Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions that come up most. If yours is not here, the feedback form reaches a human.
1What is Future Commons, in one paragraph?
A small public library of predictions, open questions, and ideas worth returning to. Nothing is ranked, nothing is pushed at you, and nothing is optimised for the next three seconds of attention. You write something down, you can check it later, and the record stays.
2Who is it for?
People who already keep notes, forecasts, or half-finished essays somewhere, and who would rather put them where someone can answer back. If you only want a feed, this will feel slow. That is on purpose.
3What counts as a prediction here?
One falsifiable sentence with a date or a threshold. “The PS6 will be announced before December 2027” is a prediction. “Sony is in trouble” is a mood. If nothing could ever prove you wrong, it is not a prediction yet.
4Why do you ask for a number as well as a sentence?
Because a number can be scored. A Brier score grades a forecast by how far your confidence sat from the outcome — zero when you were certain and right, one when you were certain and wrong. Half-confident and half-right lands around 0.25. The calculator takes about a minute.
5Is this a forum?
Partly. There is a community feed with categories and replies, but the durable part is the journal: articles filed under Slow Thinking, Prediction Journal, and Community Notes. Threads are where ideas get tested; the journal is where they get kept.
6Can I use AI to write here?
Tools are fine for research, outlining, and translation. A post that is entirely machine-generated, with no observation or judgment behind it, does not belong here. If a tool materially shaped the piece, say so in one line at the top.
7How is the writing judged?
By whether it is worth returning to in six months, not by how many people opened it. Editorial standards are published, and every article carries a depth badge — Quick note, Reflection, or Deep essay — so you know the commitment before you start reading.
8Do you track me?
No analytics pixels, no advertising, no algorithmic feed. The privacy policy lists everything that is stored and why, in plain language, and it is shorter than this page.
9How do I start?
Six steps, in order, on the Start here page. The short version: read one thing, write one thing down, give it a number, come back and resolve it.
10Can I link to you?
Yes, and there are three badges for it on the Link to page. No script, no tracking, just an image and a link.