What to set up, what to say to each visitor, what to mark in the log as they go. Keep this sheet at the archive end of the board.
The one rule above all the others: you keep the board tidy and never touch the answer.
You don't suggest, you don't hint, you don't file anyone's note, you don't place strokes. When a visitor asks
"where should this go?", the answer is "your call."
1. Before opening
The log. Five sections, numbered: §01 the tally chart (gate strokes, one row per hour),
§02 the stack register, §03 the archive log, §04 close-out,
§05 the scoreboard. Print it landscape.
The layout. Two strips at ~10 cm pitch; Wall of Why above, Field below; letter cards under Field stacks; the Archive and you at the right-hand end.
Upper strip — the Wall of Why. Pink and coral stacks, any order. No letters.
Lower strip — the Field. Aqua/lime stacks in one line. A letter card (A, B, C …)
pinned just under each stack. Stacks that are close in meaning sit next to each other; a hand's-width gap
marks "different kind of answer." If you run out of room, add a second board to the right — never a second row.
Neighbours must be neighbours along one line.
The Archive — a box with the logbook, at the right-hand end of the Field. That is also where you stand.
The issue card — at eye level where visitors arrive, before they can see the Field.
Checklist
Both strips clear; letter cards A–Z in a pile, none pinned
Pink, coral, aqua and lime pads; fine-tip markers (numbers have to fit in a corner)
Timer; hand stamp (one visit per person per Saturday)
The capitol's answer sealed in an envelope, not opened until close
2. The visit — what to say, what to watch, what to mark
Every visitor gets the same words in the same order. Read them; don't improvise. Marks go on the
tally chartlog §01: one five-bar gate stroke — four uprights, the fifth across — in the
column for what just happened, on the current row. Make the stroke at the moment, never from memory at the end of the
visit. On the hour, move down a row.
0
Arrival
"Welcome. This takes about five minutes and there's a fixed order — I'll talk you through it. First, can I stamp your hand? One visit each."
Mark
One stroke in Visitors.
1
Say where it hurts
Read the issue card aloud, word for word. Hand them a pink or coral note.
"Before anything else: how does this issue touch your life? What does it cost you, or someone you know? One pink or coral note. Don't look at the ideas board yet."
When they've written it: "Now look along the Wall of Why — just the top note of each pile. If one already says your pain, stick yours on top of it and write its number plus one in the corner. If none does, start a new pile with a 1."
Watch
Looking at the lower strip (turn them back — kindly). Forgetting the number (remind them; never write it for them).
Mark
One stroke in Pink/coral · on top or Pink/coral · new.
2
First instinct
Hand them an aqua note. Stand between them and the Field if you have to.
"Now, before you read a single idea from anyone else: what's your gut answer to the question? Half-formed is fine. Obvious is fine. There's no wrong answer here."
Watch
Reading the Field before they've finished writing. This is the step the whole method depends on.
Mark
Nothing yet.
3
Post it
"Now you can look at the ideas — but your note is finished. Post it exactly as written, not a word changed, even if you see one you like better.
If a pile's top note says what yours says, put yours on top and write its number plus one. If nothing says it, start a new pile with a 1 — put it beside the pile it's most like, or leave a hand's gap if it's not like anything here."
If they ask where it goes: "Your call. It's a filing question — you're the only one who knows what you meant."
If it's a new stack: pin the next letter card under it. If it went between two stacks, slide the others along to
make room — keep the order, keep the gaps.
Watch
Editing the note. Putting it on a pile because it's tall. Letting you decide.
Mark
One stroke in Aqua · on top, Aqua · new, or Aqua · new-gap.
If new: a line in the stack register log §02 — letter, row, first wording, gap-before yes/no.
4
Read
Start the timer, 75 seconds.
"Now read the board: the top note of every pile on both strips, and the number in its corner. That's the whole picture — every pain and how many share it, every idea as it currently stands and how much people have built on it. You don't need to dig underneath; the numbers carry the history."
Watch
Lifting notes to read beneath (allowed, not required — don't stop them, don't encourage them). Skipping the Wall of Why.
Mark
Nothing.
5
Add
"Two optional things. One lime note: if someone else's idea makes you think 'almost — but I'd say it like this,' write your version. Put it on top of their pile if it's a rewording, or start a new pile right beside theirs if it's a real variation. Any pile — not just the tall ones. And one more pink or coral note — only for a pain that isn't on the wall yet."
Watch
A lime note on their own aqua (not allowed — "on someone else's idea"). A second pink or coral note going on top of an existing pile (not allowed — "new piles only; if it's already there, your number's already counted").
Mark
One stroke in Lime · on top or Lime · beside (beside = new letter card + register line); nothing if no lime. One stroke in 2nd pink/coral if placed.
6
Trim
"Last step. You have three strokes — tally marks in the bottom corner of a top note in the Field. Put one on an idea that, as it's worded now, would make what's on the Wall of Why worse. Not on piles you've added to today; no more than two on one note; nothing on the Wall of Why.
Three strokes takes a note off. If yours is the third, lift it and hand it to me. The one underneath becomes the top — you've rejected that wording, not the idea."
Watch
Strokes on their own stacks, a third stroke by the same person, strokes on the Wall of Why, strokes on a buried note.
Mark
One stroke in Strokes · own per stroke they place. One in Lifts per note handed to you, and a line in the archive log log §03 for each — row, stack letter, colour, what it said, height of the stack after. If they placed no strokes at all, one stroke in No strokes.
7
Leaving
"That's it — thank you. Come back at [closing time] if you want to see what the board decided."
Mark
Nothing — unless you missed a stroke, in which case a ? in the row's Observations cell beats a guess.
The table (two or three visitors at once)
Run each visitor through steps 0–6 individually — stagger them, stand between them if needed. Only when all have finished step 6:
"You've each finished. You've got two minutes to talk about what's on the board — then each of you gets one more stroke."
Mark
Time it. Their extra strokes go in Strokes · table, not the ordinary strokes column — so the table's effect stays measurable.
3. Questions you will be asked, and the answers
They ask
You say
"Where does this go?"
"Your call. Beside the one it's most like, or on top of one that says the same thing."
"Can I move that note?"
"No. You can build on it with a lime note, or put a stroke on it. Nothing moves sideways or up."
"Can I take my own note down?"
"No. Only other people's strokes take a note off."
"Which pile is winning?"
"The numbers are on the notes. At close we add each pile to its neighbours and read it out."
"What's underneath?"
"Earlier wordings. You can lift a corner, but you don't need to — the number tells you how many."
"Is that a good idea?" / "What do you think?"
"I don't get a vote — that's the point of me."
"Can I put a stroke on a pink or coral note?"
"No. The pain is the question, not an answer."
"Two of these piles are the same idea."
"Then they'll stand next to each other, and at close they count together. I don't merge them."
"This pile's in the wrong place."
"You can start a new pile where you think it belongs. I don't move them."
"Can I write more than one idea?"
"One aqua, one lime. If you've got two ideas, the second one is next Saturday's."
4. Housekeeping — the things you do do
Letter cards. Next letter to every new Field stack, the moment it goes up. Card stays with its stack if the stack slides.
Sliding. When a visitor starts a stack between two others, slide stacks along to make room. Order never changes; gaps never close or open. If you slide, nothing about the answer has changed.
Lifting. The visitor who places the third stroke lifts the note and hands it to you. Check it really has three, then box it and log it. If a stack empties, note "extinct" in the register and leave the letter card up.
On the hourlog §01. Count the Field stacks and write the number in Stacks now. Find the leader — the letter whose height plus both neighbours' heights (not across a gap) is biggest — and write letter and total in Leader. Then move down a row. The first two hours are split into half-hour rows, because the board changes fastest early.
Saturation check (once, mid-afternoon): if lifts so far are close to strokes ÷ 3, every stroke is completing a removal — note "board saturated" in observations. If strokes are being placed but almost nothing is lifted, note "board scattered." Either way, don't change the rules today — that's for next week's header.
Settling. If the leader hasn't changed for a full hour, tick "settled early" and you may read out before close.
5. Reading the answer at close
Out loud, with anyone who wants to watch:
For each Field stack, in order: read its letter and its number.
For each stack: its number, plus the number to its left, plus the number to its right — not across a gap. Write the total on the close-out sheet log §04, and beside it the strokes showing on that stack's top note — the census of where trimming started and didn't finish.
The biggest total wins. Read the winning stack's top note as the headline, then its neighbours' top notes as the family.
Tie: the taller middle stack. Still tied: read both out; the log records both.
Open the envelope. Fill in the scoreboard.
6. Never
Never suggest, hint, rephrase, or "help with wording."
Never file, move, merge, or split a stack.
Never write a number or a stroke on any note.
Never say which pile is winning before close.
Never let a visitor read the Field before their aqua note is written.
Never reveal the capitol's vote before close — not even a hint.