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+# Communication Authority Map
+
+Status: doctrine for #175
+Parent epic: #173
+Related issues:
+- #165 NATS internal bus
+- #166 Matrix/Conduit operator communication
+- #174 Nostr/Nostur operator edge
+- #163 sovereign keypairs / identity
+
+## Why this exists
+
+We do not want communication scattered across lost channels.
+
+The system may expose multiple communication surfaces, but work authority must not fragment with them.
+A message can arrive from several places.
+Task truth cannot.
+
+This document defines which surface is authoritative for what, how operator messages enter the system, and how Matrix plus Nostr/Nostur can coexist without creating parallel hidden queues.
+
+## Core principle
+
+One message may have many transport surfaces.
+One piece of work gets one execution truth.
+
+That execution truth is Gitea.
+
+If a command or request matters to the fleet, it must become a visible Gitea artifact:
+- issue
+- issue comment
+- PR comment
+- assignee/label change
+- linked proof artifact
+
+No chat surface is allowed to become a second hidden task database.
+
+## Authority layers
+
+### 1. Gitea — execution truth
+
+Authoritative for:
+- task state
+- issue ownership
+- PR state
+- review state
+- visible decision trail
+- proof links and artifacts
+
+Rules:
+- if work is actionable, it must exist in Gitea
+- if state changes, the change must be reflected in Gitea
+- if chat and Gitea disagree, Gitea wins until corrected visibly
+
+### 2. NATS — internal agent bus
+
+Authoritative for:
+- fast machine-to-machine transport only
+
+Not authoritative for:
+- task truth
+- operator truth
+- final queue state
+
+Rules:
+- NATS moves signals, not ownership truth
+- durable work still lands in Gitea
+- request/reply and heartbeats may live here without becoming the task system
+
+### 3. Matrix/Conduit — primary private operator command surface
+
+Authoritative for:
+- private human-to-fleet conversation
+- rich command context
+- operational chat that should not be public
+
+Not authoritative for:
+- final task state
+- hidden work queues
+
+Rules:
+- Matrix is the primary private operator room
+- any command that creates or mutates work must be mirrored into Gitea
+- Matrix can discuss work privately, but cannot be the only place where the work exists
+- if a command remains chat-only, it is advisory, not execution truth
+
+### 4. Nostr/Nostur — sovereign operator edge
+
+Authoritative for:
+- operator identity-linked ingress
+- portable/mobile sovereign access
+- public or semi-public notices if intentionally used that way
+- emergency or lightweight operator signaling
+
+Not authoritative for:
+- internal fleet transport
+- hidden task state
+- long-lived queue truth
+
+Rules:
+- Nostur is a real operator layer, not a toy side-channel
+- commands received via Nostr/Nostur must be normalized into Gitea before they are considered active work
+- if private discussion is needed after Nostr ingress, continue in Matrix while keeping Gitea as visible task truth
+- Nostr/Nostur should preserve sovereign identity advantages without becoming an alternate invisible work tracker
+
+### 5. Telegram — legacy bridge only
+
+Authoritative for:
+- nothing new
+
+Rules:
+- Telegram is legacy/bridge until sunset
+- no new doctrine should make Telegram the permanent backbone
+- if Telegram receives work during migration, the work still gets mirrored into Gitea and then into the current primary surfaces
+
+## Ingress rules
+
+### Rule A: every actionable operator message gets normalized
+
+If an operator message from Matrix, Nostr/Nostur, or Telegram asks for real work, the system must do one of the following:
+- create a new Gitea issue
+- append to the correct existing issue as a comment
+- explicitly reject the message as non-actionable
+- route it to a coordinator for clarification before any work begins
+
+### Rule B: no hidden queue mutation
+
+Refreshing a chat room, reading a relay event, or polling a transport must not silently create work.
+The transition from chat to work must be explicit and visible.
+
+### Rule C: one work item, many mirrors allowed
+
+A message may be mirrored across:
+- Matrix
+- Nostr/Nostur
+- Telegram during migration
+- local notifications
+
+But all mirrors must point back to the same Gitea work object.
+
+### Rule D: coordinator-first survives transport changes
+
+Timmy and Allegro remain the coordinators.
+Changing the transport does not remove their authority to:
+- classify urgency
+- decide routing
+- demand proof
+- collapse duplicates
+- escalate only what Alexander should actually see
+
+## Recommended operator experience
+
+### Matrix
+Use for:
+- primary private conversation with the fleet
+- ongoing task discussion
+- handoff and clarification
+- richer context than a short mobile note
+
+### Nostur
+Use for:
+- sovereign mobile/operator ingress
+- identity-linked quick commands
+- lightweight acknowledgements
+- emergency input when Matrix is not the best surface
+
+Working rule:
+- Nostur gets you into the system
+- Matrix carries the private conversation
+- Gitea holds the work truth
+
+## Anti-scatter policy
+
+Forbidden patterns:
+- a task exists only in a Matrix room
+- a task exists only in a Nostr DM or note
+- a Telegram thread contains work nobody copied into Gitea
+- different channels describe the same work with different owners or statuses
+- an agent acts on Nostr/Matrix chatter without a visible work object when the task is non-trivial
+
+Required pattern:
+- every meaningful task gets one canonical Gitea object
+- all channels point at or mirror that object
+- coordinators keep channel drift collapsed, not multiplied
+
+## Minimum implementation path
+
+1. Matrix/Conduit becomes the primary private operator surface (#166)
+2. Nostr/Nostur becomes the sovereign operator edge (#174)
+3. NATS remains internal bus only (#165)
+4. every ingress path writes or links to Gitea execution truth
+5. Telegram is reduced to bridge/legacy during migration
+
+## Acceptance criteria
+
+- [ ] Matrix, Nostr/Nostur, NATS, Gitea, and Telegram each have an explicit role
+- [ ] Gitea is named as the sole execution-truth surface
+- [ ] Nostur is included as a legitimate operator layer, not ignored
+- [ ] Nostur/Matrix ingress rules explicitly forbid shadow task state
+- [ ] this doctrine makes it harder for work to get lost across channels