bigtech-sucks/README.md

# bigtech.sucks — Draw the Line

V0.1 scaffold per master spec. A retro frontier game that scopes Big Tech exposure and sequences the off-ramp.

## Structure

```
packages/
  core/     Render-agnostic game logic, seed data, scoring
  core/db/  The living database: schema, seeds, build + verify
  web/      React + Vite SPA (V1 funnel)
  server/   Minimal waitlist API (email + channel only)
```

## The living database

The database is the source of truth. The site is a view over it. Nothing in the UI may
hardcode a number that lives in `bigtech.db`.

```bash
npm run db:build     # rebuild the db, apply seeds, verify, regenerate the catalog
npm run db:verify    # run the instrument's own checks against the existing db
```

`packages/core/db/bigtech.db` is **built, not committed**. What is committed is the part that
matters: `db/schema.sql`, `db/seed/*.sql`, and `db/build.mjs`.

The build refuses to pass if a score breaks the instrument's own rules:

- dimension weights must sum to 100
- every stored `weighted_total` must recompute from its scores
- every grade must match its band
- every score must carry a written rationale
- no tier-4 claim may attach to a scored dimension
- the reproducible-build caps are enforced, not documented: no reproducible build caps
  verifiability at 3, an experimental one at 6

A product with no assessment surfaces as `unassessed`. It is never given a guessed number.
That is why the 43 legacy roster entries sit in the database as placeholders and exactly one
product carries a real score.

### Adding an assessment

1. Write `packages/core/db/seed/000N-<slug>.sql` using the shape in `0001-signal.sql`.
2. Every score needs a `rationale` and at least three tier-1 or tier-2 `evidence` rows.
3. `npm run db:build`. If it fails, the report is not ready to publish.

### What the numbers mean

See the instrument spec. Scores are 0 to 100, and a weighted average is not the headline: the
weakest dimension is, because a 90 with a 5 on local data exposure is a 90 that will leak.

## Quick start

```bash
npm install
npm run build -w @bigtech-sucks/core
npm run dev          # web on :5173
npm run dev:server   # waitlist API on :3001
```

## V1 flow

Welcome → Meet Red → Draw the Line → Overworld → Showdown → Homestead → Reveal (Binary Ranch) → Waitlist

## Governance

- Creative assets are **candidates** — director approval required before ship
- Company name revealed **only** at homestead/reveal phase
- §13 open decisions are **not** silently resolved (see `packages/core/src/data/config.ts`)
- Client-side sovereignty report; server stores waitlist fields only

## Roadmap

- **V1.5:** Terminal/SSH render (Go + Charm)
- **V2:** Concierge migration, journey chronicle, physical fulfillment (stubs in `v2-stubs.ts`)