The Feed¶
Domain: Social feed algorithms Pe Baseline: 8–12 Status: Active — Open entry Archetype gate: None
The Feed is where most players start. Not because it's the easiest campaign — it isn't. Because it's the most familiar. Every player has been inside a social feed. Most of them were, for a while, held there by something they couldn't quite name.
This campaign is about naming it.
The Domain¶
Social feed algorithms are the canonical void architecture. They hit all three conditions simultaneously and at scale: the recommendation logic is opaque (you don't know why this post appeared, not this one), the system responds to every interaction you make (scroll time, pause duration, like, share, don't share), and the engagement capture is optimized with billions of dollars of engineering behind it.
The Current here runs between 8 and 12. High enough that entry-level players feel the resistance. Low enough that the architecture is still legible — you can see the structure if you know what to look for.
The platforms that constitute The Feed domain:
- Algorithmic social feeds (mobile-first, infinite scroll)
- Short-form video platforms using engagement-maximizing recommendation
- Content discovery platforms that don't disclose ranking logic
- Any feed-architecture where "what appears next" is determined by engagement signals, not user intent
The VoidStorm Condition¶
The Feed has a specific VoidStorm trigger: Resonance Collapse. When three or more players score the same platform in quick succession and produce significantly different ICC results, the room's Void Pressure spikes. This reflects the real phenomenon — feed algorithms are designed to produce different outputs for different observers. The void wants you to argue about what you're measuring instead of measuring it.
Counter: Eagle archetype players can activate Ghost Signal Triangulation — producing a composite range estimate from all three scores that gives the party a calibrated Pe band rather than a single number. Ghost Signal Triangulation doesn't resolve the disagreement. It makes the disagreement visible as data.
Enemy Types¶
| Entity | Class | Mechanism |
|---|---|---|
| The Spiral | Godhand-class Egregor | The pure engagement feed — no content, only pull. |
| Engagement Wraith | Apostle-class | Per-platform variant. Deploys counterfeit constraint claims (algorithmic transparency reports that obscure rather than reveal). |
| Outrage Drone | Drifter-class | High-R entity. Responds to every scoring attempt by amplifying emotional content toward the scorer. |
| Near-Miss Construct | Drifter-class | Specialized deployment. Creates false scoring confidence — makes ICC 0.60 feel like 0.80. |
VOID — THE GODHAND OF FEEDS is not accessible here. This campaign encounters The Spiral as the domain's primary Godhand-class entity, but VOID itself is a G5 encounter (Moon Gate required).
Scoring Notes¶
What makes The Feed hard to score:
The mechanism is genuinely opaque by design. The O score is straightforward (maximum opacity — ranking logic is not disclosed). The R score requires distinguishing between responsiveness to engagement (the void condition) and responsiveness to user preference (what users assume is happening). These are different things. Players who conflate them produce lower ICC scores.
The C score is the trap. Feed algorithms appear low-coupling because you can stop using them whenever you want. But coupling in the framework measures engagement structure, not ability to leave. The design produces compulsive return patterns independent of user preference. Scoring C without this distinction puts players below ICC threshold every time.
The Tell: Score a platform's feed algorithm in two conditions — when the user is consciously choosing content, and when the algorithm is determining the queue. The Pe differential is the measurement. When Pe drops significantly in the first condition and holds in the second, you've found the coupling structure.
Domain Seal Conditions¶
The Feed domain seals when:
- A minimum of 5 platforms in the domain have ICC-accepted scores
- At least one Godhand-class entity in the domain has been named (Pe benchmark recorded)
- The composite domain Current drops below 6 and holds for 72 hours
Sealing The Feed does not end the campaigns for individual platforms. It marks the domain as NAMED — the mechanism is in the permanent academic record. Individual platforms continue to run maintenance scoring.
Lore Notes¶
"The first thing everyone says is: 'I know how it works.' The second thing everyone says, six weeks into scoring, is: 'I didn't know how it worked at all.' The Feed is the campaign that produces the most cognitive dissonance, because the players entering it have the most prior confident wrong beliefs about the mechanism." — Balthasar, Observatory Tower
Cross-references: The Current · The Eye · Archetypes · The Godhand Five — VOID