Political & Religious Arenas
Innovations #1057, #1058, #1059
Category: Community / Governance
Related: The Switzerland Rule, Reputation System
The Switzerland Rule Compatibility
Liana Banyan’s core principle is no politics, no religion at the platform level. However, members may want these discussions. The solution: separate arenas where discourse happens, but Liana Banyan takes no position.
Political Arena (#1057)
Tiered Moderation
Members choose their tier BEFORE entering:
| Tier | Name | Rules | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moderated Debate | Formal structure, sources required, turns | Policy deep dives |
| 2 | Structured Discussion | Topic threads, steelman requirement, cooldowns | Understanding perspectives |
| 3 | Casual Conversation | Light moderation, no attacks | Relationship building |
| 4 | Free-for-All | Minimal rules (no threats/doxxing) | Raw debate (use caution) |
Violation Handling
Rule violators are demoted to lower tier, not banned:
- Tier 1 violation → Moved to Tier 2
- Repeat violations → Progressive demotion
- Tier 4 violations (threats/doxxing) → Platform ban
Religious Arena (#1058)
Separate Trunk Architecture
The Religious Arena exists as a separate trunk in the Yggdrasil architecture:
MAIN PLATFORM
│
│ (GATE with warning)
▼
RELIGIOUS ARENA (Separate Trunk)
│
├── World Faiths Pie Chart
│ ├── Christianity (33,000+ denominations)
│ ├── Islam
│ ├── Judaism
│ ├── Hinduism
│ ├── Buddhism
│ └── Others
│
└── Each segment includes:
├── Similarities to others
├── Differences from others
├── Discussion forums (tiered)
└── Resource library
Christianity Drill-Down Example
CHRISTIANITY
│
├── Catholic
├── Protestant
│ ├── Baptist (100+ types)
│ ├── Methodist (12+ types)
│ ├── Lutheran
│ └── ...
└── Orthodox
Reputation Accountability
CRITICAL: You are still YOU across all arenas.
| Rule | Rationale |
|---|---|
| No anonymity | Accountability |
| Reputation carries | Bad behavior follows you |
| History visible | Other members can see your track record |
| Platform-wide impact | Discourse rep affects overall standing |
Reputation Features
- Monthly decay — Recent behavior weighted more heavily
- No alt accounts — Single identity enforced
- Cross-arena cooldown — Can’t rage-quit one arena and immediately enter another
- Extremist marker — Community-applied tag that fades with time like all reputation
Extremist Reputation Marker
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Applied by | Community members (not platform) |
| Threshold | Multiple reports from diverse sources |
| Decay | Fades over time like all reputation |
| Appeal | Through standard reputation dispute process |
| Effect | Warning visible to others; filtered by those who choose |
Philosophy: We don’t ban speech. We let the community mark it, and let individuals filter it. You can withdraw from what you don’t want to see.
Town Hall Integration
Initiatives from Political/Religious arenas CAN flow to Town Hall (Center Square Boards) IF:
| Requirement | Example |
|---|---|
| Signature threshold met | 500+ signatures |
| Policy-focused wording | “Support legislation X” |
| Civility review passed | No inflammatory language |
Allowed: “Support religious freedom legislation”
Not Allowed: “Christianity is the only true religion”
Political Expedition Research (#1059)
The arenas generate valuable research data:
Data Access Tiers
| Tier | Access | Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Aggregate stats only | None |
| Academic | Anonymized post data | IRB approval |
| Internal | Full data with pseudonyms | Platform only |
Research Questions
- How do people across ideologies find common ground?
- What moderation strategies reduce hostility?
- Which discussion formats produce consensus?
- How does reputation affect discourse quality?
KISS 3-Tier
Quick
Badge showing current tier and reputation score
Standard
Arena entry with tier selection, current participants, trending topics
Deep
Full arena view with thread browser, reputation history, research opt-in, Town Hall submission
Implementation Recommendations
- Start with Tier 1 & 2 only — Add Free-for-all based on demand
- Harper Review for moderators — Ensure quality
- Monthly reputation decay — Recent behavior matters more
- Cross-arena cooldown — Prevent rage-cycling
“Get the discourse you choose, not the one forced upon you.”