# Community Protocols **Domain:** Community Design / Governance **Doc Type:** Concept Node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition Community protocols are explicit expectations for participation, leadership, conflict, moderation, removal, and repair established before growth makes informal coordination unreliable. ## Mechanism Protocols make conduct legible and reduce improvisation under pressure. Clear procedures protect a mission from being rewritten by the loudest or most disruptive participant. ## Significance Planning for predictable conflict is a form of stewardship because it gives both members and leaders a stable basis for action. ## Relationships - [[wiki/Online Community|Online Community]] - [[wiki/Governance|Governance]] - [[wiki/Contractual Governance|Contractual Governance]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “A community needs protocols before it needs scale. Clear expectations for conduct, participation, leadership, conflict, and removal protect the purpose from being rewritten by whoever is most disruptive. Planning for problems in advance is a form of care.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Bringing Social Media to Life Through Local Community - Livestream (Jan 2019)* [[reminders/Leadership/Communities Need Protocols Before They Need Scale by Bryant McGill|Communities Need Protocols Before They Need Scale by Bryant McGill]]