Product constitution
The rules that cannot move.
Ten rules govern Scout. They are not values on a wall—they are enforced in the product itself, and everything else moves around them.
The ten rules
- 01
Scouts and Invitees are never compensated, directly or indirectly.
- 02
Builders pay for platform access and campaign infrastructure, never guaranteed attention or outcomes.
- 03
Scout is a validation-and-growth platform, not a testing marketplace.
- 04
One invitation link represents one intentional person; broadcasting and contact imports are prohibited.
- 05
Every introduction is relevant, voluntary, disclosed, and double opt-in.
- 06
Passing and declining are private, frictionless, and penalty-free.
- 07
Karma records independently evaluated quality; it is not money, inventory, or a redeemable credit.
- 08
Critical feedback earns full credit when it is useful, specific, and fair.
- 09
Sent, opened, consented, clicked, activated, returned, and converted remain distinct.
- 10
VCA receives operator controls without access to private relationships or raw Invitee feedback.
Written for the first community operator. The same boundary binds every operator: aggregate community health and necessary moderation evidence, never private relationships or raw feedback text.
Enforcement
Where the rules show up in the product.
A rule that only lives in a document is a preference. Each of these is a constraint the software applies whether or not anyone is watching.
Rule 1
There is nothing to pay out
No wallet, no balance, no payout, no gift card, no affiliate cut. A Scout's record cannot be spent, transferred, or exchanged for anything, which is what keeps an introduction a judgment rather than a transaction.
Rules 2 & 3
Money does not touch the rankings
Paid access never alters campaign visibility, moderation, or any trust record. Campaigns asking for generic testing or review generation are rejected before publication, however much the Builder is paying.
Rules 4 & 5
One link, one intended person
Invitation links are single-use, opaque, non-indexable, revocable, and expire after seven days. Contact upload does not exist in the product. An introduction cannot be created without a stated relevance reason, a conflict disclosure, and a signed attestation — and the invited person still opts in separately.
Rule 6
Passing costs nothing and is seen by nobody
Passing is one tap and requires no explanation. The Builder is not told who passed, the operator is not told, and the record does not change. Declining an introduction works the same way.
Rules 7 & 8
Quality is rated, not sentiment
Evidence is evaluated on usefulness, specificity, and fairness. Whether the Builder agreed with it is not a dimension, a low rating requires a written explanation, and the underlying event ledger stays inspectable even where the interface shows aggregates.
Rule 9
Every number names its source
Sent, opened, consented, clicked, activated, returned, and converted are stored and displayed as separate facts, each carrying a verification label. Return and conversion stay pending until they actually happen.
Rule 10
Operators see health, never people
Community operators approve campaigns, set capacity, and review reports on aggregate community health. Raw outcome text and Invitee identity are not available to them by default, and no operator can purchase or manufacture reputation.
Truth standard
Say exactly what happened.
The constitution would be unenforceable if the numbers could quietly overstate themselves. So they are not allowed to.
- A click is not use.
- Self-reported completion is labeled self-reported.
- Seeded records are labeled demo data.
- Return and conversion stay pending until actually observed.
Scout also stays independent from every listed product. It never requires privileged access and never controls internal product roles. Participants use each product normally; Scout coordinates the introduction, the interaction evidence, and the rated feedback around that use.
Attention cannot be bought. Scouts and Invitees are never paid. Nobody owes a test, review, signup, or positive response.