---
title: "Participating means enacting protocols"
description: "Membership is defined by which protocol clusters an agent adopts"
url: "/participating-means-enacting-protocols/"
tags: [core]
readingPathPosition: 3
---

# Participating means enacting protocols

You are "in" the Fabric network by virtue of the protocols you've adopted. A minimal cluster – perhaps consent-based decision-making, a solidarity contribution, and a feedback practice – constitutes basic membership. Deeper involvement means adopting more protocols. Specific roles carry specific protocol sets. The result is a topology of shared commitments, shaped by patterns of protocol adoption.

The network's shape emerges from below, from the agency of its members. Different members adopt different protocol clusters, creating a web where some connections are dense (many shared protocols) and others thinner (only the minimal set). No central authority determines the topology – it emerges from freely adopted commitments. The [protocol areas](/living-systems-become-protocol-areas.md) show what these clusters look like in practice.

_[interactive diagram: NetworkDiagram]_

*Hover over nodes to see adopted protocols. Layout follows connection density.*

## In this vault

- Previous: [Agency in relationship builds collective power](/agency-in-relationship-builds-collective-power.md)
- Next: [Every protocol has three inseparable layers](/every-protocol-has-three-inseparable-layers.md)
- Referenced by: [Fabric is a web of relationships](/fabric-is-a-web-of-relationships.md), [Start with simple rules](/start-with-simple-rules.md)