Concepts Overview

This section covers the fundamental concepts of Free Association. Each concept can be published (declared by participants) or derived (computed from network data), depending on your coordination needs.

The Concepts

Identity - Who you are

• Verifiable Credentials

• Portable, offline-verifiable proofs

• Self-sovereign identity

Resources - What you have and need

• Capacities (what you can offer)

• Needs (what you require)

• Constraints (time, location, type)

Recognition - Acknowledging contribution

• Publishing recognition weights (100% budget)

• Deriving alignment metrics (True vs False)

• Contribution trees and priorities

Allocation - Distributing resources

• Publishing allocation decisions

• Deriving optimal allocation (IPF algorithm)

• Proportional fairness

Publishing vs Deriving

Many concepts can be approached in two ways:

Publishing - You declare it directly:

• "I recognize Partner A at 30%"

• "I allocate $50K to Project B"

• "I am a member of Coalition C"

Deriving - The network computes it:

• "Based on network behavior, alignment with Partner A is 85%"

• "Optimal allocation to Project B is $47K given all constraints"

• "Based on recognition patterns, you're effectively part of Coalition C"

The choice depends on your trust model, coordination needs, and desired level of automation.

Further Reading

• Architecture - How the system works

• Implementation - How to use it

• Reference - Formal specifications