Greek precedent
Plato's Symposium gives the old pattern: food, friendship, speech, and a serious question held long enough to change the room.
Symposium
Symposium turns a shared question into a table.
A Polis format is a constraint system for real-world contact: small enough to be human, specific enough to be memorable, and private enough to let people be honest.
Modern protocol
5-7 attendees, 2.5h, phone basket, and one leitmotif card placed in the center before anyone arrives.
Sample leitmotif
Tell a story about a teacher, elder, stranger, or rival who changed the direction of your life.
Wednesday evening sequence
6:30 arrival, 6:45 first round, 7:15 shared meal, 8:00 leitmotif turn, 8:45 closing names, 9:00 phones returned.
Produces / does not produce
It can produce a private re-meet, a deeper question, or a new strong tie. It does not produce public scores, applause, or performance clips.
Private success metric
>= 60% of attendees would re-meet at least one person, measured privately after the room.
Start with the directory, then choose the room.
Every format routes to the same institutional promise: no ads, no data sale, no pay-to-play matching, and no public status game.
Back to all formats