Invitation: Gordian Clubs - Autonomous Cryptographic Objects inspired by Project Xanadu

*(This is slightly off-topic for this list, but as there has been an
ongoing interest in object capabilities using z-caps, I thought there would
be some interest here)*

I became involved with Project Xanadu in the early 90s, during its ending
days. Although its hypertext system was before its time, one feature that
particularly struck me was the Xanadu Club system, which allowed for read
and write permissions to be passed among both users and clubs (groups) in a
fascinating recursive manner that was quite different from anything else
I'd ever seen before (or since!).

The problem? The architecture was centralized. At the time, I suggested to
one of Xanadu's architects, Mark S. Miller, that we use cryptography as an
alternative, but the cryptography field wasn't mature enough. What we had
was slow, and almost everything was encumbered by patents.

Jump forward 30 years. Schnorr is now available in the public domain, and
powerful new cryptographic protocols like FROST have been built on top of
it. It's exactly what I needed to make my vision of cryptographic clubs a
reality.

And I've done so, in a first proof of concept.

I'll be talking about Gordian Clubs and demoing that proof of concept at a
meeting next Wednesday, October 1st.

WHAT? Gordian Clubs Introduction
WHEN? 10-11.30am PT, Wednesday October 1st
WHERE? Zoom (
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88143195571?pwd=BVv4zCnnaNor97Vj8ayajh26yyICBr.1 )

Today’s access control systems rely on servers, databases, and constant
network connectivity. That creates fragility: they fail during outages,
struggle in censorship-heavy environments, and assume trust in
infrastructure that isn’t always reliable.

Gordian Clubs are a new approach. They are self-contained cryptographic
objects that let groups transmit and update information without central
servers or live networks.

Permissions are enforced through cryptographic object capabilities, not
code running on a trusted server. Unlike traditional ocap models that rely
on software enforcement, Gordian Clubs embed rights directly using
cryptographic primitives.

Gordian Clubs can be shared by email, stored on USB drives, or even printed
as QR codes. They work offline, across air-gapped connections, and in
adversarial conditions — even during internet blackouts.

The result is a tool for digital autonomy. Gordian Clubs empower resilience
and dignity where it matters most: for journalists, dissidents, long-term
archives, disaster response, and any situation where access must remain
possible, regardless of censorship or connectivity.

I’d love to bring experts from the Xanadu world, as well as those currently
working on object capabilities and credentials, into this conversation.
Together we can explore goals and possibilities in a collaborative meeting
of minds. I hope you’ll join us!

-- Christopher Allen & The Blockchain Commons Team

(I wrote about the opportunities possible using cryptographic ocaps
previously on the ocap-talk mailing last back in 2018
https://groups.google.com/g/cap-talk/c/SCRpXZWe-Eo/m/9dYQhWbxEAAJ which
also offers some interesting commentary in the thread)