What problem does this community exist to solve?
Purpose
- Primary purpose (singular)
- Secondary purposes (bounded)
Scope
Defines what the community governs and is responsible for. Purpose: prevent silent scope creep and power confusion.
- Physical assets (land, buildings)
- Shared infrastructure
- Economic activities
- Legal entities
- Geographic or digital boundaries
Invariants
Explicitly defined non-negotiables. Purpose: create hard limits that even consensus cannot override casually.
- What cannot be changed without dissolution or reboot
Examples
- “Land cannot be sold”
- “This community is non-speculative”
- “Children’s safety rules override all other decisions”
Artifacts
- Purpose Charter
- Primary purpose (1 sentence)
- Secondary purposes (bounded list)
- Conditions for changing purpose
- Scope Declaration
- What is inside governance
- What is outside governance
- Interfaces with the external world
Layer Invariants
- Invariant 0.1: Single primary purpose A community must have exactly one primary purpose at any given time.
- Invariant 0.2: Explicit governed scope All assets, domains, and responsibilities under community governance must be explicitly declared.
- Invariant 0.3: Declared non-governed space Anything not listed as “in scope” is explicitly out of scope and not subject to community authority.
- Invariant 0.4: Protected invariants Declared invariants cannot be changed without following the highest constitutional threshold or dissolution.
Explicitness Rules
MUST be explicit
- Primary purpose
- Governed scope (assets, domains, authority)
- Declared invariants
- Conditions for purpose change
Why: ambiguity here creates silent power grabs.
MAY be explicit
- Secondary purposes
- External affiliations
- Long-term vision statements
MUST remain optional
- Ideology
- Spiritual framing
- Cultural narratives