Ages 9–14 · Grades 4–8 · Civics & Online Safety
CharterForge
Any shared world — a server, a club, a class project — lasts only if its rules are built right. The economist Elinor Ostrom found eight things every community that governs something together gets right. Write a charter that covers all eight, set fair step-by-step consequences, and learn to spot the shape of an unsafe approach — where the safe move is always to stop and tell a trusted adult.
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Meet the cast — the characters who teach this
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Kithe Embodies clear boundaries (Ostrom principle 1) - draws the friendly circle of who belongs to the community and what the shared world is, so everyone knows the edges -
Fairny Embodies fair, fitting rules (congruence) - makes rules that match how the community actually plays AND shares the work and the fun fairly, not just equally-on-paper -
Sayla Embodies a say in the rules (collective choice) - makes sure the people who must follow the rules help make and change them, quiet voices included; a rule people help write is a rule they keep -
Watchet Embodies watching together (monitoring) - keeps gentle shared watch over the common world (looking out FOR people, not spying), and teaches that if something feels wrong the brave move is to tell a trusted grown-up -
Rungo Embodies step-by-step consequences (graduated sanctions) - starts on the gentle bottom rung for a first slip and climbs only for repeated or serious trouble, never straight to the harshest -
Cordy Embodies settling it fairly (conflict resolution) - gives every disagreement a quick, cheap, friendly place to be heard and sorted, catching snags while they are still small