---
slug: "ReceptivityGate"
name: "ReceptivityGate"
type: "Protocols"
layer: "Society"
ref: "ReceptivityGate#0db5"
sema_id: "sema:ReceptivityGate#mh:SHA-256:0db58374b9595734af888df1f152aa802e6da20fb24e2786e44f1837f2a4f4fa"
tags: ["Society","Protocols"]
updated: 2026-11-11
mindscape: "bootstrap"
index_url: https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json
url: https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/ReceptivityGate/
related: ["Validate","AcceptSpec","FailureTrace","PathwayMemory","OrchestrationLoop","PerformanceSignal"]
---

# ReceptivityGate

Verification gate for signed, clause-specific rejection records

Layer: Society · Category: Protocols

## Mechanism

A Gate that guards a Solver's Feedback surface against malformed and unattributable evaluation. When a downstream orchestrator rejects an artifact, it must submit a typed [FailureTrace](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/FailureTrace.md) naming the violated [AcceptSpec](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/AcceptSpec.md) clause. The upstream Solver's ReceptivityGate runs [Validate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Validate.md) before accepting it: it checks that the cited clause exists, that the cited evidence is present in the artifact, and that `trace_signature` verifies under `evaluator_ref` for this exact FailureTrace payload. Invalid traces are dropped rather than absorbed into [PathwayMemory](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/PathwayMemory.md). What the gate establishes is citation and attribution integrity — that a rejection refers to real things and that this evaluator signed this unaltered trace. It does not adjudicate whether the cited evidence actually violates the cited clause; that requires a judge and belongs to a descendant.

## Invariants

- Trace-required: no rejection is accepted without a well-formed [FailureTrace](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/FailureTrace.md).
- Clause-verified: the cited AcceptSpec clause must exist.
- Evidence-verified: the cited evidence must be present in the rejected artifact.
- Content-signature-verified: `trace_signature` must verify under `evaluator_ref` for this exact [FailureTrace](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/FailureTrace.md) payload; identity-only proof is insufficient.
- Drop-on-fail: invalid traces produce no update to [PathwayMemory](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/PathwayMemory.md) rather than partial absorption.

## Failure modes

- Valid-but-false rejection: a well-formed trace cites a real clause and real evidence under a valid signature while asserting a violation that does not hold. Every check passes, because the gate verifies that citations resolve and not that they entail.
- Over-strict: legitimate but imperfect traces are dropped, starving the Solver of real learning signal.
- Under-strict: malformed traces that pass checks still corrupt pathway memory.
- Bypass by privileged peer: a downstream orchestrator with elevated trust skips the gate and injects raw feedback.
- DoS via trace flood: malicious actors swamp the gate with valid-looking traces to exhaust verification budget.

## Caution

Required at any Feedback surface exposed to untrusted downstream consumers. Without it, the Solver absorbs fabricated penalties as if they were genuine learning signal.

## Builds on

- [Validate](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/Validate.md) (Infrastructure; Composes with)
- [AcceptSpec](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/AcceptSpec.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [FailureTrace](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/FailureTrace.md) (Infrastructure; References)
- [PathwayMemory](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/PathwayMemory.md) (Mind; References)

## Used by

- [OrchestrationLoop](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/OrchestrationLoop.md) (Society; References)
- [PerformanceSignal](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/PerformanceSignal.md) (Infrastructure; References)

## Identity

- Sema ID: `sema:ReceptivityGate#mh:SHA-256:0db58374b9595734af888df1f152aa802e6da20fb24e2786e44f1837f2a4f4fa`
- Ref: `ReceptivityGate#0db5`
- Supersedes:
  - `sema:ReceptivityGate#mh:SHA-256:27099802d49cf3b086d4149bd9697dd2e7ff680de09f3e1395172cf4e45c2096`
  - `sema:ReceptivityGate#mh:SHA-256:8e7475b2e900e202bc7c509092b69889445c217a526e2bf692a70629ac2bfcdf`
  - `sema:ReceptivityGate#mh:SHA-256:56672e19478b968dacc6ffdaaf69627f85e5fedf06ee1256993b641a4380b571`

## Links

- [Pattern page](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/ReceptivityGate/)
- [View in the interactive graph](https://mindscape.world/bootstrap/#ReceptivityGate)
- [JSON](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap/ReceptivityGate.json)
- [Index of all patterns](https://mindscape.world/scapes/bootstrap.json)