Created by Andrew Gilberto Vargas | v1.0 | 2025
Preamble
The Goodness Arbitrage Protocol (GAP) is a framework for ethical creative work, born from a simple belief:
Effort is meaningful. Reflection is sacred. Presence is portable.
In an age where content is measured in impressions and optimized for extraction, GAP offers an alternative—one that honors clarity, sovereignty, and reciprocity without requiring coercion or conformity.
GAP is not a platform. It is a protocol: a lightweight, embeddable layer of reflective intent—designed to help creators disclose their effort, invite ethical remix, and create loop-closure paths for those moved by their work.
This document serves as the founding artifact for GAP v1.0.
1. What GAP Is (and Is Not)
GAP is:
- A way to make effort visible
- A portable disclosure layer for creative artifacts
- A regenerative structure for loop-conscious creation
- A voluntary signal standard for thoughtful makers
GAP is not:
- A license that restricts use
- A content police force
- A gatekeeping community
- A tool for extraction
GAP is to creative effort what B Corp is to business practice: a public statement of how something was made and why it deserves care.
2. Core Values
GAP is rooted in five foundational beliefs:
- Effort matters.
Time and presence have value—even when given freely.
- Reflection is generative.
Work that makes others think should be tended, not consumed.
- Remix is sacred.
Ethical reuse strengthens the lineage of ideas and attribution honors the source.
- Attention is finite.
Goodness-oriented salience draws attention without manipulation, coercion or manufactured urgency.
- Loops must be closable.
If something moved you, changed you, helped you—return the signal in some form.
3. The Disclosure Embed
Each GAP-aligned artifact contains a small, embeddable disclosure box. It includes:
- Creative window (flash/sequence/act)
- Remix Rights (e.g., “Free to remix with credit”)
- Loop Closure Options (e.g., pay it forward, leave testimony, share, thank)
- Attribution to the original author and the GAP protocol
This box is open source. Creators can use or adapt it freely.
4. Licensing Model
GAP is released under an Ethical Use, Open Attribution framework:
- Individuals may use the protocol and embed freely with attribution.
- Teams and startups may adopt GAP by linking back to this artifact and honoring the principles.
- Institutions and brands may enter into a formal license agreement for consulting, co-branding, or deeper implementation.
This model draws inspiration from the MIT License (for openness) and B Corp Certification (for integrity signaling), but adds a new axis: loop-consciousness.
5. Misuse and Misalignment
There is no GAP police. Creators are discouraged from signaling effort falsely, coercing attention, or misrepresenting the core values.
GAP thrives on shared trust, not enforcement. Misalignment, if known, will be met with inquiry, not accusation.
6. How to Close a Loop
Readers, viewers, and listeners can “close the loop” by:
- Leaving a public reflection or thank-you
- Donating to the creator
- Remixing the work with attribution
- Sharing why the piece mattered
- Inviting others to reflect
Loop closure is not payment. It’s presence returned.
7. Who Created This (and Why)
My name is Andrew Gilberto Vargas, and this effort is a culmination of my own, personal inquiry science practice. I created GAP to formalize the kind of exchange I wished existed in the past—a way to honor presence, disclose effort, and give others a way to give back, if moved.
This is not a product. It’s a gift. A mirror. A scaffold.
8. Contribute, Remix, Extend
This artifact is v1.0. You are invited to:
- Embed it
- Remix it
- Translate it
- Extend it with new UX or tools
- Disparage it at your own peril
Please preserve attribution, honor effort, and close loops if you feel compelled to do so.
And here is my first GAP disclosure, which will soon have a more portable, interoperable format:
Creative Window: Sequence
Remix Rights: Remix allowed with attribution
Attribution: Required
Loop Closure Options: Pass it on or thank the author
This artifact was created in alignment with the Goodness Arbitrage Protocol (GAP), a framework for ethical creative work.
Andrew Gilberto Vargas
