The Problem with Platforms
To connect with people outside your community, you've always needed a middleman.
Platform Approach
Everyone joins the same platform. Your data flows through corporate infrastructure. The platform decides who can connect, how, and what they can see.
Federation Approach
Each village remains sovereign. Communities connect through bilateral agreements. Your data stays in your village. Either party can disconnect at any time.
Federation means connection without surrender. You can reach across community boundaries without giving up control of your data or governance.
What is Village Federation?
A formal agreement between two villages to enable secure cross-community communication.
Federation Definition
A bilateral agreement between two sovereign villages that enables specific types of cross-community interaction while preserving each village's independence, data sovereignty, and governance autonomy.
Think of it like a diplomatic relationship between nations:
Bilateral
Each federation is between exactly two villages. Both must agree to connect. No central authority decides.
Formal Agreement
Clear terms define what's enabled, what's shared, and how either party can exit. No ambiguity.
Sovereignty Preserved
Your village's data, governance, and membership remain entirely under your control.
"Federation is not about building a bigger network. It's about enabling connection while preserving independence."
Each village can have multiple federations with different villages. Each is separate. There's no central "Village network" you join.
How Federation Works
From proposal to active federation in four steps.
Proposal
A village admin proposes federation with another village. They specify what features to enable (video calling, member discovery) and share their governance principles.
Review
The receiving village reviews the proposal. They see the requesting village's governance principles, requested features, and can verify the village exists.
Approval
The receiving village's admin approves (or rejects) the proposal. Both villages must agree - there's no way to force a federation.
Active
Once approved, members from both villages can use the enabled features. Each member still chooses whether to participate individually.
What's in an Agreement
- Enabled Features: Cross-village video calling, member discovery via federation cards
- Shared Principles: Privacy-first, consent-based, data sovereignty, mutual respect
- Exit Rights: Notice period (7 days default), data retention policy on termination
- Custom Terms: Any additional agreements both villages want to include
Suspension and Termination
Either village can suspend a federation at any time. Suspension immediately disables cross-village features while preserving the agreement for potential resumption. Termination permanently ends the federation.
Example: Suspending for Review
If a federated village experiences a governance dispute, you might suspend the federation while they resolve it. Once resolved, you can resume without creating a new agreement.
The exit door is always open. Either village can suspend instantly or terminate with notice. No lock-in, no penalties.
Layered Consent
Three levels of consent ensure no one is forced into cross-village interaction.
Federation doesn't mean everyone in your village is suddenly reachable by everyone in the federated village. Consent operates at three distinct levels:
Layer 1: Village Agreement
Your village admin approves the federation. This creates the possibility of cross-village interaction, but doesn't enable it for any individual member.
Without village-level agreement, nothing is possible.
Layer 2: Member Opt-In
Each member chooses whether to participate in federation features. By default, you're not discoverable and can't receive calls from other villages.
- Discoverable to federated villages: On/Off
- Accept calls from federated villages: On/Off
- Call permission level: Ask each time / Whitelist only / All federated
Layer 3: Per-Interaction Consent
Even with federation enabled and member opt-in, each call can require explicit acceptance. You see who's calling and from which village before you answer.
Example: Selective Participation
Your family village federates with your cousin's family village. You opt in to federation. Your elderly uncle, who finds video calls stressful, opts out. He's simply not visible or reachable through federation - no explanations needed.
Federation is opt-in at every level. No member is ever exposed to cross-village interaction without their explicit choice.
Federation Cards
Shareable identity links for cross-village discovery.
How do people in other villages find you? Through federation cards - shareable links that reveal only what you choose to share.
What's on a Federation Card
Your display name, your village affiliation, and a way to initiate contact. That's it. No email, no phone, no personal details beyond what you explicitly include in your profile.
Card Preview
Jane Smith
Smith Family Village
How Cards Work
- Generate: Create a federation card from your settings. You get a unique, shareable link.
- Share: Send the link to someone in another village via email, message, or any channel you choose.
- Connect: They click the link. If your villages are federated, they can call you or add you to contacts.
- Revoke: Revoke your card at any time. The link stops working immediately.
Privacy Protections
- Time-Limited: Cards expire after a set period (default 30 days). Old links stop working.
- Minimal Data: Only name and village shown. No contact details exposed.
- Federation Required: Cards only work between federated villages. Random people can't use them.
- GDPR Compliant: Built with data minimization principles from the start.
Federation cards give you control over discovery. You decide who gets your link, and you can revoke it anytime.
Cross-Village Video Calling
Face-to-face communication across community boundaries.
The primary use case for federation: video calling members of other villages without requiring everyone to join the same platform.
Technical Architecture
- WebRTC: Peer-to-peer video using open web standards. No proprietary protocols.
- Self-Hosted TURN: Relay server for NAT traversal hosted on Village infrastructure. No third-party services.
- Sovereign Signaling: Call setup happens through Village servers. No external platforms involved.
Call Flow
Initiate
You click "Call" on a federation card or contact from a federated village.
Verify
System confirms: villages are federated, you've opted in, they've opted in, their settings allow the call.
Ring
They see an incoming call notification showing your name and village. They choose to accept or decline.
Connect
WebRTC connection established directly between your browsers. Video and audio flow peer-to-peer.
What This Replaces
Instead of "let's set up a Zoom call" or "add me on WhatsApp," you simply call them through your village. No accounts to create, no apps to install, no data sent to third parties.
Video calling without platform dependency. Your call data never touches Google, Microsoft, or Zoom servers.
Use Cases
How different village types use federation.
🌳 Family Villages
Extended families often branch across geography. Your immediate family's village can federate with your aunt's family village in Germany, your cousin's family village in New Zealand.
💼 Business Villages
Businesses have suppliers, partners, and contractors who aren't employees but need regular communication. Federation enables direct calling without shared platform accounts.
👥 Community Villages
Neighboring communities, sister cities, or regional networks can federate to share resources and coordinate without merging into a single organization.
Federation works for any relationship where you need regular communication but don't want to merge into a single community.
What Federation Is NOT
Common misconceptions about how Village federation works.
-
A network you join
There's no "Village Federation Network" with membership. Each federation is a separate bilateral agreement.
Instead: You create individual agreements with specific villages you trust. -
Automatic discovery
Federation doesn't make your members searchable by the world. Only members who opt in are discoverable, only through federation cards, only to federated villages.
Instead: Members explicitly share their federation cards with specific people. -
Data sharing
Federation doesn't sync your data with other villages. Your stories, photos, documents, and member data stay entirely in your village.
Instead: Only the minimum data needed for calling (name, village) is visible during interactions. -
Required for Village operation
Federation is entirely optional. Many villages operate perfectly well without any federations.
Instead: You choose if and when to federate based on your community's needs. -
Centrally controlled
There's no central authority that approves, monitors, or controls federations. Village platform operators can't see your federation agreements.
Instead: Each federation is a private agreement between two villages.
Federation adds capability. It doesn't reduce privacy, surrender control, or create dependencies.
Cross-Village Conflict Resolution
When disagreements arise between federated village members, there's a clear path to resolution.
Federation agreements include a built-in conflict resolution process. When issues arise between members of different villages, they don't have to escalate to village-level disputes - there's a structured path to fair resolution.
Three-Tier Resolution
Direct Resolution (7 days)
The parties attempt to resolve the issue directly. Village moderators can facilitate but don't decide. Most disputes resolve through simple dialogue at this level.
Joint Moderator Review (14 days)
Moderators from both villages review together. They may conduct a binding poll among village leadership. Decision requires agreement or majority vote per the federation agreement terms.
Federation Arbitration (30 days)
Escalation to neutral arbitration with a rotating moderator panel. A binding poll with documented quorum requirements produces the final decision.
When Constitutions Differ
Villages may have different governance rules. When they federate, constitutional differences are explicitly identified and both villages agree on how to handle them:
- Origin Rules: Content follows the creator's village constitution (default)
- Stricter Applies: The more restrictive policy applies in disputed cases
- Mutual Recognition: Each village accepts the other's approach for their own members
Conflict resolution is built into every federation agreement. You're never left wondering what happens when things go wrong.
The Constitutional Foundation
Why villages can trust each other: they share the same fundamental protections.
Federation works because every village shares the same base constitution. This isn't just a legal formality - it's the foundation of trust.
What is a Village Constitution?
Every village has a constitution that defines member rights, governance rules, and community values. The base constitution establishes immutable protections - rights that no village can remove or weaken.
Why It Matters for Federation
- Baseline Trust: You know any village you federate with upholds the same fundamental member protections.
- Agreement Boundaries: Federation agreements cannot violate either village's constitution - the system enforces this.
- Your Rights Travel: When you interact with another village, your home village's constitutional protections still apply to you.
Want to understand constitutions in depth?
Learn About Village Constitutions →Getting Started with Federation
Go to Admin > Federation to propose or review federation agreements. You'll need the subdomain of the village you want to federate with.
Go to Settings > Federation to opt in or out of federation features. Generate your federation card to share with contacts in other villages.
Ask your village's help assistant about federation. The AI can walk you through the process step by step.
Ready to Connect?
See how Village enables sovereign communities with federation, Home AI, and more.