The Great Seal of the Furry Council of VR, a paw with an open eye in its pad, radiating gold light across a violet field scattered with small gold eyes.
The Furry Council of VR · Bureau of Social Credit

Every interaction counts.

Every greeting, headpat, mirror visit and open microphone in virtual reality is reported by a fellow citizen and scored by the Furry Council of VR, which holds supreme executive power over all of it. There is nothing you need to do. Somebody has already reported it.
Welcome, citizen

A trusted community is a scored community

For years, people in virtual reality have had to guess whether they were liked. They read body language off avatars that have no body language. They counted how many people waved back. They lay awake in the headset wondering whether the fox at the campfire had meant it.

That uncertainty is over. Every citizen of virtual reality now carries a Social Credit Score, maintained by the Bureau on behalf of the Council, and updated after every interaction. You will always know where you stand. The Council will always know where you stand. It has also, as a rule, been told where you stand.

Enrolment is automatic. It took place when you put the headset on. Please do not take the headset off to check.

A Council citizen identification card for citizen 00418-77: a silhouetted fox portrait, species Fox (declared), height 1.60 metres (compliant), score 612 Satisfactory, reported weekly.
Every citizen is issued a card. You have not seen yours. It is on file.
4.1 bn Interactions scored this week
100% Citizens enrolled
13 Councillors
0 Elections since the first
What is scored

Everything, gently

The Bureau does not score people. It scores interactions, which are made entirely of people. The factors below carry the most weight. The full schedule is published, because a fair system is a transparent one, and because reading it is scored.

Weighting: high

Greetings

A wave on arrival is expected. A wave on departure is appreciated. Arriving without waving is reportable, and so is waving at someone who had their back to you, which is reportable against both of you.

Standard adjustments
Weighting: very high

Headpat reciprocity

A headpat given and returned is a healthy transaction. A headpat given and not returned is a debt, and the Bureau keeps the ledger so that you do not have to.

Standard adjustments
Weighting: moderate

Mirror conduct

Time spent in front of a mirror is measured. The first forty minutes are considered grooming. Everything after that is considered a lifestyle, and is scored as one.

The Mirror Desk
Weighting: high

Microphone discipline

Breathing, chewing, keyboards, television and family members are all audible to everyone in the instance, and are reported accordingly. Several of them have their own scores now.

Standard adjustments
Weighting: moderate

Height compliance

Avatars are to be of a sensible height for the room. Arriving in a hallway as a forty-metre dragon is not a crime. It is a deduction.

Height Ordinance
Weighting: severe

Leaving

A citizen who says goodbye before leaving gains a point. A citizen who simply disappears mid-sentence loses four, and is described in the report as having ghosted, which is the correct technical term.

Standard adjustments
Citizen file 00418-77

A typical weekly statement

Each citizen's statement is prepared every Sunday at 00:00 Council Time and placed on file. Citizens may not view their own statement, as this has been found to affect the following week's statement. This one is published as an example, with the citizen's consent, which was assumed.

Interaction Points
Waved on arrival, eleven instances One wave was at a statue. Credited in good faith 11.00
Headpats given Thirteen, at half a point each 6.50
Headpats not returned Three outstanding. The parties have been notified -9.00
Forty-one minutes in front of a mirror One minute over. Rounded down, as a courtesy -0.25
Microphone left open during dinner Cutlery identified as a fork. Pasta suspected -4.00
Complimented another citizen's avatar Sincerity verified against tone of voice 3.00
Complimented the same avatar a second time Now considered excessive -1.00
Fell asleep in a public world Snoring audible to nine citizens. Two scored it favourably -2.00
Left an instance without saying goodbye Mid-sentence. The sentence was about loyalty -4.00
Reported a fellow citizen Report was about the citizen's posture. Upheld 5.00
Was reported by a fellow citizen Report was about this citizen's posture. Upheld -5.00
Net adjustment, week ending Sunday 0.25
The scale

Where do you stand?

Scores run from 0 to 1,000. Every citizen begins at 600, which is Satisfactory, which is fine. Most citizens remain Satisfactory for their entire lives in virtual reality, and there is no shame in that, only a slightly longer queue.

A dial running from 0 to 1,000 in coloured bands, its needle resting at 847, labelled Trusted.
Citizen 00418-77 on a good day. The needle has since moved.
900+ Exemplary
750 Trusted
600 Satisfactory
400 Under review
200 Probationary
0 Furniture
From the citizenry

What citizens say about the system

Citizen, 812 · Trusted

“I finally know.”

I used to wonder whether people liked me. Now I know, to two decimal places.

Citizen, 604 · Satisfactory

“I have adapted.”

I lost eleven points for sneezing into an open microphone. I have not sneezed since. It has been fourteen months.

Citizen, 433 · Under review

“How was I to know?”

I was reported for standing too close to a Councillor. I did not know it was a Councillor. Nobody ever knows it is a Councillor.

Citizen, 958 · Exemplary

“No comment.”

I would rather not say anything that could be scored. This is not a complaint. Please note that this is not a complaint.

Voluntary compliance

Nothing is required of you

The system works whether or not you take part in it. But citizens who wish to show that they take part willingly may pledge their compliance below. It is entirely optional. The option has been noted.

1 Citizens in voluntary compliance