate in governance. Attribution stands.

6.4 Families or designated heirs may:

• Update Profile information for memorial purposes
• Request memorial designation
• Inherit Home content per the contributor's documented wishes
• Not modify historical attribution, Commons contributions, or past Credits

6.5 The Network maintains a memorial register acknowledging deceased Emeritus contributors, with brief biographical information where authorized.

Article VII: Emeritus Participation

7.1 Emeritus contributors remain welcome on the platform. They may:

• Comment and discuss in community forums
• Cite their past work and point to it
• Mentor new contributors (informally or via mentorship Funds)
• Speak at events as representatives of platform history
• Petition for recognition through Contributor Funds (e.g., Excellence Fund awards acknowledging their past work)

7.2 Emeritus contributors are not exempt from platform rules. The disciplinary framework applies to them as to any contributor.

7.3 Emeritus contributors may request formal retirement from their Home space (archive their content, reduce their Profile to a memorial-style notice while still living) as a personal choice. This is reversible.

Article VIII: Public Recognition

8.1 The Network publishes an annual recognition report that acknowledges:

• Newly Emeritus contributors during the year
• Notable contributions of Emeritus contributors
• Memorial notices for contributors who passed during the year

8.2 Franchises may also recognize their own Emeritus contributors through Franchise-level recognition activities, at Franchise Team discretion.

8.3 Emeritus contributors cannot be removed from the platform except through the disciplinary process applied to any contributor. Emeritus status is not a shield against accountability but also is not a target for retroactive action.

Article IX: No Special Privileges Beyond Recognition

9.1 Emeritus status is explicitly honorific, not functional. Nothing in this Layer creates:

• Voting weight beyond current Power
• Governance authority beyond what current Power provides
• Financial compensation
• Exemption from platform rules or obligations

9.2 The status exists because OLN values history and contribution that persists beyond active participation. It does not exist to create a second class of governance authority.