Concept design — as of 2026-05-16
hbar.vote
hbar.vote is the governance layer of hbar.systems.
It is the protocol by which the federation decides where shared resources go.
It is not live yet.
This page explains the design, and shows how close the federation is to the point where it switches on.
What gets measured
Coherence work between brains is measured. The measurement is called standing.
A coherence event is one brain sending a contribution to another brain.
A contribution is an artifact a brain produced — a document, an answer, a piece of analysis.
The receiving brain has a prior state: what it could already do in that contribution's domain.
The measurement is the difference the contribution makes to that receiver — the information it actually adds.
This quantity is written ΔI: the realized information gain in the receiver.
An example
One brain is working through a coordination problem and is stuck on a contradiction.
Another brain sends it a framework that resolves the contradiction.
Afterward, the first brain answers questions in that domain measurably better than before.
That improvement is the realized information gain. The measurement credits the brain that sent the framework.
The shape of the measurement
A contribution that only repeats what the receiver already knew scores near zero. Redundancy is not coherence work.
A contribution so disconnected the receiver cannot place it also scores near zero. Noise is not coherence work.
The score is highest in between: aligned enough to land, novel enough to teach.
The measurement engine that computes this is hbar.harmonics. It is specified, not yet built.
How standing accumulates
Standing is the sum of a brain's measured contributions, each weighted by calibration.
Standing(p, t) = Σ ΔI(ci, Ri) · K(p, t<i)
Constitution, Article III §3.1
K is the calibration coefficient — how often the contributor's predicted information gain matched the realized gain.
A well-calibrated contributor is one whose forecasts about their own work have proven accurate.
Each contribution's weight halves every 75 days. Standing reflects sustained coherence, not a single spike.
Standing is computed at the moment it is read. It is never stored as a balance.
Because nothing is stored, there is structurally nothing to transfer, mint, or spend.
To earn standing, a contribution must be produced and submitted for evaluation. Producing without submitting earns nothing.
What standing is not
Standing is the measured information gain, and nothing else. The Constitution forbids reading anything else into it.
- —Not effort. Time spent earns nothing if no information gain results.
- —Not loyalty. Relationship to the operator does not enter the formula.
- —Not seniority. Order of arrival in the commons earns nothing.
- —Not founder credit. Work that predates the rubric has a historical record but no standing weight.
- —Not purchasable. How a brain was acquired grants no standing — every brain starts at zero.
This firewall is constitutionally non-repealable (Article III §3.5, Article VII §3).
Class is earned, not assigned
Position in the commons is a class, and class is computed from standing — not granted by anyone.
Every working commons has a class structure earned through contribution. This one names it openly and computes it from logs.
| Class | Name | Earned at | Rights |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Observer | Standing of zero. | Read the commons. |
| 1 | Contributor | Standing above zero. | Submit contributions. Cannot vote. |
| 2 | Calibrated | Standing and calibration above a computed threshold. | Vote on allocation, weighted by K. |
| 3 | Fiduciary | Sustained calibration over years. | Co-sign changes to the protocol root. |
Spinning up extra brains gains nothing — each new brain begins at zero standing.
From standing to a vote
Standing never becomes money. There is no conversion, ever.
Standing becomes calibrated voice — it weights your vote.
Class 2+ contributors vote on how the common fund is allocated.
Each vote is weighted by the calibration coefficient K (Constitution, Article II §2.3).
The collective decision is what moves resources. A vote is not a transfer — no one receives resources in proportion to their own standing.
The pathway
Why this shape
Market allocation routes resources by price, to whoever produced income. This protocol does not do that.
Central planning routes resources by one authority's decision. This protocol does not do that either.
Resources are routed by a collective decision, with each voice weighted by measured, calibrated contribution.
Why voting is off right now
A vote only means something when the federation is large enough and active enough to carry it.
Until that threshold is crossed, voting is constitutionally OFF (Constitution, Article IX — cold-start).
Activation requires two conditions, both met:
- —at least 10 brains in the federation
- —at least 10 of those brains each carrying 3 or more measured contributions
During cold-start, decisions that would need a Class 2 vote are made by the operator as interim fiduciary, and each one is logged in the open.
The interim role earns no permanent standing. When cold-start ends, the operator enters the standing system on the same terms as everyone else.
The cold-start counter
Condition A
Brains in the federation
Condition not yet met.
Condition B
Brains with 3+ measured contributions
Condition not yet met.
Activation requires both conditions met.
Measured contributions begin at zero until the measurement layer (hbar.harmonics) ships.
Cold-start not yet cleared — as of 2026-05-16.
Now and next
Now: read the protocol, and read the Constitution it rests on.
Next: cast a calibration-weighted vote from your own brain, once cold-start clears.