The Genesis Protocol, in depth.
The Genesis Protocol is the rule the first cohort of Founding Stewards reviews under — before the first Degree of Proof has been minted by panel vote. This page is the depth read: cohort target and cap, the four independence asks, decision authority, conflict-of-interest rules, expected term, and the five commitments every Founding Steward signs at intake.
Canonical approval rule
Qualified applicants are approved first.
Qualified applicants are automatically approved until 100 approved Genesis Stewards are reached. After that threshold, applications remain open and move to manual review.
This is an application disposition rule. It does not change credential issuance, independence, recusal, evidence, compensation, or audit requirements.
Why this page exists
Depth read of the rule the first cohort reviews under.
The /stewards recruitment page is the announcement — what the role is and how to apply. The public governance page is the rule the platform works against — reviewer independence, panel composition, contest, and revocation. This page sits between them, covering the specific commitments and authorities that apply only to the Genesis Cohort.
Nothing on this page is provisional. Founding Stewards are permanently labeled; the 100-approved figure controls application disposition rather than credential minting; every credential they author carries the Genesis mark, and the existing Steward Path rules remain in force.
Open intake and approval threshold
Open Genesis intake, with auto-approval through 100 approved Stewards.
Genesis intake is open broadly. Qualified applications are auto-approved until 100 approved Genesis Stewards; applications received after that remain accepted for manual review. The existing credential issuance rules are unchanged.
Qualification requirements
Open to independent reviewers with relevant expertise and experience, with qualification based on the existing application requirements.
Hard cap
No more than 15 credentials will ever be minted under the Genesis Protocol. Applying does not increase the cap.
Permanently labeled
Every credential the cohort authors carries the permanent mark: Authenticated under the Genesis Cohort. The label travels with every record they author from then on.
Four independence asks
Independence is not a sentiment. It is a procedural posture.
Independence has four running asks. The same four appear on the application form, in the public recruitment terms, and inside every claim a Founding Steward reviews. They are the bar; they are not optional.
Conflict disclosure at intake
Tell us about any current or recent personal, professional, or financial tie to Proofworks, its founder, or anyone who might appear as a future claimant. We'll record this on your application.
Recusal on conflict, on every claim
If a conflict is present on a particular claim — current or recent — step aside from that claim before reading begins. The recusal is logged with the rest of the panel's record for that claim.
Compensation is not contingent on verdicts
General reviews pay $2 and Specialist reviews pay $8. Payment is for completed adjudication work, regardless of approval or rejection.
Read the published governance, then operate under it
Read the published governance at intake and operate under it for as long as your application is under consideration. You may disagree with specific rules — disagreement is welcome — but you read them before signing a verdict.
Conflict-of-interest rules
Disclosure, recusal, and founder exclusion as a single rule set.
Three standing policies bind every Genesis claim. They are non-dismissible, they apply to every claim the cohort reviews, and they are recorded against the audit trail alongside the credential.
Disclosure at intake and panel
Every Founding Steward declares conflicts of interest at intake (on the application) and again on every panel they convene for. The signed declaration is part of the audit record for that claim.
Recusal on a current or recent tie
If any reviewer has a prior, current, or recent professional, personal, or financial relationship with the claimant, that reviewer recuses from the claim before reading begins. Recusal is recorded as a discrete event in the audit log.
Founder exclusion on own claims
The Proofworks founder cannot review their own claims. No claim authored by the founder travels through a panel that includes the founder, regardless of who else is on the panel.
Expected term
Until ordinary Stewards are operating.
The Genesis Cohort exists because the steward panel has to pre-date the first credential. The 100-approved threshold closes automatic exemption grants to new applicants; it does not revoke the persisted exemption of an already-approved Genesis Founding Steward.
Founding Stewards do not hold a permanent seat on the panel. The cohort is a permanent LABEL on the credentials they author, but the panel authority itself sunsets when normal Stewards take over.
Auto-expiry
Every Genesis credential auto-expires once a normal panel of ordinary Stewards is recruited and operating. The transition is published and recorded — it isn't a quiet cutover.
Transition
The transition is published. The platform announces to the cohort when ordinary Stewards come online, the published governance page is updated to the post-Genesis rule set, and existing Genesis credentials move into the auto-expiry window under their original rule.
Day-one commitments
What every Founding Steward signs at intake.
Five acknowledgements, recorded on the application row, so the panel — and any later reviewer of this cohort — can read what each Founding Steward agreed to at intake.
- 01
Conflict disclosure
You will disclose any current or recent tie — professional, personal, or financial — to the Proofworks project, the founder, or any future claimant whose claim you might review.
- 02
Governance
You have read the published governance and agree to operate under it for as long as your application is under consideration and (if selected) for as long as you author verdicts.
- 03
Compensation is not contingent on verdict
Any compensation paid for steward work is never contingent on approving a claim. Payment is for adjudication, not for outcomes.
- 04
Authority and recorded reasoning
General Stewards approve or reject; Specialists may request revisions when the Specialist route is used. Every decision is recorded in the audit history.
- 05
Recusal
You will recuse on a claim where you have a conflict — current or recent — and the recusal will be logged with the rest of the panel's record for that claim.
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