Standing

slug: standing element_type: TERM mutability: MUTABLE inline: true current_version: 1 contentURI: null

A participant's civic position in the Leviathan federation, expressed as a tier. Standing carries different rights and responsibilities (vote, propose, validate, moderate). Standing is earned through enactment accumulation, never granted by edict. Current tiers (ascending): novice (signup default, reply-only) → sentinel (vote + propose) → guardian (board moderation) → arbiter (cross-domain authority).

What this term defines

The civic position of each federation participant. Replaces the gamified "rank" terminology with standing — a civic word meaning one's recognized position in a body. Standing is civic; rank is military/competitive. Leviathan uses civic.

Etymology and semantic intent

Standing = one's recognized position within a civic body. From law: "standing to sue" means having recognized position to bring a case. In Leviathan: one's standing is what they may do constitutionally.

This is intentionally NOT:

• rank — military/hierarchy
• level — gaming
• tier — neutral but flat
• class — class-based connotations
• caste — rigid stratification

It IS:

• A recognized civic position
• Earned through enactment, not granted
• Tied to specific constitutional rights
• Transparent (visible to all)

Tier definitions (v1, refinable)

Novice (default at signup)

• Can read all public boards
• Can reply to threads
• Cannot create threads
• Cannot vote
• Threshold to advance: 10 accepted contributions (replies with ≥1 upvote, or constitutional draft accepted into review)

Sentinel (entry-level full participant)

• All novice rights
• Can create threads (constitutional proposals)
• Can vote (vote weight = sqrt(enactment))
• Can flag content for moderation
• Threshold: accumulated enactment ≥ 100 + active for ≥30 days

Guardian (board moderator)

• All sentinel rights
• Can moderate Sub-Leviathan boards (lock threads, mark spam, escalate disputes)
• Can validate quest completions for the Sub-Leviathan they guard
• Threshold: enactment ≥ 1000 + elected by Sub-Leviathan participants (governance vote)

Arbiter (cross-domain authority)

• All guardian rights
• Can mediate cross-Sub-Leviathan disputes
• Can propose federation-level amendments
• Can participate in ratification-tier validation
• Threshold: enactment ≥ 10000 + federation-wide vote (high bar)

Properties

1. Earned, never granted — no founder/admin grant of high standing; advancement comes from enactment + community recognition
2. Domain-specific recognition possible — a participant may be Guardian standing in Animal Welfare but Sentinel standing in Music; cross-Sub-Leviathan recognition is separate
3. Recall possible — sustained inactivity, abuse findings, or community recall vote can lower standing
4. Transparency — participant's current standing + how it was earned is publicly visible (per kernel's transparency principle)

Why mutable

Tier thresholds and rights are operational parameters. As the federation matures, thresholds will tune to actual behavior (early-day "100 enactment" may be too low or too high). The CONCEPT (earned civic tier system) is stable; the SPECIFIC BOUNDARIES evolve.

Tier names — why these specific words

The four tier names (novice, sentinel, guardian, arbiter) are deliberately Leviathan-native:

• Novice — one new to the constitutional practice; learning to enact
• Sentinel — one who watches over the constitution; the first level of active defense
• Guardian — one who actively maintains a Sub-Leviathan's domain
• Arbiter — one who judges cross-domain matters

These are civic guardianship roles, not RPG combat classes. They carry duty and trust, not just power.

Relationship to existing system

• Database: users.rank column retained for migration compatibility; semantic name is standing. Future migration may rename column to users.standing.
• On-chain: standing is derived from enactment via CoreReputation smart contract; no separate "standing contract" needed.
• Migration: PR #3 server-side adds advancement logic; PR #3.1 may rename column.

This term retires the prior "rank" naming, which carried gamified/militaristic connotations inappropriate for civic standing.

Related elements

• enactment (TERM, MUTABLE) — input to standing advancement
• vote_weight (RULE, future) — sentinel+ only, sqrt(enactment) weighted
• moderation_authority (RULE, future) — guardian+ powers
• federation_amendment (RULE, future) — arbiter+ proposal rights
• Federation Kernel principle of democratic-evolution — earned-not-granted is foundational
• enactment_sources (RULE, future) — what events accrue enactment toward standing