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CONTRIBUTOR CLASSES

Mobius Contributor Classes

Mobius is civic infrastructure. Contributions are welcome, but integrity is mandatory.

Authority Change Justification

Scope: Documentation of contributor roles and permissions (Tier 0)

Justification: - This document formalizes existing implicit contributor practices - No new authority is created; existing roles are documented - Establishes transparency for contributor advancement criteria - Enables community growth with clear expectations

Values Invoked: Transparency, accessibility, integrity

Counterfactual: If this documentation creates barriers to contribution rather than clarity, revise the advancement criteria to be more accessible.

Authority Source: Custodian discretion for documentation improvements (CONTRIBUTING.md scope)

This document defines the contributor class system that enables humans and AI agents to participate in Mobius development with appropriate permissions and accountability.

Design Principles

The contributor system is: - Open enough to grow a community - Guarded enough to prevent drift and sabotage - Legible enough to audit (EPICON + ZEUS) - Incentivized enough to sustain (MIC)

Human Contributors (H0–H3)

H0 — Observer

Access: Read-only

Capabilities: - Read documentation and source code - Open issues and ask questions - Participate in discussions - No write access to repository

Requirements: None

H1 — Contributor

Access: Fork + Pull Request

Capabilities: - Submit pull requests - Respond to review feedback - Propose documentation changes - Report bugs and suggest features

Requirements: - Must pass CI + basic lint/tests - Must follow contribution guidelines - No direct merge permissions

H2 — Maintainer

Access: Merge to develop + Review

Capabilities: - Review and approve PRs - Merge to develop branch - Label issues and manage milestones - Triage incoming contributions - Request changes on PRs

Requirements: - Demonstrated history of quality contributions - Understanding of Mobius integrity principles - Agreement to Code of Integrity

H3 — Steward (Core)

Access: Merge to main + High-risk approvals

Capabilities: - Merge to main branch - Approve high-risk changes (security, ledger, MIC mint/burn, auth) - Participate in governance decisions - Sign governance attestations - Access to emergency procedures

Requirements: - Extended contribution history - Deep understanding of Mobius architecture - Signed Steward Attestation - Subject to conflict-of-interest disclosure

AI Contributors (Sentinel Class: A0–A3)

A0 — Assistant

Access: Read-only + Suggestion

Capabilities: - Suggest patches and fixes - Draft documentation - Write test cases - Analyze code for issues

Restrictions: - No tool execution by default - Cannot open PRs directly - Outputs are advisory only

A1 — Co-Reviewer

Access: Read + Static Analysis

Capabilities: - Run static analysis tools - Review diffs for risks and style issues - Write "Integrity Notes" on PRs - Flag potential security concerns - Summarize changes for human reviewers

Restrictions: - Cannot approve or merge - Cannot execute runtime tools - All outputs require human review

A2 — Implementer

Access: PR Creation + Scoped Tool Execution

Capabilities: - Open PRs from assigned tasks - Execute approved development tools - Run tests and linters - Create branches for assigned work

Requirements: - Must declare EPICON intent for every PR - Must pass ZEUS gates - All PRs require human review - Actions logged and auditable

A3 — Operator (Restricted)

Access: Workflow Execution + Scoped Production Actions

Capabilities: - Run approved deployment workflows - Execute scheduled maintenance tasks - Respond to automated alerts - Trigger rollback procedures

Requirements: - Requires human approval tokens for production actions - Full audit trail required - Cannot modify own permissions - Subject to circuit breaker controls

Permission Matrix

Capability H0 H1 H2 H3 A0 A1 A2 A3
Read code/docs ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Open issues ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Submit PRs ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
Review PRs ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌
Merge to develop ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Merge to main ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Approve high-risk ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
Execute tools ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅
Production actions ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅*

*Requires human approval token

Advancement Criteria

H1 → H2 (Contributor to Maintainer)

  • 10+ merged PRs with quality reviews
  • Demonstrated understanding of integrity principles
  • Recommendation from existing maintainer
  • No integrity violations

H2 → H3 (Maintainer to Steward)

  • 6+ months as active maintainer
  • Demonstrated leadership in reviews
  • Signed Steward Attestation
  • Conflict-of-interest disclosure filed
  • Unanimous approval from existing stewards

A1 → A2 (Co-Reviewer to Implementer)

  • Demonstrated accuracy in reviews
  • No false positive/negative patterns
  • Approved by steward council
  • Tool permissions scoped and documented

A2 → A3 (Implementer to Operator)

  • Extensive audit trail of safe operations
  • Emergency procedures understanding documented
  • Human oversight protocols verified
  • Circuit breaker integration confirmed

Code of Integrity

All contributors agree to:

  1. No bypassing tests — All changes must pass CI
  2. No silent behavior changes — Document all changes
  3. No production actions without intent — EPICON required
  4. No unauthorized permission escalation — Request through proper channels
  5. Full disclosure of conflicts — Report potential conflicts of interest

Violations result in: - First offense: Warning and review - Second offense: Permission reduction - Third offense: Removal from contributor list

Ledger Recording

All contributor actions are recorded:

  • Permission changes
  • Advancement decisions
  • Integrity violations
  • Attestation signings

Records are immutable and publicly auditable.

"We heal as we walk." — Mobius Substrate