governance spec

CommonGround Governance Specification

Overview

This document defines the formal governance model for CommonGround, including entities, state machines, and decision logic.

Core Entities

Member

• id
• reputation (optional)
• memberships
• permissions

Delegation

• id
• scope (local, domain, global)
• holder
• powers
• start_time
• stability_window
• revocable: true

Proposal

• id
• proposer
• scope
• type
• status
• timestamps

Referendum

• id
• proposal_id
• electorate
• quorum
• thresholds
• votes
• result

Deliberation

• id
• proposal_id
• arguments
• perspectives
• synthesis

Proposal Lifecycle

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Draft

    Draft --> ThresholdCheck
    ThresholdCheck --> Rejected : insufficient support
    ThresholdCheck --> Deliberation : threshold met

    Deliberation --> Voting : time elapsed
    Deliberation --> Withdrawn

    Voting --> Passed
    Voting --> Failed

    Passed --> Execution
    Failed --> Archive

    Execution --> [*]

Core Rules

Threshold Rule

if support_count < min_threshold(scope):
    reject proposal

Rate Limiting

if proposals_in_window(member) > limit:
    block proposal

Stability Window

if current_time < delegation.start_time + stability_window:
    reject unless emergency

Scope (Subsidiarity)

electorate = affected_members(scope)

Quorum

if votes < quorum:
    result = invalid

Removal Process

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Accusation
    Accusation --> Deliberation
    Deliberation --> Vote
    Vote --> Removed
    Vote --> Retained

Key Principles

• Revocability of power
• Structured deliberation before voting
• Subsidiarity (local decision-making)
• Temporal stability
• Participation integrity