1. Preserve attention
Syxon is built to help you think, not to capture your time.
- No infinite feed. Home is an anti‑feed Deck of Views · Beats.
- Every surfaced item should have a clear "why this" when it matters.
- Sessions are finite. "Done for now" is a first‑class action, not an afterthought.
- We prefer calm visuals, keyboard‑first flows, and low‑entropy surfaces over constant motion.
Explainable outcomes
When SYX or any model influences what you see, you should be able to understand why.
- Ranked items expose the main scoring factors (recency, graph, reputation, risk) in human terms.
- Assists and decision briefs carry uncertainty bands and provenance, not just confident text.
- We treat unexplained automation as a bug, not a feature.
Proofs, not slogans
Big claims should come with things you can inspect and measure.
- Measure time‑to‑first‑ion and minutes saved in real study, product, and research workflows (opt‑in).
- Publish honest ranges instead of vanity charts or invented “X% better” numbers.
- Ship demos where you can actually see Deck, Done‑for‑now, Vote, and provenance in use.
2. Share control of the substrate
The global ION substrate is a commons. Syxon stewards it; we do not own it alone.
- Over time, most governance and upside of the substrate moves to the community of contributors and users.
- Vote is a first‑class View for merges, dedupe, contradictions, and meta‑priority ballots.
- Reputation comes from accepted contributions and good governance work, not from wealth.
- Early users are co‑authors, not beta testers; their work and votes should show up in real decisions and Commons units.
Risk‑tiered decisions
Not all decisions carry the same risk. Governance reflects that.
- Low‑risk changes (like obvious dedupe) use lighter thresholds and faster paths.
- High‑risk changes (like policy corridors and goal weights) require stronger quorums and supermajorities.
- Founders keep narrow reserve powers for security, privacy, and legal obligations—with public explanations and sunset where possible.
3. Start on your device
We assume your work belongs on your device first. Cloud is an optional extension, not the default.
- Local‑first processing and storage for capture → persist → search.
- Cloud assist is explicit, redacted, and opt‑in. We indicate posture in the UI.
- Encrypted backups are optional, with keys kept separate from stored data.
- Telemetry is opt‑in, minimal, and never includes content.
- When there’s a tradeoff, we prefer slower but local and explainable over faster but opaque.
4. Clear red lines
There are directions we choose not to take, even if they might be profitable.
- No dark patterns to drive engagement (no infinite feeds, no fake urgency).
- No selling or trading of personal data.
- No hidden content‑level telemetry or opaque personalization based on things you read or write.
- No un‑explainable ranking modes. If we can’t explain it, we shouldn’t ship it.
5. Evolving in public
These principles will need to evolve as Syxon grows and as the world around us changes.
- We record major product and governance decisions in short, public documents (ADR‑style where it fits), and link them from relevant Views when it matters.
- We expect to refine Ion Commons and Vote with real‑world use and community input.
- If we ever need to temporarily override the usual rules for safety or legal reasons, we will say so, and aim to restore normal operation as soon as possible.
If you think we’re drifting from these principles—or if there’s a principle you believe we’re missing—email principles@syxon.org.
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