The Compendium of Buddyalism

Principles · The Compendium of Buddyalism

The Compendium of Buddyalism

This is the code of ethics Noonland stands on, and a mutual agreement: what the platform takes on and what we expect from each other. You don't need to accept the authors' whole philosophy. You need to follow the principles of conversation that come from it

Edition of 13 May 2026 · a living document · the full text is published on the platform

01 · What Buddyalism is

Buddyalism (from the English words buddy and idealism) is an ethical stance in life which holds that:

«Any two people can become friends if they put in mutual effort and time»

The main rule

Always treat every other person as a potential friend - and always try to act so as to keep that possibility alive

This is the starting ethical stance. It gives no guarantee that any given pair can become friends

Key word

«potential»

A potential friend is not yet an actual friend: no credit of trust has been issued, the door has been left open

Key word

«mutual»

Friendship is built by two. The first step is a free choice, continuing requires a response

02 · The four main truths

The four main truths

01
Everyone can be friends
The potential for friendship is universal, but it is always realised mutually: friendship is built by two, through mutual effort and time. A potential friend is not yet an actual friend: no credit of trust has been issued, the door has been left open
02
Free choice and voluntariness
We leave the other person the right to be themselves and keep that right for ourselves: everyone freely chooses their friends and the degree of closeness. Friendship cannot be forced, begged for or owed
03
Mutual respect and a second chance
We try not to pass a final verdict on anyone. The door never closes for good, but a second chance is a possibility to return to trust, not an obligation of the other to put up with things; the return happens only through accepting responsibility and through reciprocity
04
Overcoming fear and strength of character
We become stronger and better when we offer another person the hand of friendship. The first step is a risk only the strong can afford; it is an invitation to reciprocity, not an endless credit

03 · Buddyalism and humanism

Trust that can defend itself

Buddyalism is founded on humanism and inherits its main discovery: the unconditional worth of a human being beyond any tribe, and the moral imperative that the other must always be an end, never only a means

But humanism has a built-in vulnerability: it demands that we keep trust and empathy «by default», regardless of how the other behaves. In any environment where some people exploit this, unconditional openness is defenceless. Buddyalism corrects this asymmetry without giving up what matters most

✦ In short

Openness - at the start. Reciprocity - as the condition for going on. Respect - always

The presumption of humanity is unconditional

Every person always remains a human being and a potential friend. No one is ever put outside the moral space or dehumanised

Trust is mutual

A potential friend has not been issued an unconditional credit of trust; the door has been left open for them. Trust grows through exchange and burns out through exploitation

Boundaries are part of humanity

Respecting another's boundaries and guarding your own is one and the same skill. Someone who systematically destroys the space of cooperation can be excluded from a particular environment - without denying their dignity

A second chance does not cancel responsibility

It is not «keep putting up with it» but «don't pass a final verdict». The return to trust happens through deeds: through recognising boundaries and responsibility, and through reciprocity

A pause is the minimum space of freedom

Not answering a blow with an instant blow is not weakness but the condition of a conscious choice: to set a boundary or to offer a hand

04 · Why it works

Why it works

Classic studies of cooperation (Axelrod's tournaments) showed that the strategies which win in the long run are nice, retaliatory, forgiving and clear. Unconditional kindness without boundaries loses and is washed out. Kindness with boundaries and a second chance wins and spreads

The four truths of Buddyalism are the ethical expression of exactly such a strategy: the first step, voluntariness and boundaries, a second chance, sincerity. That is why Buddyalism is not naivety but the most viable form of openness

✦ Reference

Axelrod's tournament, 1980

Political scientist Robert Axelrod collected program strategies and made them play the prisoner's dilemma against each other for two hundred moves at a time: cooperate or defect. The shortest program of all won, «tit for tat»: it starts by cooperating, answers defection in kind, and after a single reply is ready to cooperate again. Dozens of cleverer strategies later tried to beat it. They failed

Unconditionally kind strategies died out first in these tournaments

05 · Civilisation and wildness

Civilisation and wildness

Defining what civilisation is and what wildness is turns out to be simple. Everything that helps people communicate and share knowledge, find common ground and create the possibility of voluntary creative cooperation - that is civilisation. Everything that hinders communication, builds barriers, sows discord and destroys trust - that is wildness

A boundary is not a barrier. The barriers of wildness divide people into us and them. The boundaries of civilisation protect the space of cooperation from aggression, manipulation and exploitation. Refusing to tolerate the destruction of trust is not a rejection of civility but its defence

At its core this is everyone's personal choice and personal responsibility. But it is out of such choices that the next level of civilisation grows - a space of voluntary creative cooperation

✦ Our side

We stand outside parties and borders. But we are on the side of civilisation against wildness

This is about environments and behaviour. The «us against them» mode lives in each of us and switches on from fear and uncertainty. Everyone makes the choice themselves

06 · How it applies in Noonland

Two sides of one agreement

What the platform takes on

Not to build growth on trading attention, provoking hostility or hidden manipulation
Not to sell members' data and not to show ads. To explain transparently what the project lives on
Not to replace people with artificial intelligence: there are no AI characters and no AI replies on behalf of members here. The only use is helping moderation
To give clear rules, tools for protecting boundaries and a simple way to report a violation
To honestly separate what already works from what we only intend to do

What we expect from each other

Kindness when we meet and reciprocity in relationships
Respect for boundaries, for refusal and for the right not to answer
Disagreement without humiliating the person. No bullying, threats, spam or harassment
No unsolicited criticism of other people's dreams and undertakings. Criticism only in friendly personal conversation, on request
Not to pass off an artificial persona as a real member

If something goes wrong: how moderation works

01WarningThe system gently prompts the author if a comment looks harsh
02ReportAny member can report a post, a comment or a blog
03Moderator's decisionA report is reviewed by a living person, not only by an algorithm
04RestrictionFor serious or repeated violations - restricted participation
05AppealA decision can be contested by writing to us

We don't promise that there will be no unpleasant situations at all. We promise that they will be taken seriously

Not a religion

Buddyalism is a practical ethics of relationships. It does not compete with religions and worldviews and does not ask anyone to give them up

Not a party programme

Noonland is a space outside parties and state borders. People here talk about life rather than fight over slogans

Not a closed club

Entry is open, the rules are transparent, and you can leave at any time

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