Fractal Circle User Manual

What is Fractal Circle?

Fractal Circle is a collaborative decision-making tool that helps groups of people discuss ideas, vote on proposals, and select representatives through multiple rounds of discussion—all within Telegram.

Think of it as a “fractal” because the structure repeats: small discussion circles eventually distill down to the most important ideas and the people who should represent them.

How It Works: The Journey

Step 1: You Get an Invite

Someone invites you to join a Fractal Circle meeting on a specific topic. You’ll receive an invite message on Telegram with a link to join.

What to do: Tap the link and confirm you want to participate. You’re now part of the Fractal!

Step 2: The Fractal Starts

When the organizer launches the meeting, Telegram sends you a message saying:

🚀 Fractal ‘[Topic]’ has started!

👥 You’re in a Circle with [X] other members

💬 Chat with your Circle members in this private group chat

📝 Open the Dashboard to make proposals and vote

Step 3: You’re in Your First Circle

You’re now part of a Circle—a small group (typically 4-8 people) who will discuss the topic together.

Two things happen:

A private Telegram group chat opens where you can chat with your Circle members
You can open the Dashboard (a web app) to propose ideas and vote

Inside the Dashboard: Round 1

Phase A: Proposal & Discussion Phase (First Half of Round)

For the first half of the round time, you and your Circle focus on:

📝 Making Proposals

Click “+ New Proposal” to add your idea
Give it a title and detailed description
Hit “Post”—it’s now visible to your Circle

Example proposal:

Title: “Weekly team standups on Monday mornings”
Description: “Brief 15-minute sync to align on priorities and blockers…”

💬 Adding Comments

All proposals will be shown one at a time on the Dashboard
Add comments to refine the idea, ask questions, or add details
You can add comments throughout the entire round—even during voting phase

⭐ Voting on Comments (1-3 Stars)

Each comment gets a star rating:
- ⭐ = “Interesting point”
- ⭐⭐ = “Good observation”
- ⭐⭐⭐ = “Excellent point”
This helps the group identify the most valuable feedback

Phase B: Voting Phase (Second Half of Round)

Important: About halfway through the round, you’ll get a Telegram message:

ℹ️ Half of the time for this round is over

Now is the time to vote on all proposals and select a group representative

When this happens:

No new proposals can be created
Comments are still welcome—keep discussing!
Focus shifts to voting

🗳️ Voting on Proposals (1-10 Score)

You vote on all proposals in your Circle by giving each one a score:

1-3: Interesting idea, but not a priority
4-6: Worth considering
7-8: Strong idea, should move forward
9-10: Excellent—definitely should continue to next round

How voting works:

Read the proposal
Click the scoring stars (1-10)
Your vote is recorded instantly
You can change your vote anytime before the round closes

What happens to your votes:

The system ranks all proposals by their average scores
The top 2 proposals from your Circle move to the next round
Low-scoring proposals are archived

🥇 Voting for Your Circle Representative

Near the end of the voting phase, you select who should represent your Circle in the next round.

How it works:

You have 3 points to allocate:

🥇 Gold (3 points) – Your top choice
🥈 Silver (2 points) – Your second choice
🥉 Bronze (1 point) – Your third choice

Who can you vote for?

Anyone in your Circle except yourself

What happens:

Votes are tallied
The person with the most points becomes your Circle’s representative
If there’s a tie, the system picks the representative

Round 1 Ends

When the round timer expires:

ℹ️ The round has ended!

The system automatically:

✅ Calculates final proposal scores
✅ Selects your Circle’s representative
✅ Prepares the next round

Round 2+ (If There Are More Circles)

If there are other Circles, a Round 2 begins.

Who Participates in Round 2?

Only representatives from Round 1 Circles move forward. You’ll see a Telegram message:

🚀 The Next Round has started!

⚡ You have been selected to represent your Circle!

If you weren’t selected as a representative, the Fractal journey ends for you—but you can still view the final results later.

What’s Different in Round 2?

For representatives:

You’re now in a new Circle with representatives from other first-round Circles
The top 2 proposals from your old Circle are automatically in this new Circle
You cannot create new proposals ❌
You can add comments to existing proposals ✅
You vote on proposals (1-10 scoring) ✅
You vote for a new representative (Gold/Silver/Bronze) ✅

The round structure is identical to Round 1, just with pre-selected proposals.

Rounds Continue Until One Circle Remains

The fractal keeps dividing like this:

Round 1:  8 Circles of 8 people each (64 people)
           → Top 2 proposals per Circle = 16 proposals
           
Round 2:  8 Representatives (from 8 Circles) = 1 new Circle
           → Top 2 proposals from R2 = 2 proposals
           
Round 3:  1 Representative from Round 2
           → Fractal ends (only 1 person left)

The exact number of rounds depends on your Circle sizes and how many people participated.

The Final Results

When the Fractal ends, you’ll see the Results Page:

What’s Displayed:

🏆 Top Ideas (Ranked by Score)

All proposals that made it to the final round, sorted by their total vote score

Each proposal shows:

Title & Description
Final Score (sum of all votes from all rounds)
Top Comments (highest-rated ones—low-scored comments are hidden)

Example:

🥇 "Weekly team standups on Monday mornings" 
   Score: 87/10
   
💬 Top Comments:
"This would really help sync across timezones" ⭐⭐⭐ 
"Consider async updates too for remote teams" ⭐⭐

🎖️ Circle Representatives

The final Circle’s members and their selection journey:

Shows who was selected to represent at each round
Their vote counts from the representative selections

Dashboard Features

💬 Chat

Private Telegram group chat with your Circle
This conversation is private and will not be stored.
Stay on topic—focus on the proposals!

📊 Dashboard Buttons & Navigation

Proposal Cards:

See all comments and votes
Add your own comment
Cast your vote

Rep Voting Card:

Shows Circle members
Shows final representatives and their medals (at the end)
Allocate your Gold/Silver/Bronze votes here

Tips for Great Participation

Before the Round Starts

✅ Read the Fractal topic carefully
✅ Think about what matters most to you
✅ Introduce yourself in the Circle chat
✅ Share your ideas and get some feedback.

During Proposal Phase

✅ Ask clarifying questions in comments
✅ Build on others’ ideas
✅ Rate comments that add real value
✅ Keep proposals focused and specific
✅ Use clear language—avoid jargon

During Voting Phase

✅ Vote on all proposals
✅ Vote based on merit, not friendship
✅ Think about what’s truly best for the group
✅ Be fair—use the full 1-10 scale
✅ Choose your representative for their integrity and understanding, not popularity

General Best Practices

✅ Stay respectful and constructive
✅ Listen to different perspectives
✅ Vote honestly—it matters!
✅ Don’t spam or post off-topic messages
✅ If you disagree, use comments to explain your thinking

Common Questions

Q: What if I miss the voting phase?

A: Votes are tallied automatically when the round ends. You can still vote right up to the last minute. But try not to wait—vote early so you don’t miss the deadline!

Q: Can I change my votes?

A: Yes! You can change your proposal votes anytime before the round closes. For representative voting, you can update your Gold/Silver/Bronze allocation.

Q: What if my proposal doesn’t make the top 2?

A: Only the top 2 proposals advance to the next round. But your comments and ideas may have influenced other proposals—that’s how Fractals work! The best ideas rise to the top across all proposals.

Q: Can I see who voted for whom?

A: No, voting is anonymous. You can’t see other people’s individual votes—only the final scores and results. (Full vote information is stored in the database)

Q: What if I’m a representative in Round 2—do I have to participate?

A: You’re expected to! Representatives carry the voice of their Circle forward. If you can’t make it, let the organizer know ASAP.

Q: How are ties broken?

A: If two proposals or candidates have the same score, the system uses a tiebreaker (e.g., who got more votes, or a random selection). The organizer will explain their specific tiebreaker rules.

Q: Can I go back and see old rounds?

A: Yes! After the Fractal ends, you can view the history of all rounds, proposals, and voting. This creates a transparent record of the decision-making process.

Q: What if someone is rude or off-topic?

A: Report it to the Fractal organizer. They can moderate or remove disruptive members. The fractal is also self-organising and disruptive members will unlikely go the a second round.

Accessibility & Technical

Supported Devices

✅ Mobile (iOS/Android) – Telegram web app
✅ Desktop (Mac/Windows) – Telegram web app

Telegram Setup

You must have Telegram installed or use Telegram Web
Automatic login via the “Dashboard” button in Telegram
No separate password needed

Before You Start

Pre-Fractal Checklist

Join the Telegram group invite
Read the Fractal topic description

What to Expect Timewise

Quick Decision (20-30 minutes per round):

For fast feedback or smaller groups
Example: Weekly team priorities

Standard Decision (1-2 hours per round):

For team meetings or group decisions
Example: Product feature prioritization

Deep Deliberation (1-3 days per round):

For major organizational decisions
Example: Company strategy or policy changes

The organizer sets the round duration at the start—you’ll be told how long each round lasts.

Privacy & Data

Your votes are private – No one sees who you voted for
Your messages in the group are shared with Circle members
Proposals and comments are visible to your Circle only
Final results are visible to all Fractal participants
Data is kept until the organizer deletes the Fractal

Getting Help

During the Fractal:

Ask the Fractal organizer for help
Message in your Circle chat if confused about a proposal
Check this manual for how features work

Technical Issues:

Refresh the web app page
Re-open Telegram and tap Dashboard again
Contact the organizer if problems persist

Summary: Your Fractal Journey

✅ Join → Get added to a Circle
✅ Propose & Discuss → Share ideas, add comments, rate feedback
✅ Vote → Score proposals (1-10), choose a representative (Gold/Silver/Bronze)
✅ Advance (if selected) → Move to next round
✅ Repeat → Until final results
✅ View Results → See winning ideas and decision history

The goal: Leverage the wisdom of the whole group to surface the best ideas and select thoughtful representatives at each level.

Last Updated: January 2026
Version: 1.0

For questions or feedback about this manual, contact your Fractal organizer. www.fractalcircles.org.

Fractal Circle Bot Manual