### What are instances at liqd.net?

Instances are areas for groups. Groups can be formal organisations or informal groups. All users who are a member of a specific instance can - depending on their user status - read up on discussions in the instance, contribute to the subjects discussed there and/ or vote on proposals. Instances can be closed and allow access only to their members, or open to anyone.

### When does it make sense to create a new instance?

When none of the existing instances covers the subject area you wish to discuss you can create your own instance. Since proposals in an instance can only be seen by its registered members it might make more sense to join an existing open instance to discuss your proposal since it will be seen by more users. Your proposal should, of course, belong to the subject area of the instance you choose.

### What's the difference between instances and proposals?

Organisations are an area for a group of people who want to discuss and vote on certain subjects. Proposals, on the other hand, are propositions to change the standpoint of the respecting group towards a specific subject and can be discussed and consequently adopted or rejected by the group

### Who can create an instance?

Anyone can create an instance. Since proposals and discussions in an instance can only be seen by its registered members it often makes more sense to join an existing open instance and discuss your ideas there.

### What characters are allowed in the instance's URL?

The URL you choose for your instance can only contain numbers and letters.

### Why is the description of the instance important?

New users can only see the title of the instance on the overview page. It helps those users to find instances they are interested in if all instances have a short description explaining whom they address and who can join them.

### What are the options for `Majority`?

Possible majority settings are:

1. two-thirds majority
2. simple majority (1/2 of votes)
3. unanimous decision.

There is no default setting - which majority setting is the most sensible must be decided according to the specific area of application.

Background information: `Majority` defines what proportion of voters must approve of a proposal for it to become active.

-->

### What the options for `delay`?

This setting specifies for what interval the majority defined above must be continuously held by a proposal before the proposal is adopted. Longer delays minimise the risk that decisions are made before all those concerned have the chance to take part in the discussion and vote.

### What is an `observer`?

Observers have full read and write permission in an instance but can't vote or delegate.

### What is a `voter`?

Voters have full read and write permission and can vote, delegate their vote and receive delegations from others.

### What is a `supervisor`?

Supervisors have the same rights as voters and can additionally change the settings of their instance.

### What is a `advisor`?

Advisors have all rights except the right to vote.

### What image file formats can I use to upload a logo?

The logo file can be a `png` or a `jpeg` file. A transparent `png` image usually yields the best results.

### What can I see when I click on the `Members` menu item?

The `Members` link directs you to the list of all users that are members of this instance, and you can see every user's status (voter, observer, supervisor, advisor). You can view the users' profile pages by clicking on their names.

### Who can change the rules?

After the instance is created, all members who have `supervisor` rights can alter the rules settings (majority, delay, default group for new members).