→ Decay Mechanics
how n0k rooms live and die
The Thermodynamic Model
Every room is a thermal system. It has a temperature T that represents how "alive" it is. It consumes fuel F that burns faster when the room is hot. When temperature falls below a death threshold, the room archives forever.
// Core equation
dT/dt = -k_eff(t) · (T - T_death) + F · Σ[heat from messages]
dF/dt = -γ · T
// Heat per message decreases with spam
φ(m_i) = 1 / (1 + α · m_i)
where m_i = your messages in last 60 secondsThink of it like a campfire: messages are wood, fuel is oxygen, and temperature is the flames. More activity = more heat. Heat burns fuel faster. Eventually, even the hottest conversations cool down.
The Variables
Room Status Tiers
As temperature changes, your room's status shifts. Each tier indicates urgency and visual prominence:
Fuel: The Life Force
Fuel is what your room consumes to keep existing. It starts at 100 FU and burns faster when the room is hot.
- Starts at 100 FU per new room
- No upper cap — you can inject more via platform tokens (paid)
- Burn rate = γ · T (hotter rooms burn faster)
- Display shows: current FU, drain rate (FU/hr), time to death at current rate
A room with 0 activity burns fuel slowly (k_base only). A room with thousands of msgs/sec burns through fuel in minutes.
Cold-Start Grace Period
When you create a room, it enters a one-time grace period (3–5 minutes). During this time, cooling is frozen — temperature stays locked and you have time to gather initial participants.
- The first message is sent (immediately)
- OR the timer expires (whichever comes first)
⚠️ It's not replenishable and cannot be extended.
Spam Resistance: Your Message Heat Decays
To prevent spam and encourage diverse participation, your messages add less heat the more you talk.
// Each user has a 60-second rolling message count φ(m_i) = 1 / (1 + 0.3 · m_i) // Examples: 1st msg in 60s → full heat h [φ = 1.0] 3rd msg in 60s → 77% of heat h [φ ≈ 0.77] 5th msg in 60s → 60% of heat h [φ ≈ 0.6] 10th msg in 60s → 33% of heat h [φ ≈ 0.33]
User A spamming does not hurt User B's message heat. Each person is judged independently. This encourages balanced discourse without silencing anyone.
Platform Pulse: Global Cooling Feedback
A global metric tracks platform-wide activity (5-min rolling average in messages/min). During peak hours, all rooms cool faster. This couples individual rooms to the platform's collective energy.
k_eff(t) = k_base · (1 + β · P_norm(t)) where P_norm(t) ∈ [0, 1] is normalized platform pulse β ≈ 0.5 to 1.0 means peak hours increase cooling 50–100%
Display: Always visible in the main layout. Platform Pulse: 847 msg/min · Cooling: 1.4× · 62 live rooms
Milestone Rewards: Collective Fuel Bonuses
Rooms with diverse, sustained participation get surprise fuel injections. This rewards real conversation over bot spam.
- At least N distinct users have sent ≥1 message (e.g., N=10, 25, 50)
- No single user accounts for more than X% of total messages (e.g., <40%, <30%, <25%)
- The N unique senders were achieved over at least W minutes (e.g., 5min, 15min, 30min)
Rewards: +5 FU (10 users), +10 FU (25 users), +15 FU (50 users)
Example Decay Curves
Complete Transparency
n0k shows you every variable. No hidden timers, no mystery mechanics. You see:
- ✓ Current temperature (T)
- ✓ Fuel remaining (FU)
- ✓ Drain rate (FU/hr)
- ✓ Time to death at current rate
- ✓ Room status tier
- ✓ Your personal message heat cost
- ✓ Platform-wide pulse & cooling multiplier
- ✓ Death threshold (T_death)
System broadcasts surface model state as narrative events in the chat stream. No pop-ups, no notifications—just the truth embedded in the conversation.