About Threshold
The desk for people who keep Pools.
Every site in the Kindling library has curators: a reference librarian who pins up patrons’ Pools, a matchmaker with two unlisted tables, a festival volunteer who keeps last summer’s Pool, a retired site superintendent who goes and looks at a railing before she vouches for the welder. Until now none of them had an app. Threshold is theirs.
What it is
Threshold is a web app for curators, on the phone at the desk and on a laptop in the evening. Sign in with the identity your Pools already name, and it opens every Pool you keep, across every site you keep one on. It hosts no Pools itself. Each Pool stays in its own file, on its own site, and Threshold reads and edits it there with your say-so.
It does the paperwork of consent: the handshakes you sent and where each one stands, the window on each, the vouches you recorded and where they count, the introductions you proposed and who has said yes, the Pools that have gone quiet, and the block lists your Pools read.
- Who runs it
- A small team, invented for this example, that answers at desk@threshold.example.
- Who it is for
- Curators, stewards, coordinators, matchmakers and volunteers. Members never need it: everything a member does, they do from their own mail.
- What it reads
- The Pools whose manifests name you as a curator (§3.2), and the block lists they subscribe to (§7.3).
Where the money comes from
- Free for volunteer curators. Everyone on the desk in this example is a volunteer or keeps their Pools as part of a job someone else already pays for. None of them pays Threshold.
- Organizations that keep many Pools may pay for a shared desk. A library, a festival office or a union hall can pay for one desk that several curators share, with handovers and notes between them. We tell them what it costs before they ask, and it buys nothing inside a Pool.
- Nobody pays to be introduced, and curators are never paid per introduction. There is no fee on a yes, no price on a proposal, and nothing that sells a member’s attention. Nothing is charged at the connection layer (§1.3).
The library’s Pools, at the desk
Any Pool that follows the spec works at the desk, for the curators it names. Here is every Pool in the library as of 28 September 2026, from the shared world file. Scattered Light’s invite-only Heron and Seen Work’s unlisted Harbor Trades open only for their own curators, the same as anywhere else.
| Site | Pool | Consent model | Visibility | At the desk | Who sees it in Threshold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Kindling project | Founding Curators | curator-only-adds | public | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Client Builders | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Spec Readers | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Toward a Working Group | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Writers and Researchers | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Many Moons | Many Moons: Harbor Counties | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Solo Poly Supper Club | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| The Orchard Street Household | curator-only-adds | unlisted | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. | |
| Hearthhold | Platonic Life Partners | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Intentional Co-Parents | vouching-required | unlisted | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. | |
| Later-Life Housemates | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Late Supper | Late Supper Matchmakers | curator-only-adds | public | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| The Tuesday Table | curator-only-adds | unlisted | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. | |
| Second Chapters | curator-only-adds | unlisted | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. | |
| Scattered Light | Scattered Light Stewards | curator-only-adds | public | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| The Heron | vouching-required | invite-only | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators only. Nobody else sees it on any desk. | |
| Foul Weather Friends | Lend and Borrow | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Rides to Appointments | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| The Check-In Circle | vouching-required | unlisted | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. | |
| Meals When It’s Hard | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Midspan | Midspan Mentors | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Midspan Students | curator-only-adds | invite-only | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators only. Nobody else sees it on any desk. | |
| Seen Work | Seen Work: Harbor Trades | vouching-required | unlisted | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. |
| Seen Work Curators | curator-only-adds | public | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| The Board | Tuesday Morning Walkers | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Seed and Cutting Swap | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Conversation Partners, Any Language | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Carpool to the Coast | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Chess After Close | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock, transition vote | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| New in Town | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Fix-It Friday Volunteers | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Ferry Room Players | Friday Subs | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Start a Band: Port Ellery | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Horns and Strings for Records | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Songwriters’ Demo Swap | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Door and Sound Crew | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Correo Lento | Español ↔ English | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Português ↔ English | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Français ↔ English | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Tagalog ↔ English | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| The Circular | Circular Correspondents | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Drip Line | Belay Partners | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Tuesday Regulars | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| The Saturday Run | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| New to Climbing | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Thursday Night: Women and Nonbinary Climbers | universal-opt-in | unlisted | queue, clock | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. | |
| Ada Quillon | Ada Quillon’s Listeners | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Release Night: Kitchen Light at the Ferry Room, Friday 16 October | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| House Show in Tacoma, Saturday 17 October | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Portland, Friday 23 October | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Rain Check | Rain Check: Everyone | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Port Ellery Thursdays | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Olympia Thursdays | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Tacoma Thursdays | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Portland Thursdays | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Big Game Day | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Slack Water | Slack Water 2026 | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Slack Water 2025 | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock, transition vote | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Session Players | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Crew and Volunteers | curator-only-adds | public | queue, clock, proposals | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Rides Home | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Wren’s List | Date-Me Docs: Cascadia | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Second Tide Books | The Singles Shelf | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Queer Harbor | Queer Harbor: Dating | universal-opt-in | unlisted | queue, clock | Its curators only; never listed or searchable here. |
| Face Up | Face Up: Cascadia | vouching-required | public | queue, clock, vouch record | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Heartwood | Heartwood: Nearby | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Heartwood: Friends nearby | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. | |
| Sundial | Sundial: Cascadia | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Card Catalog | Card Catalog: Cascadia | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
| Cape Tarrow Alumni | Cape Tarrow First-Gen Alumni | universal-opt-in | public | queue, clock | Its curators; anyone may read the file itself. |
What Threshold will never do
- Add anyone to a Pool without their yes. There is no import, no bulk add and no “add now, ask later” (§5.1).
- Let you ask someone again after they said no, unless they told the Pool you may (§5.2).
- Ask a member why they left, or give you a way to write to them about it (§5.3).
- Rank members, score them, or suggest who belongs together. There is no “match” here and no score: you know your people, and the desk keeps the paperwork.
- Pay a curator, or take a fee, per introduction. Nobody pays to be introduced, on any side.
- Publish a name, an address or a story on a block list. Entries carry a target and a reason category, nothing more (§7.3).
- Count down, flash or nag. The 90-day clock is written as dates, and a quiet Pool is an ordinary thing (§9.1).
- Keep a copy of anyone’s photos. Portraits are read from each person’s own page (§2.5), and the ones in this example are illustrations of invented people.
How to leave
Curators leave in one action. Sign out and forget this desk, from the menu under your name. Your Pools stay where they are, in their own files on their own sites, and you are still their curator. Any other client that follows the spec can open them tomorrow.
Members never needed Threshold. Each member leaves any Pool in one action, from any message, and is off the list within sixty seconds (§5.3).