Society · Governance
Ruleflip
Before applying a rule at scale, state how it could be satisfied while defeating its purpose, and watch for it
Definition
Mechanism
Before a RuleSet is applied at scale, its authors state how the people or agents it governs could satisfy it while defeating its purpose, and set observable signs of that happening. After rollout the signs are watched, and a rule whose application reverses its purpose is revised.
Invariants
- Before rollout, the ways the rule could be satisfied while defeating its purpose are stated.
- Observable signs of each are watched after rollout.
- A rule whose application reverses its purpose is revised.
Risks
Failure modes
Cobra effect
the rule rewards the very thing it was meant to reduce.
Paranoid drafting
imagined gaming blocks every rule from being adopted.
Caution
The recorded ways to game the rule and the signs watched for them are an evasion guide — keep both with those who enforce it.
Relationships
Builds on
References
Infrastructure
Immutable collection of constraints
Nothing in this library builds on this pattern yet.
Reference