Social Contract

Accepting this Social Contract is a condition of holding a pact account. You agree to it at signup, alongside the public-and-permanent Ledger notice and consent checkbox described in pact's legal agreement. An account cannot be created without it.

Welcome

Welcome to pact. pact is a peer-verified open exchange of goods and services, built by the people who use it. Here, People create Pacts, fill Roles, and earn Hallmarks: permanent, public records of real work done together. Your Ledger is not a feed to perform for; it is a standing account of what you have actually done, and who you did it with.

Everyone here arrived the same way you did, invited by someone, verified, and trusted to take part. A platform built on proof of work only holds together if the people on it deal with each other honestly and in good faith. That is what this contract is for. Please take a minute to read it.

What we ask of you

While taking part in pact, do your best to:

• Connect in good faith. A friendly word at the start of a Pact sets everyone up to succeed. Treat the People you meet here as collaborators, not transactions.
• Carry your Roles. When you fill a Role, do the work you committed to, communicate honestly about progress, and see it through. If you cannot finish, pass the baton rather than going quiet.
• Keep the record honest. Create real Pacts, complete real work, and earn Hallmarks you have actually done. Give Commendations that reflect the truth of how someone worked, not how you feel about them.
• Help newcomers find their footing. We were all new to pact once. A first Pact, a first Hallmark, a question answered: small help compounds into a stronger network for everyone.
• Settle what you commit to. Compensation is agreed on a Pact and fulfilled between People. Honor what you agreed, and raise problems openly rather than walking away.
• Raise disagreements honestly, and resolve them. If a Pact ends badly you can dispute the outcome - in good faith, about what actually happened. pact does not judge who is right: a dispute is a neutral marker of the kind of disagreement, never a public airing of accusations, and the moment it is resolved it disappears completely. Raise one to be made whole, not to punish.

What is not accepted

The wider internet is not always a safe place, and pact is not exempt from that. The following behaviors are not accepted here:

• Hate speech, including comments that target another Person's identity, such as race, gender, or ability.
• Harassment, threats, or abusive or derogatory language directed at another Person.
• Spam, self-advertising, or other disruptive behavior outside the bounds of a Pact.
• Falsifying the record: fabricated Pacts, fake or inflated Hallmarks, or dishonest Commendations given or traded to manufacture reputation.
• Retaliatory flagging: reporting a Person out of revenge, or coordinating reports to tank someone's standing rather than to surface genuine harm.
• Misusing the coordination channel: the private channel exists to arrange a safe meet-up. Using it to harass, threaten, deceive, or share another Person's information without consent is a breach of this contract.

Because every Hallmark, Commendation, and Pact is part of someone's permanent record, dishonesty here is not a victimless act. It damages the proof of work the whole platform stands on.

Consequences

If you harm fellow members through any of the behaviors above, you are subject to action up to and including suspension of your account.

pact has no community moderators. There is no tier of power between People and the platform's Stewards. Stewards tend the platform from within it and are bound by the same rules as everyone else. When a Steward acts on a report, the action carries a stated reason, it is reversible, and any reversal is recorded too. Adjudicated outcomes are part of the public record; reports that are dismissed are not surfaced. The goal is not punishment for its own sake, but keeping the Ledger trustworthy for everyone who relies on it.

Reporting

It is a diverse platform, with all sorts of People in it. Please be respectful of one another. If you ever feel that someone is acting against this contract, report it so that our Stewards can look into it. Speaking up is how we keep pact a place worth being part of.

Together, we keep pact honest.