RepHear Product and Community Governance Whitepaper

1 Our Vision

RepHear helps people discover individuals worth supporting and build lasting community relationships. Every choice, act of support, acknowledgement, and contribution can become part of a person’s community identity.

Our core asset is verifiable community identity. A ranking can capture a moment; a Backer’s history shows whom they stood behind, who recognized them, and how they helped their community grow.

We believe people deserve to be seen beyond a popularity number. Participation should be understandable, relationships should be genuine, and community responsibility should be earned.

2 How Participation Works

Vote expresses one free choice in a Ranking. Support commits Credits to someone you believe in. Recognize publicly acknowledges a person and creates a directional relationship. Invite brings a new member into the community. Daily Presence records that you returned and participated.

These actions have different meanings and remain separate. A Vote does not become paid Support, and Support does not buy Recognition. Backing describes whom you choose to stand behind over time.

A Successful Invite is recorded when a new member registers through your invitation and completes at least one valid action. Registration alone does not count as meaningful community building.

3 Your Backer Identity

A Backer is a registered person’s long-term identity on RepHear. It combines five layers: Taste, Backing, Contribution, Recognition, and Community Role.

Taste shows what you care about. Backing shows whom you support. Contribution shows your participation and building work. Recognition shows whom you see and who sees you. Community Role shows the responsibilities you have been trusted to hold.

Identity cannot simply be purchased. Support may be visible, but spending cannot replace sustained participation, genuine relationships, or community trust.

4 Your Profile and Relationships

Your Profile is a community identity passport. It brings together your photo, name, biography, community, Backer Level, roles, contribution records, badges, backing, and Recognition.

Keep four records independently visible: Current Streak and Lifetime Active Days; Votes; Support Credits; Successful Invites. A summary level should never hide the contribution behind it.

People I Recognized and Recognized By show the two directions of acknowledgement. Mutual Recognition appears only when both people genuinely recognize each other.

Invitation earnings, payment details, payout contacts, and individual invitee spending belong in your private Referral Hub. A public invitation count should not expose someone else’s financial activity.

5 Growth and Community Standing

Growth follows four tracks: Consistency, Participation, Support, and Community Builder. Returning, making choices, supporting people over time, and organising or inviting members each contribute in their own way.

The level path runs from New Backer to Active Backer, Established Backer, Community Backer, and Core Backer. It describes growing participation and readiness for responsibility.

Growth opens opportunities such as nominations, lists, community proposals, event assistance, and role applications. Levels require balanced contribution; money and mechanical repetition cannot substitute for community trust. Referral earnings do not determine levels or election outcomes.

A level grants eligibility for opportunities, not an automatic office. Availability and qualification follow the published rules of each feature.

6 Presence, Badges and Early Credentials

Current Streak measures consecutive Daily Presence days. Lifetime Active Days records historical participation and never resets. Missing a day may break a streak, but does not erase your history or valid earned badges.

The badge pathway includes 7 Day Backer for seven consecutive days, 30 Day Backer for 30 lifetime days, 90 Day Backer for 90 lifetime days, and Year One Backer for 365 lifetime days. Associated opportunities may include identity styles, proposals, and leadership consideration under their own published rules.

Early credentials celebrate being there while a community relationship formed: Founding Community Backer for an early valid building action in a community or event; Early Voter for an early Vote in an event or Ranking; Early Supporter for early Support of a person.

The initial design uses the first 100 qualifying Backers for each relevant community, event, Ranking, or person. Credentials are object-specific, carry evidence and award dates, and do not depend on Support amount. Later threshold changes do not remove valid historical awards.

Private actions may establish private eligibility. Public displays require the member’s permission. Fake accounts, invalid actions, withdrawn Votes, refunded Support, and confirmed abuse cannot establish a valid credential; removal must have an explainable reason.

Weekly rewards may include event admission, merchandise, Credits, or partner gifts. Quarterly rewards may include seasonal badges, Profile Frames, roundtables, early access, and organising opportunities. Only an announced campaign creates a prize entitlement.

7 Daily Quests and Shared Goals

Daily Presence records your return; Daily Quest gives that return a purpose. Quests may invite you to discover a Creator, make a valid Vote, Support someone, Recognize a newcomer, explore another community, or invite a member who completes a first action.

Community Goals bring individual actions together. A community may work towards a badge, a visual theme, Spotlight opportunities, an Event Space, or a shared activity. Contributions need sensible limits to keep progress genuine.

Unlocks give members more ways to express themselves and collaborate. Neither quests nor shared goals multiply votes or automatically grant administrative power.

8 Creators and Community Building

Creators are participants in community relationships. Recognizing Backers, thanking early supporters, welcoming newcomers, discovering peers, and sharing community progress can turn attention into lasting connection.

The intended loop is simple: a Backer supports a Creator; the Creator sees and recognizes the Backer; the Backer gains a sense of belonging and returns; sharing and invitations bring new relationships.

Experienced members may propose a Rally or Community Goal, help organise online or in-person Event Circles, create Challenges, recommend Spotlight members, and maintain useful community information. Each operational responsibility needs a clear scope and review.

9 Invitation Rewards: 5% for 180 Days

When a new member registers through your personal invitation link, they are attributed to one direct referrer. Only genuine new members qualify. Returning to another link or rejoining does not restart attribution or the reward period.

You can earn 5% of the eligible paid Support made by your directly invited members within 180 days of each member’s registration. Each invited member has a separate 180-day period. Payments completed after that period do not qualify.

The reward is based on the qualified payment total before payment-processor fees, calculated per payment and rounded down to the smallest currency unit. “Total” refers only to your direct invitees’ eligible payments, never the entire community’s revenue. Free or promotional Credits, Votes, and indirect invitations earn no commission.

For example, one direct invitee makes an eligible $200 Support payment during their 180-day period: your commission is $10. There is only one referral level. You do not receive a share of payments from members your invitees recruit.

RepHear funds the reward from its allocated revenue, with no additional referral surcharge for the invited member. A separately promised Creator payout must not be reduced without disclosed terms and agreement.

New commission has a 14-day hold. Under the current USD rules, withdrawals require at least $25 available, accepted Referrer Terms, an active account, and completed risk review where applicable. Requests are reviewed and paid manually once a month; payouts are not automatic.

Refunded, cancelled, disputed, or invalid payments do not earn commission. Previously paid commission on those payments may be recovered or offset, with a record explaining the adjustment.

When sharing your link, disclose that you may earn a commission. Do not impersonate RepHear or a Creator, mislead people, or pressure them to pay. Earnings depend on eligible Support and are never guaranteed. Current terms and your private Referral Hub explain withdrawal requirements.

10 From Inviting to Community Responsibility

Invitations can demonstrate community-building contribution. They open a path to greater responsibility together with sustained participation and good conduct. They cannot purchase authority.

The proposed pilot has three milestones: 3 reviewed invites can earn Community Referrer recognition and opportunities to submit activity ideas; 10 can make a member eligible to apply as a Community Helper for approved activities; 20 can support an application for leadership or administrator candidacy.

For these proposed role milestones, an invited member must register, complete a valid action, remain for at least seven days, and pass authenticity review. This additional role assessment does not delay or restart the 180-day commission period.

These milestones are a future development plan, not currently automatic permissions. Role approval considers participation, conduct, availability, and training. Reaching a threshold does not guarantee appointment or a place on an election slate.

Banning members, deleting content or accounts, changing permissions, accessing private information, and viewing financial records require separate authorisation. Roles have a defined community, scope, term, review process, and appeal route. Referral earnings do not confer extra votes or bypass elections.

11 Quarterly Community Governance

Our governance model uses contribution to establish candidacy and community voting to choose representatives. Each quarterly cycle aims to select three community administrators for a fixed term.

The ten highest qualifying candidates form the slate after eligibility review. Daily Presence, Votes, Support, and Successful Invites are considered alongside account age, community participation, and conduct. Each contribution dimension is capped so spending or invitation volume cannot dominate.

Candidates share their contribution records, measurement periods, badges, roles, plans, availability, and conflicts of interest. Referral earnings are excluded from governance scores. Relevant referral interests should be disclosed without exposing private payment details.

Every eligible Backer has one vote; candidates cannot vote for themselves. The three highest vote recipients enter appointment review and orientation before receiving permissions. Qualification, voting periods, and tie-break rules must be published for each cycle.

Administrators serve quarterly terms and may stand again. They never receive permanent power. Serious breaches can lead to suspension or removal, with an appeal route. Members cannot buy votes or exchange commission for appointments; referrers must not review their own payout or abuse disputes.

12 Road to MCM: A Free Community Draw

Road to MCM connects participation in the MCM Event Social Space with an opportunity to meet offline. It brings together Cosplay Central, Gaming, Pop Culture Creators, and Artists and Illustrators.

The campaign runs from 17 to 25 October 2026, with one randomly selected winner at 20:00 UK local time each day: nine draws in total.

To qualify, create your own MCM Event Card and maintain a current three-day Daily Presence streak including the draw date. Genuine eligible accounts enter automatically, without payment or an additional entry action. Each account has one daily chance and may win only once during the campaign.

Each winner buys through an official MCM ticket channel and submits valid official purchase proof for reimbursement of the actual ticket price up to £50. Travel, accommodation, food, and personal costs are excluded. Tickets may not be resold or transferred.

Longer streaks, purchases, Support, and invitations never add entries or improve odds. Draws use an auditable random process; if verifiable computer randomness is unavailable, an independent observer supervises. Winners must respond and submit proof within the published claim period, or an alternate may be selected.

This is an independent RepHear community promotion, not affiliated with or endorsed by MCM Comic Con, ReedPop, or the event organiser. The published campaign terms contain the full claim procedure and deadlines.

13 How We Measure Progress

Community success is more than total Votes. We look at Creator activation, visitor conversion, Votes relative to audience size, sharing, second actions, invitation quality, and next-day and seven-day return.

We also examine discovery across communities, invited-member retention, refund and abuse rates, referral costs, and whether community roles improve member experience.

Results should be compared fairly across areas and audience sizes. We will refine growth and governance rules using real participation, explain changes, and preserve valid historical achievements.

14 Fairness, Privacy and Trust

Real participation is the foundation of trust. Fake accounts, self-referrals, impersonation, harassment, hate, vote manipulation, misleading promotion, and multi-level commission schemes undermine that foundation.

Review must be proportionate, explainable, and open to appeal. Shared devices alone should not be treated as proof of abuse. Roles use the minimum permissions required for their responsibilities.

Private financial and personal information should remain private. Public displays should respect member choices. Rules for minors, cash rewards, campaigns, and operational roles must be clearly published.

Campaigns explain eligibility, timing, prizes, randomness, claims, exceptional circumstances, and non-affiliation. Material reward-rule changes should have a clear effective date and should not silently erase valid earned records.

15 Our Development Roadmap

Our development path starts with clear Profiles, real contribution records, and Recognition. It then deepens sustained participation through Daily Presence, badges, quests, and shared goals; supports quality growth through invitations and Creator participation; and expands reviewed community responsibilities and quarterly governance.

The longer-term direction includes cross-community discovery, better Creator tools, durable identity credentials, and a healthy, sustainable community ecosystem.

This whitepaper sets out our direction and programme principles. It does not imply that every described feature is already available. In particular, the seven-day role assessment and 3 / 10 / 20 invitation milestones are planned additions. Feature announcements, current Referrer Terms, and campaign pages explain what is open and which rules apply.

We will expand responsibility as participation and trust grow. Our aim is to make every person’s choices, commitment, consistency, and building work visible without turning influence into a purchasable number.

Appendix: Product Glossary

Backer — your long-term registered community identity. Backer Level — a summary of balanced contribution. Community Role — an approved or elected responsibility with actual permissions.

Vote — one free choice. Support — a Credits commitment. Backing — whom you stand behind over time. Recognize — directional public acknowledgement. Mutual Recognition — both directions exist.

Successful Invite — registration plus a verified action. Current Streak — consecutive presence days. Lifetime Active Days — historical activity that never resets. Badges — valid historical milestones.

Daily Quest — a meaningful participation task. Community Goal — shared progress. Community Power — organisational capabilities members may apply for. Top Backers — the ten qualifying quarterly candidates. Backer Election — community voting to select three administrators.

Referral Commission — 5% of qualified direct-invitee paid Support within 180 days from registration. Reviewed Invite — a Successful Invite meeting the proposed seven-day role assessment and authenticity review.