Compass/web/public/md/constitution.md

Constitution of the Compass Community

Preamble

We, the community of Compass, commit to building and maintaining this project in the public interest, ensuring it remains open, collaborative, and resistant to centralized capture. We adopt this constitution to govern ourselves democratically, protect the integrity of the project, and ensure fair participation.

Article I: Purpose and Values

1. Purpose — To develop and maintain Compass as an open-source platform for meaningful human connections, benefiting users and contributors.
2. Core Values — Openness, transparency, collaboration, democratic participation, anti-capture safeguards.

Article II: Membership Levels

1. Definition —

   1. A Member is any individual who has an account.
   2. A Voting Member is a member with voting rights. It can be a volunteer or supporting member.
   3. An Administrator is a member with write access to the code and higher-level responsibilities.

2. Eligibility —

   1. To become a Voting Member, an individual must:

      • Contribute meaningfully to the project (code, documentation, design, outreach, community moderation) for a minimum of 5 hours (volunteer) or contribute $20 USD/year (supporting member).
      • Have a 1:1 with a current administrator.
      • Be approved by the Membership Committee by a supermajority vote.

   2. To become an Administrator, all current Administrators must unanimously vote for them to have the role.

3. Provisional Voting Members — New voting members can join discussions but must wait for a month before gaining voting rights.

4. Loss of Membership — Voting Members may be removed for:

   • Sustained inactivity (e.g., less than 10 hours of contribution for a year or lapsed financial support for Supporting Members).
   • Proven bad-faith conduct (vote manipulation, harassment, sabotage). Removal requires a 2/3 vote of Volunteers.

Current voting members and administrators

Article III: Governance Structure

Section 1: Interim Governance

• Until 5 voting members exist, decisions are made by the Founding Maintainer.
• Temporary coordinators may be appointed for specific tasks.
• Once 5 voting members exist, leadership positions are filled via community election.

Section 2: Democratic Governance

1. Voting Power — One Voting Member = one vote.

2. Quorum — Minimum 40% of active Voting Members must participate for a valid vote.

3. Decision Thresholds:

   • Simple majority (50%+1) — Day-to-day operational decisions.
   • Supermajority (2/3) — Constitutional amendments, membership approvals/removals, major funding decisions, or changes to project scope.

4. Deliberation Period — All proposals open for discussion at least 7 days before voting.

5. Administrator Veto — Administrators may veto any vote.

Article IV: Committees

1. Membership Committee — Reviews Voting Member applications and eligibility disputes.
2. Technical Committee — Ensures code quality, compliance with open-source principles, and maintains the platform.
3. Governance Committee — Maintains the constitution, moderates votes, investigates governance concerns.
4. Elections — Committees elected annually by Voting Members once the community reaches 5 voting members.

Article V: Anti-Capture Safeguards

1. Contribution-Based Rights — Voting rights earned through meaningful contribution or financial support..
2. Probation — New Voting Members gain voting rights after 1 month of active contribution.
3. Identity Verification — Voting Members must have unique, verifiable identities.
4. Conflict of Interest Disclosure — Voting Members must disclose any direct financial interest in competing or controlling entities before voting.

Article VI: Transparency

1. Public Records — All minutes, code changes, and votes must be publicly available.
2. Open Deliberations — Discussions take place in accessible, public channels.

Article VII: Amendments

1. Proposal — Amendments require co-signature of 10% of Voting Members.
2. Deliberation — Minimum 7-day discussion period before voting.
3. Approval — 2/3 majority of Voting Members; Administrators may veto.

Article VIII: Dissolution

• Upon dissolution, the platform will shut down.
• The source code remains publicly available on GitHub.
• Remaining funds are donated to a charity chosen by Voting Members.

Adopted on: August 11, 2025

Founding Maintainer: Martin Braquet