Soma
Communities

Decide together

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Draft. This page is a preview of the new guide. Its illustrations are drafts still in review.

A community decides by proposal: someone puts a question to the members, members vote, and once enough of them have voted the result is recorded for everyone.

Six scenes: writing a proposal on a phone; members discussing it at a table; members dropping ballots into a box; a circle of chairs with most seats filled; two ballot stacks, one taller; a role badge given and the agreed sheet pinned to a board.
  1. Propose
  2. Discuss
  3. Vote
  4. Enough members voted
  5. The result
  6. Act on it

A proposal passes once enough members have voted, and the most-voted option wins.

  1. Propose. Under Proposals, write a title, a description and the options to choose from, and set a deadline (a week by default).
  2. Discuss. Members talk it through before voting, in person or in the community's messages.
  3. Vote. Each member chooses one option. Only members' votes count, and a member's latest vote is the one that counts.
  4. Enough members voted. A proposal needs a share of the members to vote before it's decided: by default just over half of them (51%). A community can set its own share.
  5. The result. As soon as enough members have voted, the most-voted option wins and the result is recorded. Every member's app applies the same rule, so they all reach the same result.
  6. Act on it. The community then does what was decided: for example, gives someone a role, or ratifies a protocol (see Protocols).

Roles

Under Roles, a member can be given a role, such as moderator or treasurer. A role can be given for a set time, so it rotates rather than staying with one person. Some apps count only roles a custodian gave: Inzira, for example, trusts its reviewer roles only when a custodian assigned them.

Communities

Abantu is where a community decides together, its members, its rules and its work, without a central owner.

Protocols

The written rules and practices a community adopts, from agreements to rituals, and how one is drafted, ratified, published and retired.