Research / Open questions
Questions worth
putting to the test.
WebTree’s practical projects sit inside a longer investigation: how can we make cooperation more dependable, recognize useful contribution, and give people better ways to shape the systems they participate in?
We have hypotheses. We also have reasons to be careful about them.
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01 / Research hypothesis · 2026-09-05
When does cooperation become dependable?
The incentives, boundaries, and realistic alternatives behind the WebTree thesis.
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02 / Research hypothesis · 2026-09-05
Can useful work keep receiving credit?
Design ancestry, upstream contribution, and the risk of turning recognition into permanent tolls.
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03 / Research hypothesis · 2026-09-05
What makes a track record useful?
Evidence, uncertainty, newcomers, and the distinctions between Imprint, trust, skill, and reputation.
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04 / Research hypothesis · 2026-09-05
How should a group learn from its decisions?
Decisions with a track record: the Responsible Democracy hypothesis and its unresolved problems.
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05 / Research hypothesis · 2026-09-05
Can an organization learn without losing accountability?
People, agents, services, and playbooks operating with shared context and clear authority.
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06 / Research hypothesis · 2026-09-05
Which kinds of value need which kinds of reward?
Separate attribution, compensation, resource allocation, trust, and decision rights.
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How we investigate
For each mechanism, we want a clear question, a baseline, an experiment, and evidence that could change our mind. An implementation shows that something can run. A useful result shows that it helped under particular conditions.
These notes describe concepts and proposed tests. They do not report completed experiments or establish that a mechanism works.
Bring evidence, criticism, or a better test ↗