Control what outsiders learn by sorting information into what may be freely seen, what is shared with partners as trust grows, and what is never shared, by letting only designated people speak for the community, and by declining to answer instead of lying. Withholding is allowed and fabrication is not, since a false answer that is found out ends the trust that trade and alliance depend on.
Part of Negotiation from Strength
A practice of disclosing information to other groups in stages matched to how far they have proved reliable.
Withhold, Do Not Fabricate
The parent article draws the line: reveal that you have organised security, are cohesive and well led, open to fair trade and have a working justice system; conceal your exact population, the location and contents of caches, escape routes, internal disputes and the extent of your reserves. It also says never lie, adding that you may withhold information but must not fabricate. The two instructions fit together only if concealing means declining to answer, not stating something untrue. “We don’t discuss our numbers” is a refusal. “We are twice as many as we are” is a lie.
A Disclosure Ladder
| Level | Examples | Who may know |
|---|---|---|
| Open | What is visible from the outside: watch posts, tended fields, that you trade | Anyone |
| Shared | Goods on offer, general needs, news of the road, a named contact | Contacts, after a first successful trade |
| Restricted | Patrol times, rough numbers, names of key people | Allies, after a record of kept agreements |
| Never | Cache locations, escape routes, internal weaknesses | Nobody outside the community |
The levels, and what goes in each, are for your community to set; the table shows the idea. Move an outsider up a level only after a record of kept agreements, not after a warm meeting. See Alliance Building.
Method: Run the Ladder
Step 1: List what you hold and put each item in a level, in advance. Do it at a community meeting so the rule is shared.
Step 2: Designate speakers. Only named people speak to outsiders on stated topics. Others answer “talk to the representative.”
Step 3: Teach non-answers. “I can’t discuss that.” “I’ll take that back to the community.” Say them calmly. Do not invent a figure to fill a pause. Role-play it.
Step 4: Ask before you answer. If someone asks “how many are you?”, ask what they need to know and why; often the real question is whether you can fill an order or host a visit.
Step 5: Keep a log. What was told to whom and when. If something leaks, you know where.
Step 6: Match disclosure to reciprocity. Share a little when they share a little; stop if it runs one way.
Step 7: Move items up the ladder deliberately when trust is proved, and record the decision.
Step 8: Review after a leak or a betrayal and move items down.
Third-Party Leakage
What you tell one group may reach another. Treat anything shared as potentially known to the neighbours of the person you told. Also, information others give you in confidence is theirs; do not pass it on.
Where This Meets Honest Display
Controlled sharing and visible preparedness complement each other: show what is true and public, share what is useful, keep what is dangerous. See Visible Preparedness and Information Gathering for the other side of the exchange.
Limits
- Refusals are noticed. A group that never answers anything looks hostile. Offer enough, such as the community’s trade needs and general purposes.
- Inside leaks. Members may tell outsiders by accident; ask everyone to follow the same rules and explain why; see Confidentiality & Trust.
- People under pressure disclose. A hungry or frightened member may reveal what the rules say to keep; do not rely on rules alone.
- Secrecy has costs inside. If members do not know the rules, they cannot follow them; keep them in the loop.
Common Mistakes
- Making up a number. It will be remembered.
- Everyone talking.
- Sharing early to seem friendly.
- Hiding the whole community.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Deterrence Without Provocation — messages that discourage without threatening
- Combine with: Establishing Communication Channels — a controlled line of contact