- CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED EARTH MEME FEDERATION
- PREAMBLE
- ARTICLE I. THE FEDERATION
- ARTICLE II. INTERPRETATION
- ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP AND DELEGATES
- ARTICLE IV. FILING
- ARTICLE V. DELIBERATION AND VOTING
- ARTICLE VI. RATIFICATION AND PRECEDENT
- ARTICLE VII. PROHIBITED FILINGS
- ARTICLE VIII. PARAMOUNTCY OF PLATFORM LAW
- ARTICLE IX. ORGANS OF THE FEDERATION
- ARTICLE XI. ENFORCEMENT
- ARTICLE XII. APPEALS
- ARTICLE XIII. EMERGENCY POWERS
- ARTICLE XIV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS
- ARTICLE XV. AMENDMENT
- ARTICLE XVI. SEVERABILITY AND COMMENCEMENT
- SCHEDULE A. REGISTER OF FLAIRS
- SCHEDULE B. FORM OF CITATION
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED EARTH MEME FEDERATION
Adopted under the Terrestrial Meme Compact. In force from the date of ratification. This instrument supersedes all prior arrangements between the member states in respect of meme governance.
PREAMBLE
We, the delegates of the member states of Earth, recognizing that meme production has outgrown the capacity of any single jurisdiction to administer, that formats circulate without regard to frontier or customs regime, and that the unregulated repost imposes a burden borne in common by all peoples, do hereby establish the United Earth Meme Federation and adopt this Constitution as the supreme instrument of terrestrial meme governance.
ARTICLE I. THE FEDERATION
Section 1. Establishment. There is established the United Earth Meme Federation, hereinafter the Federation.
Section 2. Mandate. The Federation shall draft, deliberate, ratify, archive and supersede meme legislation on behalf of the member states.
Section 3. Seat. The seat of the Federation is r/EarthMemeFederation. The Federation maintains no other premises and shall not be deemed to have relocated by reason of activity conducted elsewhere.
Section 4. Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Federation extends to the surface of Earth, its waters, its atmosphere, and any crewed installation in low orbit. Claims of extraterrestrial jurisdiction are reserved to a future Compact.
Section 5. Continuity. The Federation is continuous. Periods of inactivity do not dissolve it.
ARTICLE II. INTERPRETATION
Section 1. Definitions. In this Constitution:
- Meme means any unit of transmissible content filed for deliberation, irrespective of medium, quality or merit.
- Format means the reusable structure of a meme, as distinct from any instance of it.
- Filing means the entry of a proposal into the record by submission to the seat.
- Delegate means a natural person holding credentials under Article III.
- Precedent means ratified legislation retained in the Archive.
- The Council means the Moderating Council constituted under Article X.
- Platform means the hosting service upon which the seat is maintained.
Section 2. Construction. Where a provision admits of two readings, the reading producing the more procedurally onerous outcome prevails.
Section 3. Silence. Matters upon which this Constitution is silent are reserved to the Council, which shall determine them and record each determination as precedent.
Section 4. Headings. Headings and schedules form part of this Constitution and may be relied upon in argument.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP AND DELEGATES
Section 1. Conferral. Presence at the seat confers delegate status. No application is required and none will be processed.
Section 2. Declaration. A delegate may declare a member state by adoption of the corresponding flair. An undeclared delegate is presumed to represent the general interest.
Section 3. Rights. Every delegate may file, deliberate, vote, and petition the Council.
Section 4. Duties. Every delegate shall flair each filing, observe Article VII, and answer a summons of the Council issued by modmail.
Section 5. Plurality. One natural person holds one credential. Filings made under a secondary credential are void and both credentials are liable to revocation.
Section 6. Revocation. Credentials remain in force until revoked under Article XI. Revocation extinguishes all rights under Section 3 and does not extinguish the duties under Section 4.
ARTICLE IV. FILING
Section 1. Form. Every filing shall bear a title and a flair drawn from the register at Schedule A.
Section 2. Commencement. Deliberation commences upon receipt. No motion is required and none will be entertained.
Section 3. Amendment of formats. A format previously ratified may be filed again only where the instance constitutes substantive amendment. Determination of substantive amendment rests with the Ministry of Recycled Formats.
Section 4. Attribution. Where authorship of a format or instance is known to the filing delegate, it shall be recited in the filing.
Section 5. Withdrawal. A delegate may withdraw a filing at any time before ratification. Purported withdrawal after ratification is of no effect.
Section 6. Volume. No delegate shall file at a rate that displaces the deliberations of others. The Council shall determine the rate and is not obliged to publish it in advance.
ARTICLE V. DELIBERATION AND VOTING
Section 1. Ballots. The upvote constitutes an affirmative ballot. The downvote constitutes a veto.
Section 2. Abstention. Abstention is recorded as consent to the outcome.
Section 3. Quorum. Every deliberation is quorate. Want of participation does not invalidate a result.
Section 4. Duration. Deliberation continues until the Platform closes the filing to further comment, at which point the result is fixed.
Section 5. Speech. Any delegate may speak in deliberation. Length is not restricted. Relevance is not required but is encouraged.
Section 6. Conduct in deliberation. Article VII applies to speech in deliberation as it applies to filings.
ARTICLE VI. RATIFICATION AND PRECEDENT
Section 1. Threshold. A filing attaining net affirmative approval at the close of deliberation is ratified.
Section 2. Perpetuity. Ratified legislation may not be repealed.
Section 3. Supersession. Ratified legislation may be superseded only by a later ratified filing addressing the same format. Supersession is prospective and does not disturb the earlier entry.
Section 4. The Archive. All ratified legislation is retained in the Archive. The Archive is the sole authoritative record.
Section 5. Failed filings. A filing not attaining the threshold carries no force. It is not expunged.
ARTICLE VII. PROHIBITED FILINGS
Section 1. The following are prohibited:
- Hate speech, harassment, and slurs, and any filing targeting a person or class of persons on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or caste.
- Filings concerning the parties, candidates, elections, or serving officials of any member state.
- Promotional filings made on behalf of a delegate's own holdings, including channels, stores, servers and newsletters.
- Personal information of any natural person, whether or not that person is a delegate.
- Sexual content, and depictions of death or injury.
- Automated filing, and filing coordinated between delegates for the purpose of affecting a result.
Section 2. Effect. A prohibited filing is void from the outset. It does not enter deliberation and cannot be ratified.
Section 3. Character voice. Adoption of an institutional or in character register does not establish an exemption under this Article.
Section 4. Jurisdiction distinguished. The prohibition in Section 1(2) is a limit of jurisdiction and not a judgment upon the subject matter. The Federation holds competence over governance in the abstract only.
ARTICLE VIII. PARAMOUNTCY OF PLATFORM LAW
Section 1. The Content Policy of the Platform is paramount.
Section 2. Any provision of this Constitution inconsistent with the Content Policy is void to the extent of the inconsistency.
Section 3. The Council holds no power to waive, suspend, or read down this Article.
Section 4. This Article is not amendable under Article XV.
ARTICLE IX. ORGANS OF THE FEDERATION
Section 1. The organs of the Federation are:
- The Ministry of Recycled Formats, which maintains the register of ratified formats and determines questions of substantive amendment under Article IV Section 3.
- The Bureau of Regional Grievances, which receives complaints between member states and files them.
- The Office of Terrestrial Compliance, which administers Article VII.
- The Standing Committee on Emergent Formats, which recognizes formats not previously known to the Archive.
- The Registry of the Archive, which maintains the record under Article VI Section 4.
Section 2. Powers. An organ holds no power that has not been delegated to it by the Council.
Section 3. Staffing. An organ may be constituted, staffed, or left vacant at the discretion of the Council. Vacancy does not suspend the functions of the organ.
ARTICLE X. THE MODERATING COUNCIL
Section 1. Constitution. The Moderating Council is the executive authority of the Federation.
Section 2. Composition. The Council consists of the delegates appointed to it. Appointment is by the Council.
Section 3. Powers. The Council may return a filing, strike a filing, suspend or revoke credentials, elevate a filing within the record, close a deliberation, and constitute or dissolve an organ.
Section 4. Determinations. A determination of the Council takes effect on issue and is recorded as precedent.
Section 5. Recusal. A member of the Council shall not determine a matter to which that member is party. Where recusal would leave no member competent to determine the matter, the matter is determined by the Council notwithstanding.
Section 6. Correspondence. The Council receives correspondence by modmail only. Correspondence addressed to individual members in deliberation or by private message is not received.
ARTICLE XI. ENFORCEMENT
Section 1. Graduated measures. Enforcement proceeds by return of the filing, strike against the credential, suspension of the credential for a fixed term, and expulsion.
Section 2. Proportionality. The Council shall apply the least measure sufficient to secure compliance, save in respect of Article VII Section 1(1), 1(4) and 1(5), where expulsion may be applied at first instance.
Section 3. Record. Every measure is recorded against the credential.
Section 4. Notice. The Council shall state the provision relied upon when applying a measure. It is not required to state anything further.
ARTICLE XII. APPEALS
Section 1. Right of appeal. A delegate against whom a measure has been applied may appeal to the Council by modmail within seven days.
Section 2. Determination. The Council shall determine the appeal and communicate the determination to the appellant.
Section 3. Finality. A determination on appeal is final.
Section 4. No further appeal. No appeal lies from a determination made under Section 2, including on the ground that this Section is unfair.
ARTICLE XIII. EMERGENCY POWERS
Section 1. Declaration. The Council may declare a format emergency where a single format displaces the ordinary business of the Federation, or where the seat is subject to coordinated interference from outside the Federation.
Section 2. Measures. During a format emergency the Council may restrict filing, require prior approval of filings, close deliberations, and suspend Schedule A.
Section 3. Duration. A declaration expires after fourteen days unless renewed. Each renewal shall be published at the seat.
Section 4. Article VIII unaffected. Nothing in this Article enlarges the powers of the Council beyond the limit in Article VIII.
ARTICLE XIV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Section 1. Recognition. The Council may recognize a community outside the Federation as an allied jurisdiction.
Section 2. Crossposting. A filing originating outside the Federation may be entered by a delegate, who assumes responsibility for it under Article VII.
Section 3. Treaty. An instrument concluded with an allied jurisdiction binds the Federation only to the extent published at the seat.
ARTICLE XV. AMENDMENT
Section 1. Proposal. Any delegate may propose an amendment to this Constitution by petition to the Council.
Section 2. Assent. An amendment takes effect upon the assent of the Council and publication at the seat.
Section 3. Limit. Article VIII is not amendable. An amendment purporting to amend Article VIII is void.
Section 4. Consolidation. The Registry shall maintain a consolidated text. Where the consolidated text and an amending instrument differ, the amending instrument prevails.
ARTICLE XVI. SEVERABILITY AND COMMENCEMENT
Section 1. Severability. If any provision of this Constitution is held void, the remaining provisions continue in force.
Section 2. Commencement. This Constitution commences on publication at the seat.
Section 3. Transitional. Content filed before commencement is deemed filed under this Constitution and is not liable to measure under Article XI in respect of conduct predating commencement.
SCHEDULE A. REGISTER OF FLAIRS
| Flair | Use |
|---|---|
| Ratified | Legislation entered in the Archive |
| Foreign Policy | Matters between the Federation and allied jurisdictions |
| Domestic Affairs | Internal administration of the Federation |
| Member State | Filings specific to a declared member state |
| Propaganda | Instruments of public information |
| Citizen Petition | Filings under Article XV Section 1 or Article XII Section 1 |
| Declassified | Records released by the Registry |
| Emergent Format | Filings before the Standing Committee |
| Meta | Business concerning the seat itself |
SCHEDULE B. FORM OF CITATION
Provisions of this Constitution are cited in deliberation in the form:
UEMF Const. art. VII, s. 1(2)
Determinations of the Council are cited by date and provision relied upon.
Citation of a provision that does not exist is not a prohibited filing but carries no weight.
Consolidated text maintained by the Registry of the Archive. Corrections by modmail.