RULES

THE MECHANISM

This is how a field is decided. Not a plurality poll. Not a ranking.

1. 01

   WHO MAY VOTE

   Sign in with Google or X. One account, one ballot, per field. The ballot locks. It cannot be edited or withdrawn. Unsigned marks are discarded.

2. 02

   WHAT A BALLOT MAY CONTAIN

   At most one YEA. At most two NAY. Five legal shapes: YEA only; YEA and one NAY; YEA and two NAY; one NAY only; two NAY only. A name cannot receive both marks on the same ballot. A card with no mark is not a ballot.

3. 03

   HOW THE COUNTS ARE BUILT

   T is turnout: every locked ballot. V is the number of those ballots that carried a YEA. For each name: YEA is how many ballots named it YEA. NAY is how many named it NAY. NAY-only ballots sit in T. They do not sit in V.

4. 04

   POSITIVE SUPPORT

   Positive support of a name is its YEA count divided by V. It is that name's share of all affirmative ballots, not of turnout. A name with 30 YEA when V is 100 has 30% positive support. NAY-only ballots do not shrink this number, because they are not in V.

5. 05

   NEGATIVE SUPPORT

   Negative support of a name is its NAY count divided by T. It is the share of the whole field that rejected it, including ballots with no YEA. A name with 20 NAY when T is 100 has 20% negative support. Two NAY marks on one ballot count for two names, each against T once.

6. 06

   WHO MAY CONTEST THE SUMMIT

   A name is a contender only if its positive support is strictly above 20%. Exactly 20% does not qualify. If V is 0, nobody qualifies.

7. 07

   WHO TAKES THE SUMMIT

   Among contenders, the lowest negative support wins. If that ties, higher positive support wins. If that still ties, a fixed order from the field id. The first name is THE GOAT. If the contender set is empty: NO GOAT. Turnout sets the mountain. It does not pick the winner.

8. 08

   WHEN THE NUMBERS ARE SHOWN

   The board never shows standings. Open names are shuffled; vote totals stay off. If the creator left the field live, standings appear after you lock. If they sealed it, only your own marks and the close time appear until close. After close, the settlement is public: YEA, NAY, positive support, negative support, the line, the winner or NO GOAT, and which names were marked together.

9. 09

   ACCESS

   Public fields sit on the board. Private fields take a password at the private entry. Hide and delete sit with the desk, not with voters.

10. 10

    SIZE OF THE FIELD

    A field needs at least two names, at most eight. The 20% line and the two-NAY cap are built for four or more. Fewer than four still run; the split is coarser.