Fair rules and an open record from day one.
Online groups, co-living houses, open-source projects, collectives: groups that form fast and need to decide together before anyone has written anything down.
What goes wrong today
The founders decide everything
Nobody meant it that way, but there were never any other rules.
The loudest voice wins
A chat thread is not a vote; whoever posts most sets the direction.
No way to leave well
When members disagree, the only choices are to stay quiet or walk out with nothing.
How Solon helps
Start in a minute
Found the organization, take the first seat, invite the others.
Choose how you count
Consent for a small team, approval or ranked voting when there are many options.
Change your own rules
As the group grows, it changes its rules by vote — on the record.
Take your history with you
The record belongs to the group: it can be exported and checked anywhere.
Decisions groups like yours make
- Adopt a code of conduct
- Choose where to meet in person next year
- Share out a small fund
- Admit a new member
What works today
- Start an organization
Anyone with an OrangeCat account can found one in a minute and take the first seat.
Available now - Proposals and votes
Members propose in plain words and vote with one click; they can change their vote until it closes.
Available now - Six ways to count
Yes or no, consent, approval, dots, scores and ranked choice — chosen per decision.
Available now - Rules you change by vote
The group's own rulebook — who votes on what, by how much — amended through the group's own votes.
Planned - Leave with your record
Export the whole signed history and take it to another host, where it can be checked again.
Planned
A place to start
Solon's rule template for this kind of group sets who may vote on what, how votes are counted, and how many must agree. It is a starting point: your group changes it by vote.
Compare the templatesHow this works in detail
The collective template favours consent decisions — a proposal passes unless someone raises a reasoned objection — which suits small groups that work closely together. As a group grows, it can move to majority or ranked voting by amending its rules.
Exit matters as much as voice. Solon's record is designed so that a group, or a member, can take their signed history elsewhere and have it verified again without Solon.