The Problem The Unit The Metric Spec View on GitHub
Protocol Status: v0.1 (Spec)

A coordination system for humans, not org charts.

Dunbarrios replaces hierarchy with protocols, trust with structure, and productivity theater with real coordination.

The Problem

Hierarchies scale control, not care. Traditional organizations default to pyramids because they are legible on a whiteboard. But at scale, they excrete bureaucracy that eats human empathy.

Tools optimize visibility, not coherence. Our current stack generates noise. We are drowning in notifications while starving for actual connection.

The Vertical Illusion. We mistake the org chart for physics. Dunbarrios restores the "horizontal reality" of human connection.

The Pyramid
Fragile. Coercive. Bottlenecked.
The Circle
Resilient. Consent-based. Federated.

The Direct Circle Protocol

The atomic unit is 5-9 people. Everything else is federation.

Coordinator

Maintains system hygiene. Surfaces risk and stalled routines. Cannot assign work or override consent. Rotates every quarter.

Operator

Executes tasks and routines. Logs completions and blockers. Authority emerges from contribution, not position.

Link

Represents the circle externally. Bridges adjacent circles. Rotates to prevent a permanent political class.

The Weekly Pulse

  • 30 min Hard stop. No rambling.
  • Check-in Green / Yellow / Red energy state.
  • Review Only "At Risk" routines are discussed.
  • Action Clear blockers. Confirm next Coordinator.

Consent vs. Consensus

Consent (Safe-to-fail)

Used for routines, spending, experiments. "Do you have a critical objection?" Silence equals consent.

Consensus (All-in)

Reserved for membership, mitosis (splitting), and expulsion. One "No" blocks.

The North Star Metric

Income Dependency Slider

We don't optimize for GDP. We optimize for liberation. What percentage of your income do you actually need to survive?

75%
PRECARIOUS
0% (Necessity Free) 50% (Cushion) 100% (Survival)

"I am working primarily to survive. Losing my income is an immediate crisis."

"Innovations are leaves,
not property."

The Knowledge Tree

We replace the patent with the leaf. Innovations are published with attribution, but without monopoly.

  • Attribution: Every contribution is tracked and credited to the specific circle.
  • Commons: No right to stop others from using it. No rent extraction.
  • Failure as Knowledge: "Explored Paths" (failures) are documented to prevent wasted effort.

Build the Protocol

Current Project Status
Phase 0: Specification & Architecture