Constitution of the Systemspace Network

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SYSTEMSPACE NETWORK*

INTRODUCTORY.
In this constitution and its summary, the following terms have the following definitions:
to "ban" includes to "kick", and means to require to depart and exclude from further reentry on top of removal and expulsion;
"bridge" includes integration and gateway, and means any means connecting two members; "bridged channel" has a corresponding meaning;
"federal" means of, or relating to, the central administration of the Network created by this constitution;
"general channel" means any channel for general conversation with no prescribed topic, which is in fact the main channel in which users of the member socialize;
"local" means of, or relating to, the administration of each member;
"member" means a channel, server, or other node that is part of the Network;
"network" or "SSN" means the Systemspace Network;
"principal member" means any general channel or server that is a member;
"user" means any person using a member.



ARTICLE I - BILL OF RIGHTS
1. All users may speak, discuss, and express any opinion on any subject, being fully responsible for any harm this might cause.

2. The Network is secular, and no rule may be made abridging freedom to believe in and practice religion; but unless the assembly decides, this section shall not operate to the benefit of any organizations being or purporting to be the Hyakanghen, The Apollo Society, or Initiate.

3. The right to petition the government of the Network or of any member for a redress of grievances in a reasonable manner shall not be violated.

4. All users are at liberty to assemble and associate with others, but the Network may make rules against the activity of proscribed organizations; no user may be punished for contacting anyone, including an accused or convicted offender.

5. No private or direct messages shall ever be searched; the Network, its members and users shall not publish or expose the personally identifiable information of any other user.

6. No user shall be forced to give out any information or criminate themselves. No user may be banned without evidence which would convince an ordinary person of their guilt.

7. A user is free to use proxies, virtual private networks, and other anonymizing devices, to access the Network, except to evade punishment.

8. All bans longer than 24 hours may be appealed.

9. All rules, local or federal, violating this Article, are null and void, except provisions of this constitution. The rights herein granted are not enforceable except as provided in this constitution, which is declared not to constitute a binding contract.

10. The community's right as a group to a healthful, wholesome, and supportive atmosphere of conversation is recognized.

ARTICLE II - STRUCTURE+
1. The Network is a confederation of members, each one of which retains its independence and right to rule itself.

2. Federal rules bind every user; and every user in a position of authority, such as moderator or administrator, on any member is responsible for enforcing federal rules to the same extent as local rules.

3. The supreme authority of SSN is an assembly of each user owning a principal member, two other users appointed by each such user, and such elected members as they may provide for by rule.

4. Members of the assembly shall vote independently. If a member of the assembly fails to vote, they shall be notified and given five days to do so, otherwise the vote shall not be counted. They shall be responsible to both those who appointed them and the Board at large, but shall not be removed without probable cause, determined by the assembly.

5. The assembly may elect a Technical Committee and a Governmental Committee, for regulating and operating bridges under section 14 of this Article, establishing protocols and guidelines, and timely responding to technical problems, and for interpreting this constitution, resolving disputes between members and users, and hearing appeals from bans imposed for violation of federal rules respectively.

6. Membership in both committees, and in other such committees as the assembly may establish, is not limited only to members of the assembly. The assembly has the sole power of appointing users to its committees, and of delegating that power.

7. Federal rules only apply to communications that pass over a bridge or occur within a general channel, except when the conduct threatens the safety of the users, members, or infrastructure of SSN, in which case it applies everywhere in SSN.

8. Local rules and federal rules will be interpreted to conform with each other whenever possible; but when such is not, federal rules take precedence.

9. Within the limits of federal jurisdiction, the Governmental Committee may strike down local rules if they violate this constitution, subject to overriding by the assembly.

10. No new federal rule can be enacted without the majority approval of the Assembly. All federal rules and this constitution shall be published by every member in such a manner that a reasonably diligent user would have access to them.

11. All federal rules relating to CLASS A offenses and penalties and the procedure for their appeal are to be incorporated in this constitution.

12. Neither the Network or a member shall enter into any alliance, agreement, or affiliation, without the advice and consent of the Assembly.

13. Failure to follow federal rules shall result in a member's temporary suspension from the network until the issue is resolved. The suspension shall be directed by all members of the Assembly not owning, operating, or appointed by the owner or operator of the member or bridge concerned.

14. The Assembly has the power to establish and regulate all bridges, which may be delegated to the Technical Committee. The Assembly must be notified of and consent to any new bridge, and a bridge shall be accessible to users of all principal members.

15. The users in a position of authority on any channel on or closely related to a principal member may make it a part of the Network, whereupon the federal rules shall apply to it as if it were a general channel.

16. The consent of the Assembly is needed to admit any new principal member.
ARTICLE III - OFFENSES
1. The first principle of our criminal law legislation, is: do no harm. Harm includes both physical hurt and emotional distress, which includes but is not restricted to: extreme mental disturbance diminishing the capacity of any user to function normally, or intent to cause it.

2. Intoxication shall not excuse any of the offenses herein created, but may mitigate at the discretion of the Committee.

3. Whoever reveals personal information about any user, using which, alone or in conjuction with any other information, an average person would be able to find the identity of or harass, such user, is guilty of doxing, a CLASS A offense.

4. Whoever encourages, counsels, advises, directs, or compels the suicide of any user in a malicious manner that a reasonable person would believe was serious, is guilty of encouraging suicide, a CLASS A offense, and shall be banned permanently.

5. Whoever carries on denial-of-service or distributed denial-of-service attacks against, gains unauthorized access to, damages, or destroys any member or bridge, is guilty of hacking, a CLASS A offense, and shall be banned permanently and reported to appropriate authorities.

6. Whoever enters the Network with the purpose of causing harm, and manifests such intention by an overt act or expression, is guilty of being a public nuisance, a CLASS A offense, and shall be banned permanently.

7. Whoever attempts, conspires, or seriously threatens to commit a CLASS A offense, is guilty of attempt, conspiracy, or threat, as the case may be, CLASS A offenses.

8. Whoever provides false information in any official interrogation or proceeding, and does not retract it before it is acted upon, is guilty of perjury, a CLASS A offense.

9. Whoever states with serious intent that a user has been transgressed from the TSUKI Project, or is part of or involved in any organizations opposed to it, knowing its falsity or with reckless disregard to its truth is guilty of defamation, a CLASS A offense.

10. Whoever intentionally or negligently inflicts emotional distress upon any user, is guilty of infliction of harm, a CLASS A offense.

ARTICLE IV - PENALTIES AND APPEALS
1. All federal crimes are classified into the following categories:
CLASS A offense, the most serious crimes against public order, safety, and welfare, and individual rights.
CLASS B offense, crimes of moderate severity that injure the public peace.
CLASS C offense, acts inconsistent with a wholesome community, but which are not criminal in their nature or malicious in their intent.

2. No CLASS A offense exists except as defined by Article III; but CLASS B, and CLASS C offenses may be defined by separate rules.

3. Whoever commits a CLASS A offense, shall be banned for seven days or more, and may be banned permanently.

4. Whoever commits a CLASS B offense, shall be banned for not more than seven days, or kicked.

5. Whoever commits a CLASS C offense, shall be banned for no more than twenty-four hours, kicked, or warned.

6. For every ban, the reason shall include the name of the offense for which banned, a reference to the section which created the crime, and a note that the ban is appealable.

7. The user banned may challenge the ban, whereupon the user banning shall prepare a brief statement of the particular reasons of the ban, with evidence.

8. The user banned shall then have forty-eight hours, or more if requested by them and approved by the board, to prepare a concise response to that statement, with evidence.

9. Once both the statement and the response have been filed, the Committee shall consider whether the prosecution has fulfilled the burden of proof under section 6 of the Bill of Rights. This proof shall remain within the board unless needed otherwise.

10. The Committee may question both users in relation to the statements filed, request clarification or amendment thereon, and relay questions from one user to the other, in relation to their statement.

11. Follow-up questions shall not be allowed except at the discretion of the Committee.

12. The Committee shall render a final judgment not more than twenty-one days after the ban was imposed. The points of law decided in the judgment shall be consolidated and published.

13. Persons banned by individual members (moderators) may not appeal to the Committee, except on the ground that the rule under which they were banned was unconstitutional, but may join other members at their owners' discretion.

14. For any crime other than a CLASS C offense, a person may be restricted from posting in or viewing a bridged channel, in lieu of or in addition to any other permitted punishment.

15. In this and the preceding Article, "Committee" refers to the Governmental Committee authorized by section 5 of Article II, or the Assembly, if there is no such Committee.



ARTICLE V - GENERAL
1. All bans, rights, positions, obligations, and other rules, in effect immediately before the effective date of this constitution, remain in effect as though it had never been passed.

2. The Toxspace Administrative Regulations and the Federal Charter of the Systemspace Network are hereby repealed, saving all bans as though the repeal had never been made.

3. This constitution may only be amended by unanimous consent of the Assembly.

4. The laws of every jurisdiction in which a member or bridge is located apply to communications on SSN, and take precedence over all federal and local rules and this constitution should they ever conflict.

5. All acts resulting in transgressions from the TSUKI Project, other than for actual harm to the TSUKI Project or its members, are hereby amnestied, pardoned, and forgiven.



This constitution is dedicated to the pioneers of humanity's capstone, the Internet, to the heroes that have fought for its freedom from corporate and government control, and to those who secured migrant liberties and united our separate groups, inspired by the wondrous guidance of Aurora, to whom we now commend its faithful observance.
Done in Conference this twelfth day of January in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty, in witness whereof we have hereunto affixed our usernames and migrant numbers.



SUMMARY.
1. You are free to express your thoughts on any subject. DO NOT HARM OTHERS.
2. All beliefs are tolerated with the exception of hyakaghen.
3. You can ask the leadership of SSN or each of its members to change things you don't like.
4. You are free to associate with anyone you want. You can't be punished for talking to anybody, even those who break the rules. You can be punished for helping an organization hurt SSN, though.
5. We can't look at your DM's. We won't dox you, and nobody else is allowed to.
6. You can use proxies, VPNs, or conceal your identity in other ways, but not to evade bans.
7. You can appeal all bans 24 hours or longer.
8. If an average person couldn't see our evidence and say you were guilty of what you were banned for, you can't be banned.
9. You can't be forced to give us any info or say things that could lead to you getting punished. (That doesn't mean you can lie, or we can't use it against you if you say them anyway.)
10. Any rule, whether of the SSN or a member, are invalid if they violate this constitution. You can't sue us for these rights, though, because this isn't a contract.
11. The community has a right to be comfy.
12. All these crimes are CLASS A offenses, with a brief definition and the formal name.
13. Revealing personal information: doxing.
14. Seriously encouraging, ordering, or forcing suicide: encouraging suicide: PERMANENT BAN.
15. DDOSing or gaining unauthorized access to a member: hacking: PERMANENT BAN and CONTACT OF PROPER AUTHORITIES.
16. Entering with the goal of causing harm, and behaving in a way one would consider a public nuisance: PERMANENT BAN.
17. Lying (not just remaining silent) when you're questioned: perjury.
18. Saying someone is transgressed or a Hyak when you know or should know it isn't true: defamation.
19. Causing emotional distress: infliction of harm.
20. Trying, threatening, or conspiring with others to do these things; attempt, conspiracy, or threat.
21. To make it easier to refer to crimes, we divided them into 3 classes: CLASS A, CLASS B, and CLASS C, from most to least serious.
22. To make small-scale rule changes easier, only CLASS A offenses are in the constitution.
23. CLASS A: 7 days or more ban.
24. CLASS B: 7 days or less ban, or kick.
25. CLASS C: up to 24 hours ban, kick, or warning.
26. When you're banned, the reason must contain the crime you're accused of and how you can appeal it. If you would like to challenge it, say so.
27. The mod or admin who banned you will write a statement, with evidence, of why you're banned.
28. You must respond within 48 hours with a statement, with evidence, of why you shouldn't be, but you can ask for more time, if the Board approves.
29. Once the Committee has received both, it will consider them. It can ask you both questions about what's in your statements or ask you to change them.
30. If you would like to ask the mod a question about their statement, you can pass it to the Committee and they will relay it over if they deem it appropriate.
31. No follow-up questions are allowed unless the Committee says they are.
32. The Committee must make a judgment within 21 days of your banning.
33. If you get banned by an individual member, you can't appeal to the Committee unless the rule is against the constitution. What you can do is join another member of SSN.
34. You can also be restricted from viewing or posting in bridged channels.

* The Constitution of the Systemspace Network was enacted by a conference of delegates from Toxspace, Miniwatrix, and Chill Zone on January 12, 2020. On February 25, 2020, the first amendment thereto received its fifth vote for in the Assembly; there being no objections to it since its proposal four days earlier, it is deemed to have received the unanimous consent required by Article V, section 3.

The predecessor of this constitution was a document commonly known as "The Federal Charter of the Systemspace Network"; it was enacted September 5, 2019, and repealed by Article V, section 2. Article II of the present constitution is largely derived from its "Structure and Governance" section, which can be read in its entirety here.

The "Toxspace Administrative Regulations", referred to in the repealing clause, was a plan of government for Toxspace, a result of a reform to make its administration more representative  of the varied interests which had a stake in it. It was enacted November 10, 2019, while a decision which suspended certain of its regulations was made November 30, 2019. It can be read here.

+ Before this Article was revised, it read:

"ARTICLE II - STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE
1. The [Systemspace] Network is a {con}federation of members, each of which retains its independence and right to rule itself.
2. Federal rules bind every user; and every user in a position of authority, such as moderator or administrator, on any member is responsible for enforcing federal rules to the same extent as local rules.
3. The supreme authority of SSN is an assembly of each user owning a {principal} member [or operating a bridge], two other users appointed by each such user, and such elected members as they may provide for by rule.
4. Members of the assembly shall vote independently. If a member of the assembly fails to vote, they shall be notified and given five days to do so, otherwise the vote shall not be counted. They shall be responsible to both those who appointed them and the Board at large, but shall not be removed without probable cause, determined by the assembly.
5. The assembly may elect a Technical Committee and a Governmental Committee, for [setting technical standards] {regulating and operating bridges under section 13 of this Article}, establishing protocols and guidelines, and timely responding to technical problems, and for interpreting this constitution, resolving disputes between members and users, and hearing appeals from bans imposed for violation of federal rules respectively.
6. Membership in both committees, and in other such committees as the assembly may establish, is not limited only to members of the assembly. {The assembly has the sole power of appointing users to its committees, and of delegating that power.}
7. Federal rules only apply to communications that pass over a bridge or {occur in a general channel}, except when the conduct threatens the safety of the users, members, or infrastructure of SSN, in which case it applies everywhere in SSN.
8. Local rules and federal rules will be interpreted to conform with each other whenever possible; but when such is not, federal rules take precedence.
9. Within the limits of federal jurisdiction, the Governmental Committee may strike down local rules if they violate this constitution, subject to overriding by the assembly.
10. No new federal rule can be enacted without the majority approval of the Assembly. All federal rules and this constitution shall be published by every member in such a manner that a reasonably diligent user would have access to them.
11. All federal rules relating to {CLASS A} offenses and penalties and the procedure for their appeal are to be incorporated in this constitution.
12. Neither the Network or a member shall enter into any alliance, agreement, or affiliation, without the advice and consent of the Assembly.
13. Failure to follow federal rules shall result in a member's temporary suspension from the network until the issue is resolved. The suspension shall be directed by all members of the Assembly not owning, operating, or appointed by the owner of the member concerned.
{14. The Assembly has the power to establish and regulate all bridges, which may be delegated to the Technical Committee. The Assembly must be notified of and consent to any new bridge, and a bridge shall be accessible to users of all principal members.
15. The users in a position of authority on any channel on or closely related to a principal member may make it a part of the Network, whereupon the federal rules shall apply to it as if it were a general channel.
16. The consent of the Assembly is needed to admit any new principal member.}",

where matter added by the amendment is indicated in {curly brackets}, and matter deleted by it in [square brackets].