Layer 2: Franchise Constitutions

What this means

Every Franchise on OLN is a self-governing entity operating within the Network's framework. A Franchise is typically organized around a shared fictional universe — it could be original world-building (creators building something new together), fan canon for an existing property, or a collaborative extension of licensed material.

Each Franchise writes its own Constitution. This document defines how that Franchise handles things the Network leaves to it: how it judges contributions, what rules its contributors follow, how canon decisions get made, and how disputes within the Franchise are resolved.

Think of it like how U.S. states write their own constitutions within the federal framework. The federal Constitution sets certain baselines that states can't violate, but states have real sovereignty within their own domain. OLN works the same way: Network rules are the baseline, Franchise rules govern everything within.

Franchise Constitutions are faster to amend than the Network Constitution, because their scope is smaller and their decisions are more tactical.

Formal Text

Article I: Required Elements

Every Franchise Constitution must include, at minimum, the following sections:

1.1 Contribution Scoring Rubric. How contributions are valued within this Franchise, operating within the Network category framework (Layer 7). Must specify category weights within the 5%–40% band, and must include all six categories.

1.2 Team Membership Threshold. The Credit threshold at which a contributor earns a Team seat in this Franchise. May be higher than the Network minimum of 2,500 Commons Credits, but not lower.

1.3 Decision-Making Procedures. How the Franchise Team makes decisions. Must specify vote thresholds, quorum requirements, discussion periods, and any role-based voting distinctions.

1.4 Canon Authority Structure. Who has authority to ratify Facts into the Fact graph, approve retcons, manage alternate canon tiers (if any), and adjudicate Fact disputes.

1.5 Dispute Resolution. How in-Franchise disputes are handled before escalation to Network-level bodies.

1.6 Fact Lifecycle Parameters. Grace periods for Provisional Facts becoming Canonical, within the Network-set defaults (Layer 10). Franchises may set longer or shorter periods appropriate to their source material.

Article II: Franchise-Level Jurisdiction

Franchises exercise sovereign authority over:

• Internal canon decisions, additions, and refinements
• Fact graph composition and evolution within the Franchise
• Contribution category weight tuning within Network guardrails
• Team membership criteria above Network minimums
• Franchise-internal budget and Credit allocation
• Franchise-specific rules, culture, community norms
• Canonical tier structure (single canon vs. multi-tier, if permitted by the Franchise)
• First-instance disciplinary action for in-Franchise misconduct
• Franchise-level content policies beyond Network baselines

Article III: Amendment Procedure

Franchise Constitutions are amended by simple majority of the Franchise Team's Power, with minimum quorum of 50% of Team member seats participating. Amendments take effect at the start of the next quarter after passage, to prevent mid-period manipulation.

Franchise Constitutions cannot:

• Contradict Network Constitution clauses
• Exclude any of the six contribution categories
• Weight categories outside the 5%–40% band
• Lower Network-minimum thresholds for Team membership
• Grant anyone exemption from Network-level rules

Article IV: Interaction with Network

4.1 Compliance: Franchise Constitutions must be filed with the Network for compliance review before taking effect. Review checks only for Network rule violations; substantive Franchise choices are not reviewed. Review is performed by the Arbiters within 14 days.

4.2 Conflicts: Where a Franchise Constitution conflicts with Network rules, Network rules prevail and the Franchise must amend within 90 days or face suspension of affected provisions.

4.3 Cross-Franchise interactions: When a decision affects multiple Franchises (crossovers, shared characters, cross-canon events), the affected Franchise Teams must jointly ratify. Disputes escalate to the Arbiters.

Article V: Tier Structure (if applicable)

If a Franchise Team chooses to allow multiple canonical tiers (e.g., "main canon" + "legends/expanded universe" + "alternate continuity"):

• The tier structure must be declared in the Franchise Constitution
• Once declared, the structure can only be changed by Franchise Team supermajority (2/3)
• Facts are scoped to specific tiers
• Content references Facts within a tier; contradictions across tiers are not conflicts
• Tier-change decisions are governed by the Franchise Constitution's amendment process

Article VI: Franchise Creation and Retirement

6.1 Creation: New Franchises may be proposed to the Network. Creation requires:

• A proposed name and description
• Initial Fact graph (minimum set of foundational Facts)
• Draft Franchise Constitution
• At least five founding contributors committed to bootstrapping the Franchise
• Network-level approval via simple majority vote

6.2 Retirement: A Franchise may be retired by:

• Franchise Team vote (2/3 supermajority) — voluntary retirement
• Network vote (simple majority) — if the Franchise has been inactive for 365+ days or has violated Network rules persistently

6.3 Upon retirement: Commons content is preserved in archive; Home content remains under individual ownership; Team structures dissolve; accumulated Franchise treasury is distributed per the retirement vote's terms.

Article VII: Franchise Independence and Forking

7.1 If a group of contributors disagrees with a Franchise Team's direction and wishes to pursue an alternative, they may propose creating a sibling Franchise under Article VI. This is the constructive path when disagreement is deep.

7.2 Contributors may not, under color of Franchise independence, violate the rights of others: work contributed to the original Franchise belongs to that Franchise; forking does not transfer Commons content.

7.3 The Arbiters may intervene if a Franchise splits acrimoniously, to ensure the split proceeds fairly and without harm to contributors on either side.