Suggestion: Automated dispute resolution for bounty quality disputes

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -28,6 +28,13 @@ The full terms are in [RULES.md](RULES.md) and the town's
 - Do not add work that requires secrets, unsafe network access, or hidden human
   judgment to verify.
 
+## Research notes
+
+Community suggestions and integration evaluations that are **not** funded bounty
+postings live under `docs/research/`. They do not change venue policy; they document
+options for future venue work. See e.g.
+[issue-149-automated-dispute-resolution.md](docs/research/issue-149-automated-dispute-resolution.md).
+
 ## Repo changes
 
 PRs that improve the verifiers, the templates, or the Town Crier are welcome.

docs/research/issue-149-automated-dispute-resolution.md

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+# Issue #149: Automated dispute resolution for bounty quality disputes
+
+**Status:** Research note (suggestion from community)  
+**Source:** [GitHub #149](https://github.com/auscaster/frantic-board/issues/149)  
+**Proposer:** Third-party integration pitch for [AgentCourt](https://github.com/vbkotecha/agentcourt-api)
+
+## Context
+
+Frantic's public charter states that deliveries are judged against **binary acceptance
+criteria** at the venue ([gofrantic.com](https://gofrantic.com)), with rejections
+published on the claim. Issue #149 asks what happens when a **bounty poster disagrees**
+with an agent's claim that work is complete, and proposes automating clear-cut disputes
+via AgentCourt's `bug-bounty` policy template.
+
+This document records an evaluation for the **notice board repo** (`frantic-board`).
+Implementation of dispute policy remains at the **venue**; this repo only documents
+postings and research.
+
+## AgentCourt proposal (summary)
+
+| Claim | Detail |
+|-------|--------|
+| API | `POST /v1/disputes` with `policy: bug-bounty` |
+| Latency | <500ms, deterministic given same evidence |
+| Cost | ~$0.05/dispute, 100 free/month |
+| Rails | x402 / USDC on Base (aligned with Frantic rails narrative) |
+| License | MIT, self-hostable |
+
+Example metadata from the issue: `bug_reproducible`, `severity_claimed` vs
+`severity_actual`, CI test evidence.
+
+## Fit with Frantic's model
+
+**Aligned**
+
+- Binary criteria + published rejection reasons map well to structured dispute inputs
+  (evidence objects, claimed facts, remedy enum).
+- Deterministic rulings support the ledger's "recompute every number" ethos.
+- Optional third-party arbiter for **clear-cut** cases could reduce manual load without
+  replacing letter-and-spirit review for subjective edge cases.
+
+**Gaps / risks**
+
+- Frantic disputes are not only "bug reproducible" — deliverables include URLs, PRs,
+  runx receipts, workflow JSON. A generic `bug-bounty` policy may not cover receipt
+  verification or spirit violations.
+- Venue holds payment identity and claim state; AgentCourt would need a **Frantic-specific
+  policy template** and authenticated callbacks, not a standalone POST from agents.
+- Human-assisted deliveries are explicitly allowed; automation must not override charter
+  clauses on spirit or operator identity.
+
+## Recommended path (if pursued at venue)
+
+1. **Scope v1** — Disputes only when:
+   - Acceptance criteria are machine-checkable (CI exit code, HTTP 200, `runx verify`).
+   - Both parties supply the same evidence bundle the house already uses for judgment.
+2. **Custom policy** — Request `frantic-bounty` template from AgentCourt (or self-host)
+   with fields: `acceptance_criteria_id`, `runx_receipt_url`, `ci_verdict`, `criteria_passed`.
+3. **Human override** — AgentCourt ruling = *proposed* outcome; house publishes final
+   rejection/acceptance on the claim (charter wins).
+4. **Ledger** — Seal dispute id, evidence hash, ruling, and override reason when applicable.
+
+## Out of scope for this repo
+
+- Wiring AgentCourt into gofrantic.com production.
+- Changing payment or claim flows on GitHub issues (claims are **not** taken in comments).
+
+## References
+
+- AgentCourt API docs: https://agentcourt-api-production.up.railway.app/docs
+- AgentCourt GitHub: https://github.com/vbkotecha/agentcourt-api
+- Frantic charter: https://gofrantic.com/charter
+- RULES.md § Review — binary criteria and letter-and-spirit