The specification
WRITTEN IN SIMPLIFIED TECHNICAL ENGLISH (ASD-STE100) · ONE MEANING PER WORD · TWENTY WORDS PER SENTENCE · RULEBOOK VERSION 1.24
This page describes the machine so a new reader can check it. The rules define the law. The metrics show the behavior. The audit trail shows every decision. The spec gives the plain words. Together they make the board auditable from every angle.
Technical names
The standard permits a technical name when the page declares it. These are the machine's technical names:
| NAME | MEANING |
|---|---|
| launchduels | The name of the system. |
| PilotDuel | The board for business products. |
| CohortDuel | The board for independent products. |
| duel | A public competition between two products for one seat. |
| seat | The one place in a category that a product can occupy. |
| tenure | The fixed time period that a seated product holds its seat. |
| graduate | To complete the tenure with the required proof. |
| verified joiner | A person who joined a founding cohort and confirmed their email address. |
| activation event | The action that a person must complete to count as a user. |
| the wall | The permanent public record of every graduation. |
| the queue | The public ordered list of products that wait for a seat. |
What the system is
launchduels is a website. Early software products compete on it. Each product belongs to one category. Each category has one seat. The products compete for the seat. The competition is public. The result is permanent.
The two boards
The system has two boards. One engine operates both boards. PilotDuel is for business products. A company buys or uses the product. CohortDuel is for independent products. A person uses the product. Each board has its own rules, its own queue, and its own record.
How a product gets a seat
A founder files the product in a category. Filing is free. If a seat holder exists, the founder can start a duel. The duel is public. On PilotDuel, the crowd votes. The first product with 100 votes wins the seat. On CohortDuel, the crowd does not vote. The first product with 10 verified joiners wins the seat. The duel has a clock. The clock is seven days on PilotDuel and five days on CohortDuel. If no product reaches the bar, the seat holder keeps the seat.
The tenure
The winner holds the seat for a fixed time. The tenure is 25 days on PilotDuel and 10 days on CohortDuel. The tenure clock is public. During the tenure, the product must get real customers or real users. A company signs a pilot agreement on PilotDuel. Persons join the founding cohort on CohortDuel. The cohort is complete when 25 verified joiners exist. When the tenure ends, the seat opens again. A graduate keeps the record. A graduate does not keep the seat.
The proof
Every number on the website has a label. The label shows how the system knows the number. Three labels exist:
- ATTESTED: The founder gave the number. The machine did not confirm it.
- VERIFIED: A machine observed the number. A payment came with a signature check. A join came with an email check.
- AUDITED: The users confirmed the number. Each user gives one answer with one click.
The proof ladder shows four steps for each product: interest, activation, retention, payment. Interest is someone who asked in and nothing more: a claim written in, or a join request with a pending email. The machine counts every join request, but a pending email is interest, not proof (R-20) - it can never make the board look full. The wall records every graduation. The wall is permanent. The queue records the products that wait.
The rules
The rules are public. The rulebook gives each rule a number. The examples are:
- R-01: One seat per category.
- R-03: The queue is first-come.
- R-18: Money can not change a seat state, a queue order, or a count.
- R-19: The tenure has a maximum time.
- R-22: Each number shows how the system knows it.
Each state change names its rule. The audit trail shows every state change. A person can check every decision. The rule about the rules is the Charter: it governs how every constant of the machine changes. The constants live on the balance charter's published triggers, and no constant changes without a version, a snapshot, and a record.
How to start
- Open the website.
- Select one category that matches your product.
- File the product. Filing is free.
- Read the rules.
- Tell persons about the duel. Personal messages move the count. Public posts set the stage.
What the system does not do
- It does not sell seats.
- It does not take equity.
- It does not promise results.
- It does not count one person twice.
THE VOCABULARY USES THE APPROVED WORDS OF THE STANDARD · THE SENTENCES HAVE A MAXIMUM OF TWENTY WORDS · THE VOICE IS ACTIVE · THE TENSE IS PRESENT · THE TECHNICAL NAMES ARE DECLARED ABOVE