Organization Governance

Greetings, dear friends.

I believe that Open World Sandbox MMORPGs are most enjoyable when players have powerful tools to interact with each other in a balanced and meaningful way. One of the most important aspects of this is Organization Governance, which allows players to build distinct cultures, decision making systems, and social structures that align with their playstyle, values, and daily responsibilities inside their own Organizations.

When well setup, Organizations can become autonomous, making high level independent decisions through Voting Shares, Policies, and Executive Actions. Voting Shares determine how decision making power is distributed among Members, influencing all Governance processes. Policies define the rules and structure of the Organization, defining its long-term direction. Executive Actions are one-time decisions that require approval before execution, such as expelling certain Members, joining or leaving an Organization, or authorizing an immediate financial transaction.

Roles and Permissions handle the daily operations within the Organization. Roles define the responsibilities and rank of Members, granting specific Permissions. These Permissions determine what actions a member is allowed to perform in relationship to the Organization, such as accessing resources or deploying assets. While Governance and voting focus on collective decision making, Roles and Permissions manage individual capabilities and responsibilities.

Voting Shares

Voting Shares represent a member’s decision making power within an Organization. They are used to propose, approve, or reject Policies and Executive Actions, directly defining how the Organization operates. Only Direct Members - whether individual players or Organizations - can hold Voting Shares of their Organization, and each Organization has full control over how these shares are distributed among its Members.

Voting in an Organization is dynamic, meaning Members can change their votes at any time before the Voting Period expires. This allows for real-time negotiation and adaptation during decision making processes.

Multiple Policies or Executive Actions can be voted on simultaneously, and Voting Shares are applied repeatedly without being consumed. This allows Members to participate in all active decisions without having to choose between them.

Because Voting Shares determine Governance power, any changes to their distribution can have lasting consequences. Some modifications may be irreversible, permanently altering the balance of power within the Organization and potentially excluding certain Members from future decision making. As a result, careful consideration is necessary before making adjustments to Voting Share allocation.

Automatic Shares Burning

When Members leave the Organization, all of their Voting Shares are automatically burnt.

Voting Shares Mode

The Voting Shares Mode defines whether Governance power within the Organization remains fixed or can be actively redistributed among Members. This setting determines how influence is allowed to shift, and how flexible decision making structures can be.

Transferable Shares

When shares are Transferable, Members can freely trade or redistribute their shares among other Direct Members. This allows for a dynamic and fluid Governance structure where influence can be adjusted based on strategic decisions, trust, or internal agreements. Organizations using this mode benefit from flexibility, as Members can shift voting power to those they believe will best represent their interests. However, it also introduces the potential for rapid shifts in control, including coordinated takeovers or power consolidation by a few Members.

With Transferable Shares enabled, Members have the option to voluntarily burn their own shares in order to not participate in the Organization’s Governance, permanently removing them from circulation. This increases the relative voting power of all remaining Voting Shares.

Internal Market

Organizations can enable an Internal Voting Share Market, allowing Direct Members to buy and sell Voting Shares among themselves. This system ensures that Governance power remains within the Organization while introducing a dynamic, player-driven economy for influence inside the Organization.

Only Direct Members of the Organization can hold or trade Voting Shares. External players or entities cannot participate in this market.

Vesting Period

To prevent Players from exploiting Voting Shares immediately upon acquiring them, a Vesting Period can be introduced. This system gradually unlocks Voting Shares over time, ensuring that the owners of the Voting Shares demonstrate their commitment and engagement before gaining full access to their functionality. The Vesting Period properties can be modified through an Organization Policy, but it’s disabled by default, so Voting Shares are immediately fully accessible when acquired if this setting is not changed.

Locked Shares

With Locked Shares, voting power remains fixed with its original holders, preventing redistribution. This ensures a stable Governance structure where influence does not fluctuate based on trades or internal agreements. Organizations using this mode prioritize consistency and long-term decision making, as Governance power cannot be mechanically bought or transferred. While this prevents potential exploits like share hoarding or market-driven power shifts, it also means that Governance adjustments require cultural changes.

Organizations can activate Locked Shares mode anytime in order to secure their Governance power structure. This ensures that the voting power remains fixed and that no member can alter the balance of influence within the Organization.

Isocracy Mode

The primary goal of Isocracy is to ensure that all Members, regardless of their position within the Organization, have equal Voting Shares. In order to achieve this, Locked Shares are required.

Upon activation of this Policy, all Voting Shares will be deleted, and all Members will be given 1 Voting Share. When any new Members join the Organization, even though Locked Shares is enabled, they will also be issued their 1 Share.

This structure is ideal for Organizations that prioritize equality and wish to prevent the consolidation of power by a select few Members, ensuring that decisions are made collectively and equitably.

However, it can reduce the flexibility of Governance by making it harder to adjust influence based on merit or contribution, as all Members have the same voting power, regardless of their involvement or investment.

Organization Policies

Policies are predefined rules that govern an Organization’s structure and behavior. They apply uniformly and automatically to all Direct Members - whether Players or other Organizations.

Policies can only be changed if the Voting Shares of Members allows. This means Organizations can evolve structurally according to their Members’ collective decisions.

Default Policies

When an Organization is first created, sane defaults enable fast and flexible decision making. The Founder begins with 100% of the Voting Shares (100 Shares), and the Policy Execution Delay is disabled.

With the Founder holding 100% of the Voting Shares and no delay in policy execution, any policy they propose is instantly passed, as their votes are automatically applied when creating the new Policy proposal. This allows the Founder to quickly establish foundational Policies without waiting for additional votes. As Voting Shares are distributed over time, decision making gradually shifts to a more distributed Governance process.

Policy Proposal

To propose a new Policy, a member must hold a minimum amount of Voting Shares. This ensures that only those with a significant stake in the Organization can start to influence its direction, preventing spam proposals and maintaining a balanced Governance process. The required Voting Shares threshold can be set to reflect the Organization’s size and desired level of influence. The default Voting Shares required to create new proposals is 10 Voting Shares, which represents 10% of the initial supply of Voting Shares when a new Organization is first created.

When a member proposes a new Policy, their Voting Shares are immediately applied toward passing it. This means that if a member has enough voting power, the Policy automatically passes upon proposal.

Policy Voting Period

The Policy Voting Period is the set amount of time during which Members can vote on a proposed policy. This period ensures that all Members have time to consider and cast their votes. Once the voting period ends, the results are finalized, and the policy is either approved or rejected based on the outcome. The duration can be configured through an Organization Policy, the default Voting Period is 48 hours.

Policy Execution Delay

After a Policy is approved, there is a waiting period before it is executed. This delay allows Members time to review the decision, discuss implications, and make any final adjustments. The waiting period ensures that changes are deliberate and gives Members the opportunity to react if needed before the policy takes effect. When the delay ends, the new Policy immediately takes effect. This delay is configurable through an Organization Policy, and it’s disabled by default.

Policy Reversion Proposal Delay

This setting creates a time period before a Policy can be reverted, ensuring that Members have sufficient time to evaluate the impact of the Policy in practice. This Policy is not active by default for newly created Organizations but can be activated and adjusted by passing a new Policy.

Policy Voting Mode

Organizations can choose how inactive votes are handled, significantly defining Governance dynamics. Each method has distinct implications for decision making, stability, and engagement.

The Default Voting Mode is Absolute Voting - Default Deny.

Absolute Voting

Absolute Voting applies inactive votes in a predefined way, either opposing or supporting proposals by default.

Default Deny

Inactive votes automatically count as opposition, ensuring that changes require active support to pass. This prevents policies from being pushed through due to low participation and encourages Members to engage in decision making. However, it can also lead to stagnation, as beneficial changes may struggle to pass if participation is consistently low.

Default Approve

Inactive votes automatically count as approval, allowing policies to pass unless there is active opposition. This reduces decision making friction and prevents deadlocks caused by low participation. However, it introduces significant risks, as policies could pass without broad awareness or consensus, enabling potential exploitation, takeovers, or disruption. Use this only in extremely high trust settings.

Relative Voting

Relative Voting ignores inactive votes, making policy outcomes depend only on the active participants.

Inactive votes do not count toward the outcome. Only actively cast votes determine whether a policy passes or fails. This approach ensures that decisions reflect the will of engaged Members, rather than being influenced by those who do not participate.

Minimum Active Votes

To prevent policies from passing with extremely low participation in Relative Voting mode, the Minimum Active Votes setting defines the minimum number of total active votes (Yes or No) required for a policy decision to be valid. If the threshold is not met, the policy does not pass, regardless of Policy Approval Requirement. This setting works on a percentage of the total supply of Voting Shares.

Policy Approval Requirement

The Policy Approval Requirement defines the minimum percentage of total Voting Shares that must support a policy for it to pass.

Organizations can choose one of the following:

  • Minimal Support (10%)
  • Low Support (25%)
  • One-Third Approval (33%)
  • Majority (50%)
  • Two-Thirds Approval (66%)
  • High Support (75%)
  • Consensus (100%)

A lower requirement allows policies to pass with minimal backing, while higher thresholds demand greater agreement, increasing stability but making changes more difficult.

The default Policy Approval Requirement is Majority (50%). It is not recommended to lower the approval below this level, but some Organizations may find a good use case for it without being exploited.

Voting Privacy

Voting Privacy is essential for creating trust and fairness in an Organization’s Governance. Some Members may prefer transparency, while others may want anonymity to vote without pressure or retaliation. Some Organizations might want full clarity or full privacy, no matter what.

Organizations can configure Voting Privacy in these 4 different ways through an Organization Policy controlling these settings

Default Public

Votes are public unless the voter chooses to make them private.

Default Private

Votes are private unless the voter chooses to make them public. This is the default Voting Privacy Policy.

Always Public

All votes are permanently visible to all Members, with no option for privacy.

Always Private

All votes remain strictly anonymous, with no option for public visibility.

When an Organization or a member updates their Voting Privacy settings, past votes remain unaffected. This ensures that previous voting choices stay private or public as originally done, preventing retroactive exposure. Only future votes will follow the new privacy settings, maintaining trust and consistency in the system.

Voting Delegation

Voting Delegation allow Members to assign their Voting Shares to a trusted representative, streamlining decision making and reducing voter fatigue. While votes automatically follow the delegate’s choice, Members can override the decision at any time during an active Voting Period by casting their own vote. This override applies only to the current vote, while future votes will continue to follow the delegate unless changed.

Voting Period Early End

The Voting Period Early End Policy allows the Voting Period to conclude early when enough non-delegated votes - those cast directly by members - have been submitted to reach a clear decision. Members can trigger this early conclusion by overriding their delegate’s vote, casting their own vote directly, which counts toward this threshold.

With Absolute Votes, this setting triggers when the non-delegated votes in favor meet the Policy Approval Requirement.

With Relative Votes, this setting triggers only when the non-delegated votes in favor meet both the Policy Approval Requirement and the Minimum Votes Policy.

The Voting Period Early End setting is best enabled in high-trust environments with active, engaged members. It allows for quicker decision-making when enough non-delegated votes are cast to meet the approval threshold, making it ideal for urgent decisions or preventing vote-blocking. However, it should be used cautiously in Organizations with less engagement, as it could lead to the Organization being exploited through manipulation. It works best when members are committed and the Organization values efficiency in decision-making.

Member Roles and Permissions

Each member of an Organization can be assigned multiple Roles, with each Role granting a specific set of Permissions. Permissions are essentially the abilities or actions that a member is allowed to perform within the Organization. These can range from accessing items and resources, deploying Stations, or interacting with other Members in various ways.

The Role system is designed to provide flexibility and control over how an Organization operates. Roles are typically assigned based on a member’s responsibilities, rank, or trust level. Higher-ranking Members may be granted more significant Permissions, such as access to sensitive resources or information.

One of the key features of the system is that Members can hold multiple Roles at once. This allows for a nuanced control structure where a member’s capabilities can be formed by the combination of all their Roles.

When conflicting Permissions arise, the more permissive roles take precedence. For example, if one Role allows a member to access important resources, and another restricts access, the member will be granted access due to the overriding Permission.

This system ensures that Organizations can have fine-grained control over who can do what, enabling both flexibility and security in managing their operations.

Critical Permissions

Critical Permissions are Permissions that allow access to resources that an Organization defines as extremely important, such as controlling finances. Each Organization sets through its own Policy which Permissions are considered Critical. When a member is assigned a Role that includes Critical Permissions, an Executive Action is triggered, requiring a vote. This ensures that the decision to grant such access is reviewed and approved by the Organization.

Executive Actions

Executive actions are one-time decisions that require formal approval through voting, typically involving significant changes to an Organization’s structure, resources, or operations. These actions are reserved for high-level decisions that directly affect the Organization’s future, Members, or strategic direction. Executive actions help balance power by ensuring that key decisions are made collectively, preventing unilateral control, and promoting fairness and accountability in Governance.

Change Diplomatic Relations

This Executive Action allows the Organization to modify its relationship with another Organization via the Diplomatic Standings mechanic. Changing Diplomatic Standings affects features such as Automated Intelligence Sharing, Docking Permission, and allowing hostile actions.

Joining an Organization

This Executive Action allows the Organization itself to join another Organization. This action can automatically change Diplomatic Standings towards the joined Organization.

Leaving an Organization

This Executive Action enables the Organization to formally exit another Organization. This action can automatically change Diplomatic Standings towards the departed Organization.

Expel Member with Voting Shares above Expulsion Threshold

This Executive Action allows the Organization to expel a member whose Voting Shares exceed the Expulsion Threshold (configurable through a Policy, default set to 10%). This ensures that Members with significant voting power can’t be instantly removed from an Organization, but still allows it to happen by passing a vote.

Grant New Voting Shares to Member

This Executive Action creates new Voting Shares that are assigned to a particular member, increasing their influence and voting power within the Organization. This could be used as a reward for loyal Members, a strategic move to consolidate control, or to incentivize certain behaviors. This Executive Action can not be proposed when the Locked Shares mode is enabled.

Transfer Funds from Treasury

The Treasury is the central pool of the Organization’s financial resources, and this action involves transferring a certain amount of money from it to another Player or Organization. What is done with the money once the target is in control can’t be enforced.

Assign Role with Critical Permission to Member

This Executive Action enables the Organization to assign a Role to a member that contains a Critical Permission.

Conclusion

When properly configured, the Governance system offers immense potential for player-driven decision making. The dynamic nature of Voting Shares, along with the multiple Voting Modes (Absolute and Relative), and Isocracy, allows for a flexible and fluid Governance model. This flexibility can cater to various Organization’s needs and Player preferences, ranging from equality-based Organizations to more hierarchical structures.

The Governance system empowers players by enabling them to create Policies, assign Critical Permissions to Roles, and execute significant decisions collectively. This creates a sense of Player agency and encourages active engagement, ensuring that those who have invested in the Organization’s success are the ones making the decisions. Furthermore, features like Transferable Shares, Voting Delegation, and Executive Actions provide a deep strategic layer for Players. They can influence decisions and build their Organization’s future in meaningful ways, creating a rich and complex political environment.

However, the system’s complexity also means it can be easily exploited if not properly managed. Careful understanding and consideration of aspects such as Voting Shares distribution, Critical Permissions, and voting mechanisms is essential to ensure the Governance system remains a fair and empowering tool for all Members instead of just a select few.

Thank you for your attention. Let’s set a new standard for the genre!