Principle: Honesty About What This Is

What this means in practice

The community is honest about what it is. The texts in the library are translations from centuries ago, from public domain sources, and they are presented in their own words with their sources named. Summaries are labeled as summaries. AI may assist with research and site functions, and that is said where it applies. Gatherings are human-led.

In practice, this means Ask the Commons shows you where its answers come from. It points to the sources so you can read them yourself. It is a research tool. The authority stays with the sources, and it says plainly where its knowledge ends.

It also means the community names its tools plainly, as what they are. What you find here is offered for your own understanding. What you do with it is yours.

A passage

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Source: The Bible (King James Version), Psalm 51:6, 1611

A question to sit with

When I use a tool that is new to me, do I ask what it is and where its answers come from?

A practice to try

Next time you use Ask the Commons, read one of the passages it cites directly from the library. Compare what the answer says about it with what you find in the full context. Notice what the source adds when it speaks for itself.