Layer 6: Founding Ratification

What this means

A Constitution that takes effect because someone declared it does isn't really a Constitution — it's a decree with ceremony. This Layer defines how the Constitution you are currently reading comes to have legitimate authority over the platform and its contributors.

The core principle: this Constitution takes effect only with the consent of the community it will govern. The founder can propose it, refine it, advocate for it, but cannot unilaterally impose it. The people who will live under these rules have to ratify them first.

This Layer defines how that ratification works — who gets to vote, what threshold is required, how long the process takes, and what happens if the community rejects the proposal. It also establishes that the founder's one vote in this process is equal to any other contributor's one vote, because the Constitution's Power-weighting cannot legitimately be used to ratify the system that creates Power in the first place.

Formal Text

Article I: Scope

This Layer governs the ratification of the initial (version 1.0) Constitution. Subsequent amendments are governed by Layer 1 Article VI and Layer 5 Article V. This Layer is self-executing — it is not itself ratified by the process it defines, but rather establishes the process by which the rest of the Constitution (and this Layer itself for purposes of ongoing reference) takes effect.

Article II: Pre-Publication Soft Review

2.1 Before public publication, the Creator shares the draft Constitution with:

• All individuals named as Founding Contributors per Layer 12
• A small trusted group of early reviewers selected by the Creator

2.2 Soft review period is 2–4 weeks. Feedback is non-binding; the Creator decides what to incorporate.

2.3 Soft review is not voting and does not constitute ratification. Its purpose is to catch obvious issues before the public clock starts.

2.4 Soft review participants' feedback is not published unless they choose to re-raise points during the public comment period.

Article III: Public Comment Period

3.1 The Constitution is published publicly on the Network's website with a clear "Draft — Pre-Ratification" marker.

3.2 Comment period is 30 days from publication.

3.3 During the comment period, the platform operates in Founding Mode:

• The platform is live and functional
• Users can register, contribute, post, interact
• Credits earned during Founding Mode are flagged "Provisional"
• Provisional Credits activate only if ratification passes
• If ratification fails, Provisional Credits do not carry over to subsequent ratification attempts
• No permanent Power, Team memberships, or binding governance decisions take effect during Founding Mode

3.4 Active comment period (Days 1–15):

• Comments are public, threaded, and attributed (no anonymous feedback)
• Creator responds to substantive critiques within 7 days of receipt
• Creator may revise the draft during this window; revisions are visible with diff history
• Weekly digest of notable feedback published

3.5 Freeze period (Days 15–30):

• Constitution text is frozen; only typo and clarity fixes allowed
• Community reviews the final version
• Concerns raised during freeze are logged for post-ratification amendment consideration but not incorporated into the ratification draft

Article IV: Voter Eligibility

4.1 Eligible voters are accounts registered during the Founding Mode period that have made, during that period:

• At least three distinct contribution events, AND
• At least one of those contributions to Commons or the Fact graph (not purely comment activity)

4.2 "Contribution events" include:

• Submitting a Fact to a Franchise's Fact graph
• Publishing a piece of content (Commons or Home)
• Publishing a substantive comment on the Constitution draft
• Performing peer review of another contributor's work
• Other action types recognized by the Network rubric

4.3 "Substantive" for comments means reasoned engagement with specific provisions, not generic approval or opposition.

4.4 The Creator is eligible to vote with one vote equal to any other voter's vote.

4.5 Founding Contributors are eligible to vote with one vote each if they register accounts during the Founding Mode period.

4.6 The Arbiters' role in eligibility disputes: the Arbiters (once elected post-ratification) do not retroactively rule on founding voter eligibility. Eligibility disputes during the founding period are resolved by an independent adjudicator named by the Creator and approved by majority of the soft review group.

Article V: Ratification Vote

5.1 Voting window: 14 days following the end of the freeze period (Days 30–44 of the founding timeline).

5.2 Vote options: Ratify, Reject, or Abstain.

5.3 Ratification threshold:

• Two-thirds of non-abstaining votes must be Ratify
• Minimum 500 eligible voters must participate (Ratify + Reject combined)

5.4 If both thresholds are met: the Constitution is ratified and takes effect.

5.5 If either threshold is not met: the Constitution is not ratified.

5.6 Ratification is one-account-one-vote, not Power-weighted. This is because the Constitution being ratified is the system that creates Power; using that same system to ratify itself would be circular.

Article VI: Effects of Ratification

6.1 Upon ratification, the Constitution takes effect immediately at the end of the voting window.

6.2 Provisional Credits activate and become permanent Credits in the ratified system.

6.3 The Creator's Founding Ledger activates, crediting the Creator with the ratified amount.

6.4 Founding Contributor Grants activate, crediting each named Founding Contributor with their ratified amount.

6.5 The first Arbiter election is scheduled to conclude within 60 days of ratification.

6.6 The first Council is formed based on initial Team memberships from the founding period.

6.7 The first amendment cycle becomes available 90 days after ratification. No Constitutional amendments may be proposed in the first 90 days, to allow the system to operate under its ratified rules before modification.

Article VII: Effects of Rejection

7.1 If ratification fails, the Constitution does not take effect. The platform returns to Founding Mode, not operational mode.

7.2 The Creator publishes a post-mortem within 14 days of rejection, identifying:

• Vote margin and turnout
• Patterns in opposition feedback
• Specific concerns the Creator understands as having driven rejection
• Intended revisions

7.3 A mandatory cooling period applies before the next ratification attempt:

• After first rejection: 30 days
• After second rejection: 60 days
• After third rejection: 90 days
• After fourth rejection: 180 days
• Subsequent rejections: 180 days each

7.4 During cooling periods, the platform remains in Founding Mode. Contributors may continue to engage, but no ratification vote can be called.

7.5 Subsequent ratification attempts follow the full process of Articles III through V, with one exception: the comment period may be shortened to 14 days if the revised draft differs from the previous rejected version by less than 20% of text (diff-measured). Substantial revisions require full 30-day comment period.

7.6 Revised drafts must publish a diff against the previous rejected version at time of publication.

7.7 There is no absolute limit on ratification attempts. Compounding cooling periods serve as the practical boundary.

Article VIII: Post-Ratification Amendment

Once ratified, any change to this Layer 6 follows the amendment procedures defined in Layer 1 Article VI for the relevant clause category. This Layer is considered an amendable clause for purposes of amendment (requiring 2/3 of Network Power plus simple majority of Franchise Teams).

This Layer cannot be amended during a ratification cooling period. The Founding Ratification process cannot be modified mid-attempt.

Article IX: Good Faith Requirement

The Creator commits, as a matter of good faith and binding commitment upon ratification:

• Not to propose amendments in the first 90 days
• Not to use emergency procedures to bypass the normal ratification process
• Not to modify voter eligibility rules during a running ratification process
• Not to undertake major platform changes during Founding Mode that would materially alter what voters are ratifying

Violation of these commitments is grounds for Arbiter action (post-ratification) or for community refusal to ratify (during the process).