The Rail Gun Charter
Rail Gun is civic infrastructure. It exists to lower the cost of truth, protect communication without permission, and enable peaceful coordination at scale.
Preamble
Rail Gun is not a weapon. It is a road, a printing press, a public utility for the information age. We build infrastructure that makes violence unnecessary by making truth accessible, lies expensive, and peaceful self-correction possible.
We succeed when a journalist can publish evidence without fear, when families can communicate across hostile borders, when communities can organize mutual aid without surveillance, and when societies can correct themselves without bloodshed.
The Ten Principles
These principles are non-negotiable. Every product decision, every feature, every communication must align with them.
Non-Violence Is Non-Negotiable
Rail Gun never advocates, facilitates, or enables violence, coercion, or physical harm. We design to reduce the conditions that lead to violence by making peaceful alternatives viable.
Infrastructure, Not Agitation
We build roads, not barricades. Printing presses, not weapons. Our purpose is to provide neutral, durable infrastructure that any community can use for lawful purposes.
Truth Without Permission
Every person has the right to communicate, to publish evidence, and to coordinate with others—without requiring approval from any central authority.
Sovereignty At The Edge
Users control their own keys, their own data, and their own relationships. Rail Gun operators cannot read messages or identify users beyond minimal routing metadata.
The Protocol Survives The Operator
The core protocol must remain functional even if Rail Gun is compromised, acquired, or shut down. No single point of failure. No kill switch.
Layered Separation Protects Legitimacy
The Sovereign Core (protocol) is neutral. The Services Layer (enterprise, compliance) is where business happens. These layers are architecturally separate.
Safe Defaults, Deliberate Power
Default settings are safe and appropriate for ordinary communication. Features with elevated risk require explicit user intent and informed consent.
Minimal Retention, Maximum Deletion
We retain the minimum data necessary for routing and never longer than required. Users can delete their data completely.
Legitimacy Through Transparency
Rail Gun publishes its protocols, audits its code, discloses its funding, and operates in the open. Legitimacy is earned through accountability.
No Enemies, Only Problems
We do not personalize adversaries or name targets. We describe problems and build solutions. The goal is a world where everyone can communicate safely.
What Rail Gun Is Not
Operational Commitments
Annual Ethics Audit
Independent review of product decisions against this Charter.
Transparency Reports
Quarterly disclosure of government requests and compliance actions.
No Deceptive Marketing
All claims about security and privacy must be technically verifiable.
Community Governance
Protocol changes require open deliberation and rough consensus.
“This Charter is a living document. Amendments require public deliberation, community consent, and alignment with the principle of non-violence.”