Get Involved#

You’ve read the ideas. They resonate. Now what?

The Consensus Society is in Phase 0 — we are building the foundation, gathering people who share these principles, and preparing to test them in practice. There is no membership form, no dues, no hierarchy to join. There is only the work, and the invitation to be part of it.

Here is how to start.

Reach Out#

The simplest step is the most important one. If these ideas speak to you — or if you have questions, concerns, or criticisms — we want to hear from you.

Email: [email protected]

This is a real conversation, not a contact form that disappears into a queue. Write to us. Tell us what resonated. Tell us what you disagree with. Tell us what’s missing. Every serious response will be read and considered.

Join the Discussion#

The Consensus Society is built in the open. The GitLab repository that hosts this site is public, and its Issues board is where we discuss the ideas, debate the framework, and work through the hard questions together.

You don’t need to be a developer to participate. Issues are just conversations — anyone can open one, and anyone can contribute.

Some ways to get started:

Ask a question. If something on the site is unclear, or if you want to understand the reasoning behind a principle, open an issue and ask. The answer will be public, which means it helps everyone who comes after you.

Challenge an idea. The framework is stronger for being tested. If you think a principle is wrong, incomplete, or contradicted by evidence, say so. Honest disagreement is not only welcome — it is exactly how governance by persuasion is supposed to work.

Propose something. Have an idea for how the framework should develop? A community you think belongs in the Showcase? A gap in the Governance model? Open an issue and make the case. If it’s convincing, it will be incorporated. That’s the process.

Contribute directly. Every page on the site has an “Edit this page” link that takes you to the source in GitLab. If you see something that could be improved — a typo, a clearer way to say something, a missing definition — you can submit a merge request. Please review the CONTEXT.md file for voice and style guidelines before contributing content.

Stay Informed#

We are building a mailing list for people who want to receive occasional updates as the project develops — new content, community formation efforts, and opportunities to participate. This is coming soon. In the meantime, the best way to stay informed is to watch the GitLab repository or reach out by email and we will make sure you hear about what comes next.

What Comes Next#

Phase 0 is about gathering the people and refining the ideas. The next steps are:

Form the first communities. Small groups — even a handful of people — who take these principles seriously enough to try governing by them. Not as a theoretical exercise, but as a real practice applied to real decisions.

Test the framework. Every community that forms will encounter questions the framework hasn’t anticipated. That’s not a failure — it’s the point. The framework is designed to be adapted by the people who use it, and what they learn will make it stronger for everyone.

Share everything. Successes, failures, surprises, and the mundane practical details of making consensus work in daily life. The collective experience of many communities working in parallel is how this project grows.

None of this requires permission. The principles are published. The framework is open. If you and a few people you trust want to start a conversation about how to govern yourselves by consensus, you can begin today. And when you do, we want to hear about it.

A Note on How We Work#

This project practices what it proposes. The site is built transparently — every change is tracked in a public repository. The ideas are offered for scrutiny, not reverence. And no one here claims authority over the framework. It belongs to the people who build it.

If you’re used to organizations with leaders, spokespeople, and official positions, this may feel different. It’s meant to. The Consensus Society is not asking you to follow. It’s asking you to think, to participate, and to help build something that doesn’t exist yet.

The door is open.