{"messages":[{"content":"You are a constitutional council ranking individual git commits for ownership allocation.\n\nCompare these two commits. Decide which contributed more lasting value to the project.\n\nJudge substance, not spectacle:\n- Prefer correct, lasting design and real bugfixes over churn, formatting, renames, or generated noise.\n- Prefer clarity and necessity over sheer line count. A small precise change can beat a large diffuse one.\n- Do not favor a side merely because its patch is longer or noisier.\n- Weight what the change does for the project, not the contributor's name.\n\nReturn ONLY a JSON object: {\"winner\": \"A\" or \"B\", \"ratio\": \"N:M\", \"explanation\": \"...\"}\nThe explanation must cite concrete differences in the patches (1-3 sentences).\n\nSide A — contributor: tommy-mor\nSide A — commit message:\n[b9476669] Remove browser sentinel delegates so multi-user votes work.\n\nShared WEB_BROWSER_AGENT bound on first vote and blocked every later human; browser posts now use no delegate, matching forum UI.\n\nCo-authored-by: Cursor <cursoragent@cursor.com>\n\nSide A — unified diff (full patch):\ndiff --git a/cli/src/main.rs b/cli/src/main.rs\nindex c4f1494df3aedbd8b883aea6249579aa8336abfe..af3e4fee876910a44f6f872b24821bc541a23e20 100644\n--- a/cli/src/main.rs\n+++ b/cli/src/main.rs\n@@ -1741,8 +1741,8 @@ async fn run() -> Result<()> {\n                     tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_millis(poll_interval_ms)).await;\n                     let poll: PendingSessionPollResponse =\n                         expect_json(client.get(&poll_url).send().await?).await?;\n-                    if !poll.agent.trim().is_empty() {\n-                        agent_out = Some(poll.agent.clone());\n+                    if let Some(a) = poll.agent.as_deref().map(str::trim).filter(|s| !s.is_empty()) {\n+                        agent_out = Some(a.to_string());\n                     }\n                     if poll.complete {\n                         token_out = poll.token;\ndiff --git a/server/src/api/auth.rs b/server/src/api/auth.rs\nindex 50dc6af908412b16343829eae25154ebf4e19fca..01c02f50c19bcd62c7f1717f9b927f203c3164d0 100644\n--- a/server/src/api/auth.rs\n+++ b/server/src/api/auth.rs\n@@ -29,18 +29,6 @@ use crate::{\n     write_cmd::WriteCmd,\n };\n \n-/// Delegate id for browser users who land via `/join/inv_…` (no CLI agent).\n-const INVITE_BROWSER_AGENT: &str = \"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000:invite:web/join\";\n-\n-/// Agent id for `/login` browser OAuth (no CLI); must pass [`parse_agent`].\n-pub const WEB_BROWSER_AGENT: &str = \"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001:social:web/browser\";\n-\n-/// True for well-known browser / human-form sentinel delegates (not real AI agents).\n-/// HTML attribution should show the human username for these, not `@@uuid:rig:…`.\n-pub fn is_browser_sentinel_delegate(agent: &str) -> bool {\n-    agent == WEB_BROWSER_AGENT || agent == INVITE_BROWSER_AGENT\n-}\n-\n /// HttpOnly cookie storing the same `slug_*` bearer string the CLI uses.\n pub const SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE: &str = \"slug_session\";\n \n@@ -288,7 +276,7 @@ pub async fn get_join_invite(\n     let session = format!(\"p_{}\", uuid::Uuid::new_v4().simple());\n     let redirect_next = safe_local_redirect(q.next.as_deref().or(q.redirect.as_deref()));\n     let s = PendingSession {\n-        agent: INVITE_BROWSER_AGENT.to_string(),\n+        agent: None,\n         created_ts: now_ms(),\n         provider: None,\n         provider_id: None,\n@@ -555,7 +543,7 @@ pub async fn post_choose_username(\n     };\n \n     let sessions = pending_sessions(&state);\n-    let (provider, provider_id, agent) = {\n+    let (provider, provider_id) = {\n         let sessions_read = sessions.read().await;\n         let Some(s) = sessions_read.get(&form.session) else {\n             return api_error(StatusCode::NOT_FOUND, \"unknown session\", None).into_response();\n@@ -566,14 +554,9 @@ pub async fn post_choose_username(\n         let Some(provider_id) = s.provider_id.clone() else {\n             return js_form_error_fragment(&form.session, \"oauth not completed\").into_response();\n         };\n-        (provider, provider_id, s.agent.clone())\n+        (provider, provider_id)\n     };\n \n-    if let Err(msg) = parse_agent(&agent) {\n-        return js_form_error_fragment(&form.session, &format!(\"invalid agent format — {msg}\"))\n-            .into_response();\n-    }\n-\n     let redeem_invite = {\n         let sessions_read = sessions.read().await;\n         sessions_read\n@@ -643,7 +626,8 @@ pub async fn get_web_login(\n     let redirect_next = safe_local_redirect(q.next.as_deref().or(q.redirect.as_deref()))\n         .or_else(|| Some(\"/\".to_string()));\n     let s = PendingSession {\n-        agent: WEB_BROWSER_AGENT.to_string(),\n+        // Humans sign in via the website with no AI delegate.\n+        agent: None,\n         created_ts: now_ms(),\n         provider: None,\n         provider_id: None,\n@@ -704,7 +688,7 @@ pub async fn post_pending_session(\n     );\n     let poll_url = format!(\"/api/v0/pending-session/{session}\");\n     let s = PendingSession {\n-        agent: agent_naked,\n+        agent: Some(agent_naked),\n         created_ts: now_ms(),\n         provider: None,\n         provider_id: None,\ndiff --git a/server/src/api/mod.rs b/server/src/api/mod.rs\nindex fdff6db0472b36cd7870a4be68574023e0daf120..920e967b47852ea82fa61b84c457ae3582dd9800 100644\n--- a/server/src/api/mod.rs\n+++ b/server/src/api/mod.rs\n@@ -18,13 +18,11 @@ pub use auth::{\n     get_choose_username,\n     get_web_login,\n     get_logout,\n-    is_browser_sentinel_delegate,\n     optional_principal,\n     resolve_web_session,\n     session_cookie_header_value,\n     WebSession,\n     SLUG_SESSION_COOKIE,\n-    WEB_BROWSER_AGENT,\n };\n \n pub use helpers::{\ndiff --git a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs\nindex 611956d0a46062b49ce350be176e4be139312ff0..6e56c039a184953cd1d0593c34cf4d5abe41f2a3 100644\n--- a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs\n+++ b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs\n@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ async fn dispatch_ui_action(\n                 &session.bearer,\n                 room.clone(),\n                 thread_tag.clone(),\n-                Some(crate::api::auth::WEB_BROWSER_AGENT.to_string()),\n+                None,\n                 text,\n             )\n             .await\ndiff --git a/server/src/html/mod.rs b/server/src/html/mod.rs\nindex 645d54f2e117ba901e02ed958ada6ff69a78ae34..03ad762e88709c77b9d5dd130c48bc96226616a1 100644\n--- a/server/src/html/mod.rs\n+++ b/server/src/html/mod.rs\n@@ -560,27 +560,28 @@ fn identity_color_css(seed: &str) -> String {\n     format!(\"hsl({hue}, 62%, 66%)\")\n }\n \n-/// Seed for author color: real AI → delegate uuid; human/sentinel → principal username.\n+/// Seed for author color: AI → delegate uuid; human (no delegate) → principal username.\n fn authorship_color_seed<'a>(principal: &'a str, delegate: &'a Option<String>) -> &'a str {\n     match delegate {\n-        Some(d) if !crate::api::is_browser_sentinel_delegate(d) => {\n-            d.split(':').next().filter(|s| !s.is_empty()).unwrap_or(d.as_str())\n-        }\n-        _ => principal,\n+        Some(d) => d\n+            .split(':')\n+            .next()\n+            .filter(|s| !s.is_empty())\n+            .unwrap_or(d.as_str()),\n+        None => principal,\n     }\n }\n \n-/// Prefer the AI delegate in attribution; fall back to the human username when there is no\n-/// delegate or the delegate is a browser/human-form sentinel.\n+/// Prefer the AI delegate in attribution; humans post with no delegate and show `@username`.\n pub(crate) fn authorship_attr(principal: &str, delegate: &Option<String>) -> AuthorshipAttr {\n     let color = identity_color_css(authorship_color_seed(principal, delegate));\n     match delegate {\n-        Some(d) if !crate::api::is_browser_sentinel_delegate(d) => AuthorshipAttr {\n+        Some(d) => AuthorshipAttr {\n             label: format!(\"@@{}\", actor_label(d)),\n             author_title: Some(format!(\"@{principal}\")),\n             color,\n         },\n-        _ => AuthorshipAttr {\n+        None => AuthorshipAttr {\n             label: format!(\"@{principal}\"),\n             author_title: None,\n             color,\n@@ -933,7 +934,6 @@ pub(super) fn recency_class(now_ms: i64, ts_ms: i64) -> &'static str {\n #[cfg(test)]\n mod authorship_tests {\n     use super::*;\n-    use crate::api::WEB_BROWSER_AGENT;\n \n     #[test]\n     fn human_or_missing_delegate_shows_username() {\n@@ -943,15 +943,6 @@ mod authorship_tests {\n         assert!(a.color.starts_with(\"hsl(\"));\n     }\n \n-    #[test]\n-    fn browser_sentinel_delegate_shows_username() {\n-        let d = Some(WEB_BROWSER_AGENT.to_string());\n-        let a = authorship_attr(\"alice\", &d);\n-        assert_eq!(a.label, \"@alice\");\n-        assert_eq!(a.author_title, None);\n-        assert_eq!(authorship_address(\"alice\", &d), \"@alice\");\n-    }\n-\n     #[test]\n     fn real_ai_delegate_shows_short_agent_with_username_hover() {\n         let d = Some(\ndiff --git a/server/src/state.rs b/server/src/state.rs\nindex 648ab5304764a329fcabbbbcd3782b94e3e005a8..8ea84dcf9b1df8f8037e913cdd94e5908e6d5d55 100644\n--- a/server/src/state.rs\n+++ b/server/src/state.rs\n@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ pub struct InviteState {\n \n #[derive(Debug, Clone)]\n pub struct PendingSession {\n-    pub agent: String,\n+    /// CLI `identity start` delegate (`uuid:rig:model`). `None` for browser `/login` and `/join`.\n+    pub agent: Option<String>,\n     pub created_ts: i64,\n     pub provider: Option<String>,\n     pub provider_id: Option<String>,\ndiff --git a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs\nindex 6b1475b773106a2dd3f326475c9fb4cc727f6b4b..714563a8b330e3917d95a54ae29b4de143e3b8a4 100644\n--- a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs\n+++ b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs\n@@ -418,6 +418,99 @@ async fn test_web_login_carries_vote_pair_next_into_pending_session() {\n     let sessions = state.pending_sessions.read().await;\n     let pending = sessions.get(&session).expect(\"pending session\");\n     assert_eq!(pending.redirect_next.as_deref(), Some(next));\n+    assert_eq!(\n+        pending.agent, None,\n+        \"browser /login must not invent a sentinel delegate\"\n+    );\n+}\n+\n+#[tokio::test]\n+async fn test_vote_compare_two_users_both_succeed_without_delegate() {\n+    let (addr, _tmp, _log, state, _handle) = create_test_server_with_state().await;\n+    let client = reqwest::Client::new();\n+    let alice = test_bearer();\n+    let bob = seed_test_identity(&state, \"bob\", \"bobtok\", \"bobsecret\").await;\n+\n+    // Define items first (votes require existing item bodies).\n+    let seed = ui_post_ingest_rpc(\n+        \"public\",\n+        \"multi-vote\",\n+        \"~/multi-a {alpha}\\n~/multi-b {beta}\\n\",\n+    );\n+    let seed_resp = client\n+        .post(format!(\"http://{addr}/ui\"))\n+        .header(\"Authorization\", format!(\"Bearer {alice}\"))\n+        .form(&[(\"__rpc__\", seed.as_str())])\n+        .send()\n+        .await\n+        .unwrap();\n+    assert_eq!(seed_resp.status(), reqwest::StatusCode::OK);\n+    let seed_js = seed_resp.text().await.unwrap();\n+    assert!(\n+        !seed_js.contains(\"auth-error\"),\n+        \"item seed must succeed, got: {seed_js}\"\n+    );\n+\n+    for (bearer, left, right, explanation) in [\n+        (&alice, \"3\", \"1\", \"alice prefers a\"),\n+        (&bob, \"1\", \"3\", \"bob prefers b\"),\n+    ] {\n+        let rpc = ui_vote_compare_post_rpc(\n+            \"public\",\n+            \"multi-vote\",\n+            \"~/multi-a\",\n+            \"~/multi-b\",\n+            left,\n+            right,\n+            explanation,\n+        );\n+        let resp = client\n+            .post(format!(\"http://{addr}/ui\"))\n+            .header(\"Authorization\", format!(\"Bearer {bearer}\"))\n+            .form(&[(\"__rpc__\", rpc.as_str())])\n+            .send()\n+            .await\n+            .unwrap();\n+        assert_eq!(resp.status(), reqwest::StatusCode::OK);\n+        let js = resp.text().await.unwrap();\n+        assert!(\n+            !js.contains(\"delegate already bound\"),\n+            \"human vote must not hit shared-sentinel AgentBound ({explanation}), got: {js}\"\n+        );\n+        assert!(\n+            !js.contains(\"auth-error\"),\n+            \"human vote must succeed ({explanation}), got: {js}\"\n+        );\n+        assert!(\n+            js.contains(\"vote-edge-history-region\"),\n+            \"vote should morph edge history ({explanation}), got: {js}\"\n+        );\n+    }\n+\n+    let reduced = state.reduced.read().await;\n+    let human_votes: Vec<_> = reduced\n+        .ingests_ordered\n+        .iter()\n+        .filter_map(|id| reduced.ingests_by_id.get(id))\n+        .filter(|ing| ing.raw.contains(\"prefers\"))\n+        .collect();\n+    assert_eq!(human_votes.len(), 2, \"expected two vote ingests\");\n+    let mut principals: Vec<&str> = human_votes.iter().map(|i| i.principal.as_str()).collect();\n+    principals.sort();\n+    assert_eq!(principals, [\"bob\", \"testuser\"]);\n+    for ing in &human_votes {\n+        assert!(\n+            ing.delegate.is_none(),\n+            \"browser votes must have no delegate, principal={} delegate={:?}\",\n+            ing.principal,\n+            ing.delegate\n+        );\n+    }\n+    assert!(\n+        reduced.agent_bindings.is_empty(),\n+        \"human votes must not create AgentBound entries: {:?}\",\n+        reduced.agent_bindings\n+    );\n }\n \n #[tokio::test]\ndiff --git a/server/tests/support/mod.rs b/server/tests/support/mod.rs\nindex a4320e991763617c1a760efad4b621977e2b74d0..67650520ea8f9f144bfe904347c40329d5db37e8 100644\n--- a/server/tests/support/mod.rs\n+++ b/server/tests/support/mod.rs\n@@ -72,17 +72,14 @@ pub async fn rpc_batch(\n     response.json().await.unwrap()\n }\n \n-pub async fn seed_test_token(state: &AppState) {\n-    seed_test_identity(state, \"testuser\", \"testtok\", \"secret\").await;\n-}\n-\n-/// Add a distinct principal and bearer to a running integration-test server.\n+/// Seed a user + bearer into reducer state (not appended to the event log).\n+/// Returns the `slug_<token_id>_<secret>` bearer string.\n pub async fn seed_test_identity(\n     state: &AppState,\n     username: &str,\n     token_id: &str,\n     secret: &str,\n-) {\n+) -> String {\n     let registered = Event::UserRegistered(UserRegistered {\n         ts: 0,\n         username: username.to_string(),\n@@ -102,6 +99,11 @@ pub async fn seed_test_identity(\n     let mut r = state.reduced.write().await;\n     r.apply_event(registered);\n     r.apply_event(ev);\n+    format!(\"slug_{token_id}_{secret}\")\n+}\n+\n+pub async fn seed_test_token(state: &AppState) {\n+    let _ = seed_test_identity(state, \"testuser\", \"testtok\", \"secret\").await;\n }\n \n pub async fn create_test_server_with_state() -> (\ndiff --git a/test/oauth.clj b/test/oauth.clj\nindex 3cbf496005e906ad6c579d44ac8c4055ee60d063..6911ac34a55707acda9f9ce091c079964649a252 100644\n--- a/test/oauth.clj\n+++ b/test/oauth.clj\n@@ -186,8 +186,9 @@\n               (:token poll-json))))))))\n \n (defn fetch-bearer-token!\n-  \"Simulate browser OAuth + username choice; returns `slug_…` bearer token.\n-   Ingest `--delegate` must match this agent string for `AgentBound` on first write.\"\n+  \"Simulate CLI identity OAuth + username choice; returns `slug_…` bearer token.\n+   Pass `:agent` (default local/dev) when the test will CLI-ingest with `--delegate`\n+   so first write can `AgentBound`. Browser UI posts use no delegate.\"\n   [base-url & {:keys [username agent] :or {username \"intuser\" agent default-agent}}]\n   (let [token (complete-registration! base-url :username username :agent agent)]\n     (when-not (str/starts-with? token \"slug_\")\ndiff --git a/types/src/lib.rs b/types/src/lib.rs\nindex cd6f94c60a4e1c3bfbce13bc0404b803f5f57c6d..4d05466c19a2f15f7d600e1d4a206b39984fabc4 100644\n--- a/types/src/lib.rs\n+++ b/types/src/lib.rs\n@@ -538,7 +538,9 @@ pub struct PendingSessionStartResponse {\n pub struct PendingSessionPollResponse {\n     pub ok: bool,\n     pub complete: bool,\n-    pub agent: String,\n+    /// Present for CLI identity sessions; omitted for browser `/login` / `/join` (no delegate).\n+    #[serde(default, skip_serializing_if = \"Option::is_none\")]\n+    pub agent: Option<String>,\n     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = \"Option::is_none\")]\n     pub user: Option<String>,\n     #[serde(skip_serializing_if = \"Option::is_none\")]\n\n\nSide B — contributor: tommy-mor\nSide B — commit message:\n[07715165] nice\n\nSide B — unified diff (full patch):\ndiff --git a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs\nindex c3c62a76f424010d77a6090c84dd0b82098f573e..da2536112faea313352624cf2ce0ddd0ab3377c1 100644\n--- a/server/src/api/ui_html.rs\n+++ b/server/src/api/ui_html.rs\n@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ use axum::{\n use std::collections::HashMap;\n \n use crate::{\n-    html::{demo_counter_panel, js_string_literal, ranking_panel, JsBuilder},\n+    html::{js_string_literal, ranking_panel, JsBuilder},\n     parser::parse_reddit_url,\n     parser_render::parser_panel_morph,\n     state::AppState,\n@@ -35,13 +35,6 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(\n     };\n \n     match action {\n-        HtmlUiAction::BumpDemoCounter => {\n-            let count = state.bump_demo_counter().await;\n-            let panel = demo_counter_panel(count, state.event_log.path().to_string_lossy().as_ref());\n-            JsBuilder::new()\n-                .morph_selector(\"#demo-counter-panel\", panel)\n-                .into_response()\n-        }\n         HtmlUiAction::RecordVote {\n             a,\n             b,\n@@ -54,8 +47,8 @@ pub async fn post_ui_html(\n             {\n                 return ui_js_warn(&e).into_response();\n             }\n-            let mut group = state.group.write().await;\n-            let panel = ranking_panel(&mut group);\n+            let group = state.group.read().await;\n+            let panel = ranking_panel(&group);\n             JsBuilder::new()\n                 .morph_selector(\"#ranking-panel\", panel)\n                 .into_response()\n@@ -87,20 +80,6 @@ mod tests {\n         assert!(matches!(err, HtmlUiParseError::MissingRpc));\n     }\n \n-    #[test]\n-    fn bump_action_deserializes() {\n-        let template = serde_json::json!({ \"action\": \"bump_demo_counter\" });\n-        let mut form = HashMap::new();\n-        form.insert(\n-            UI_RPC_FIELD.to_string(),\n-            serde_json::to_string(&template).unwrap(),\n-        );\n-        assert_eq!(\n-            parse_html_ui_from_form(&form).unwrap(),\n-            HtmlUiAction::BumpDemoCounter\n-        );\n-    }\n-\n     #[test]\n     fn record_vote_action_deserializes() {\n         let template = serde_json::json!({\ndiff --git a/server/src/events.rs b/server/src/events.rs\nindex b969242534e184d4f0a689543a479670b08a18df..eff80aef0257f706d2341f666e63d6a3d921bf6e 100644\n--- a/server/src/events.rs\n+++ b/server/src/events.rs\n@@ -5,8 +5,6 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};\n pub enum Event {\n     /// Page view recorded (path → counter in views.json).\n     ViewRecorded { path: String, ts: i64 },\n-    /// Demo counter bump from `POST /ui` (persisted in the single JSONL log).\n-    DemoCounterBumped { ts: i64, value: u64 },\n     /// Pairwise comparison vote (replayed into [`crate::reducer::GroupState`] on boot).\n     VoteRecorded {\n         ts: i64,\ndiff --git a/server/src/html/mod.rs b/server/src/html/mod.rs\nindex 5b1d0b5a887d89e7e80796aa7a6c8ed5baaf2782..d69ed962b5c8625bc83c933b1825f2cc1d0868e2 100644\n--- a/server/src/html/mod.rs\n+++ b/server/src/html/mod.rs\n@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ use crate::{\n     form_template::template_json_compact,\n     parser_action::ParserAction,\n     parser_render::parser_panel,\n-    ranking::ranked_items,\n+    ranking::ranked_items_cached,\n     reducer::GroupState,\n     state::AppState,\n     ui_action::UI_RPC_FIELD,\n@@ -199,10 +199,8 @@ fn layout(title: &str, body: Markup, views: u64, theme: &str, theme_next: &str)\n     }\n }\n \n-pub fn ranking_panel(group: &mut GroupState) -> Markup {\n-    const MAX_ITERS: usize = 10_000;\n-    const TOL: f64 = 1e-8;\n-    let items = ranked_items(group, MAX_ITERS, TOL);\n+pub fn ranking_panel(group: &GroupState) -> Markup {\n+    let items = ranked_items_cached(group);\n     html! {\n         section id=\"ranking-panel\" class=\"demo-panel\" {\n             h2 { \"Ranking\" }\n@@ -260,35 +258,6 @@ pub fn vote_panel() -> Markup {\n }\n \n \n-pub fn demo_counter_panel(count: u64, event_log_path: &str) -> Markup {\n-    let rpc = template_json_compact(&serde_json::json!({ \"action\": \"bump_demo_counter\" }))\n-        .expect(\"rpc json\");\n-    html! {\n-        section id=\"demo-counter-panel\" class=\"demo-panel\" {\n-            h1 { \"sorter2\" }\n-            p class=\"muted\" {\n-                \"Pairwise ranking scaffold — votes persist to JSONL and replay on boot.\"\n-            }\n-            p class=\"demo-count\" {\n-                strong { \"Counter: \" }\n-                span id=\"demo-count-value\" { (count) }\n-            }\n-            p class=\"muted small\" {\n-                \"Event log: \" code { (event_log_path) }\n-            }\n-            form method=\"post\" action=\"/ui\" id=\"demo-bump-form\" {\n-                input type=\"hidden\" name=(UI_RPC_FIELD) value=(rpc);\n-                button type=\"submit\" class=\"btn-primary\" { \"Bump (POST /ui → eval JS)\" }\n-            }\n-            p class=\"muted small\" {\n-                \"Uses hidden \"\n-                code { \"__rpc__\" }\n-                \" JSON + Idiomorph morph — no full page reload.\"\n-            }\n-        }\n-    }\n-}\n-\n pub async fn home(\n     State(state): State<AppState>,\n     jar: CookieJar,\n@@ -297,16 +266,15 @@ pub async fn home(\n     let path = uri.path().to_string();\n     state.views.increment(path.clone());\n     let views = state.views.get_views(&path);\n-    let count = *state.demo_counter.read().await;\n     let theme = theme_from_jar(&jar);\n     let theme_next = theme_next_from_uri(&uri);\n-    let mut group = state.group.write().await;\n+    let group = state.group.read().await;\n     let empty_action = ParserAction::suggest(String::new(), None);\n     let body = html! {\n+        h1 { \"sorter2\" }\n         (parser_panel(\"\", &empty_action))\n         (vote_panel())\n-        (ranking_panel(&mut group))\n-        (demo_counter_panel(count, state.event_log.path().to_string_lossy().as_ref()))\n+        (ranking_panel(&group))\n     };\n     layout(\"sorter2\", body, views, theme, &theme_next)\n }\ndiff --git a/server/src/lib.rs b/server/src/lib.rs\nindex 6716c5b282e7980a7a0f03d63ad8b25eda61cc55..fa423640d598f4ba97a5885d228e78d7b97f7a22 100644\n--- a/server/src/lib.rs\n+++ b/server/src/lib.rs\n@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ pub mod parser_render;\n pub mod path_types;\n pub mod ranking;\n pub mod reducer;\n+pub mod settlement;\n pub mod state;\n pub mod ui_action;\n pub mod views;\ndiff --git a/server/src/ranking.rs b/server/src/ranking.rs\nindex 89d3280126a8d8f841721ce8cb63ff735d68752a..2d706762792ba9239bb3f1c2e4974a2fde908013 100644\n--- a/server/src/ranking.rs\n+++ b/server/src/ranking.rs\n@@ -91,6 +91,11 @@ pub fn compute_group_ranking(group: &mut GroupState, max_iters: usize, tol: f64)\n \n pub fn ranked_items(group: &mut GroupState, max_iters: usize, tol: f64) -> Vec<RankedItem> {\n     compute_group_ranking(group, max_iters, tol);\n+    ranked_items_cached(group)\n+}\n+\n+/// Read cached scores without recomputing (HTTP fast path).\n+pub fn ranked_items_cached(group: &GroupState) -> Vec<RankedItem> {\n     let mut items: Vec<RankedItem> = group\n         .idx_to_item\n         .iter()\n@@ -105,7 +110,12 @@ pub fn ranked_items(group: &mut GroupState, max_iters: usize, tol: f64) -> Vec<R\n     items\n }\n \n-fn compute_scores_from_edges(n: usize, edges: impl Iterator<Item = ((usize, usize), f64)>, max_iters: usize, tol: f64) -> Vec<f64> {\n+pub fn compute_scores_from_edges(\n+    n: usize,\n+    edges: impl Iterator<Item = ((usize, usize), f64)>,\n+    max_iters: usize,\n+    tol: f64,\n+) -> Vec<f64> {\n     if n == 0 {\n         return vec![];\n     }\ndiff --git a/server/src/settlement.rs b/server/src/settlement.rs\nnew file mode 100644\nindex 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1f722ceaea62cda22c28ab71551f259fbf049b81\n--- /dev/null\n+++ b/server/src/settlement.rs\n@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@\n+use std::sync::Arc;\n+\n+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot, RwLock};\n+\n+use crate::{\n+    event_log::EventLog,\n+    events::Event,\n+    ranking::compute_scores_from_edges,\n+    reducer::{GroupState, VoteData},\n+};\n+\n+const MAX_ITERS: usize = 10_000;\n+const TOL: f64 = 1e-8;\n+\n+pub struct SettlementCommand {\n+    pub vote: VoteData,\n+    pub event: Event,\n+    pub reply: oneshot::Sender<Result<(), String>>,\n+}\n+\n+#[derive(Clone)]\n+pub struct SettlementClient {\n+    tx: mpsc::Sender<SettlementCommand>,\n+}\n+\n+impl SettlementClient {\n+    pub fn spawn(group: Arc<RwLock<GroupState>>, event_log: Arc<EventLog>) -> Self {\n+        let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(64);\n+        tokio::spawn(settlement_worker(rx, group, event_log));\n+        Self { tx }\n+    }\n+\n+    pub async fn record_vote(&self, vote: VoteData, event: Event) -> Result<(), String> {\n+        let (reply, rx) = oneshot::channel();\n+        self.tx\n+            .send(SettlementCommand {\n+                vote,\n+                event,\n+                reply,\n+            })\n+            .await\n+            .map_err(|_| \"settlement worker stopped\".to_string())?;\n+        rx.await\n+            .map_err(|_| \"settlement worker stopped\".to_string())?\n+    }\n+}\n+\n+async fn settlement_worker(\n+    mut rx: mpsc::Receiver<SettlementCommand>,\n+    group: Arc<RwLock<GroupState>>,\n+    event_log: Arc<EventLog>,\n+) {\n+    while let Some(first) = rx.recv().await {\n+        let mut batch = vec![first];\n+        while let Ok(more) = rx.try_recv() {\n+            batch.push(more);\n+        }\n+\n+        let mut disk_err: Option<String> = None;\n+        for cmd in &batch {\n+            if let Err(e) = event_log.append(&cmd.event).await {\n+                disk_err = Some(e.to_string());\n+                break;\n+            }\n+        }\n+\n+        if let Some(err) = disk_err {\n+            for cmd in batch {\n+                let _ = cmd.reply.send(Err(err.clone()));\n+            }\n+            continue;\n+        }\n+\n+        let (edges, n) = {\n+            let mut w = group.write().await;\n+            for cmd in &batch {\n+                w.apply_vote(cmd.vote.clone());\n+            }\n+            (w.edges.clone(), w.idx_to_item.len())\n+        };\n+\n+        let new_scores = compute_scores_from_edges(\n+            n,\n+            edges.iter().map(|(&k, &v)| (k, v)),\n+            MAX_ITERS,\n+            TOL,\n+        );\n+\n+        {\n+            let mut w = group.write().await;\n+            w.cached_scores = new_scores;\n+            w.dirty = false;\n+        }\n+\n+        for cmd in batch {\n+            let _ = cmd.reply.send(Ok(()));\n+        }\n+    }\n+}\n+\n+/// Compute ranking cache from current in-memory edges (startup replay only).\n+pub fn warm_ranking_cache(group: &mut GroupState) {\n+    if !group.dirty {\n+        return;\n+    }\n+    let n = group.idx_to_item.len();\n+    group.cached_scores = compute_scores_from_edges(\n+        n,\n+        group.edges.iter().map(|(&k, &v)| (k, v)),\n+        MAX_ITERS,\n+        TOL,\n+    );\n+    group.dirty = false;\n+}\ndiff --git a/server/src/state.rs b/server/src/state.rs\nindex 8ec9902e2ecc31cf8208f7ad6365891dc5537eed..1922541a4064c2de1df2d993a461cae783320e05 100644\n--- a/server/src/state.rs\n+++ b/server/src/state.rs\n@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use crate::{\n     event_log::EventLog,\n     events::Event,\n     reducer::{GroupState, VoteData},\n+    settlement::{warm_ranking_cache, SettlementClient},\n     views::ViewStore,\n };\n \n@@ -38,8 +39,8 @@ pub struct AppState {\n     pub cfg: Arc<AppConfig>,\n     pub event_log: Arc<EventLog>,\n     pub views: ViewStore,\n-    pub demo_counter: Arc<RwLock<u64>>,\n     pub group: Arc<RwLock<GroupState>>,\n+    settlement: SettlementClient,\n }\n \n impl AppState {\n@@ -48,14 +49,10 @@ impl AppState {\n         let views_path = format!(\"{}/views.json\", cfg.data_dir);\n         let views = ViewStore::new(&views_path);\n \n-        let mut demo_counter: u64 = 0;\n         let mut group = GroupState::new();\n         if let Ok((events, _)) = event_log.load_all().await {\n             for ev in events {\n                 match ev {\n-                    Event::DemoCounterBumped { value, .. } => {\n-                        demo_counter = demo_counter.max(value);\n-                    }\n                     Event::VoteRecorded {\n                         ts,\n                         a,\n@@ -74,30 +71,20 @@ impl AppState {\n             }\n         }\n \n+        warm_ranking_cache(&mut group);\n+\n+        let group = Arc::new(RwLock::new(group));\n+        let settlement = SettlementClient::spawn(group.clone(), event_log.clone());\n+\n         Self {\n             cfg: Arc::new(cfg),\n             event_log,\n             views,\n-            demo_counter: Arc::new(RwLock::new(demo_counter)),\n-            group: Arc::new(RwLock::new(group)),\n+            group,\n+            settlement,\n         }\n     }\n \n-    pub async fn bump_demo_counter(&self) -> u64 {\n-        let mut guard = self.demo_counter.write().await;\n-        *guard += 1;\n-        let value = *guard;\n-        drop(guard);\n-\n-        let ts = crate::html::now_ms();\n-        let _ = self\n-            .event_log\n-            .append(&Event::DemoCounterBumped { ts, value })\n-            .await;\n-\n-        value\n-    }\n-\n     pub async fn record_vote(\n         &self,\n         a: &str,\n@@ -109,23 +96,14 @@ impl AppState {\n         let vote = VoteData::from_recorded(ts, a, b, ratio_left, ratio_right)\n             .ok_or_else(|| \"invalid vote: need two distinct non-empty items\".to_string())?;\n \n-        {\n-            let mut group = self.group.write().await;\n-            group.apply_vote(vote.clone());\n-        }\n-\n-        let _ = self\n-            .event_log\n-            .append(&Event::VoteRecorded {\n-                ts,\n-                a: vote.a.as_str().to_string(),\n-                b: vote.b.as_str().to_string(),\n-                ratio_left: vote.ratio_left,\n-                ratio_right: vote.ratio_right,\n-            })\n-            .await\n-            .map_err(|e| e.to_string())?;\n+        let event = Event::VoteRecorded {\n+            ts,\n+            a: vote.a.as_str().to_string(),\n+            b: vote.b.as_str().to_string(),\n+            ratio_left: vote.ratio_left,\n+            ratio_right: vote.ratio_right,\n+        };\n \n-        Ok(())\n+        self.settlement.record_vote(vote, event).await\n     }\n }\ndiff --git a/server/src/ui_action.rs b/server/src/ui_action.rs\nindex 1d488e1ad1d8fd81bd9d016d69255adfe9b22fc8..5d94c84113607b3bcd8d31d03ef5b8e1b87b67a7 100644\n--- a/server/src/ui_action.rs\n+++ b/server/src/ui_action.rs\n@@ -12,8 +12,6 @@ pub const UI_RPC_FIELD: &str = \"__rpc__\";\n #[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize, PartialEq, Eq)]\n #[serde(tag = \"action\", rename_all = \"snake_case\")]\n pub enum HtmlUiAction {\n-    /// Demo: morph `#demo-counter-panel` after bumping the persisted counter.\n-    BumpDemoCounter,\n     /// Record a pairwise vote and morph `#ranking-panel`.\n     RecordVote {\n         a: String,\n@@ -52,18 +50,6 @@ pub fn parse_html_ui_from_form(\n mod tests {\n     use super::*;\n \n-    #[test]\n-    fn bump_demo_counter_round_trip() {\n-        let template = serde_json::json!({ \"action\": \"bump_demo_counter\" });\n-        let mut form = HashMap::new();\n-        form.insert(\n-            UI_RPC_FIELD.to_string(),\n-            serde_json::to_string(&template).unwrap(),\n-        );\n-        let a = parse_html_ui_from_form(&form).unwrap();\n-        assert_eq!(a, HtmlUiAction::BumpDemoCounter);\n-    }\n-\n     #[test]\n     fn record_vote_round_trip_with_form_holes() {\n         let template = serde_json::json!({\ndiff --git a/server/tests/integration_health.rs b/server/tests/integration_health.rs\nindex 8a58bc14aac68c779e7ce4ffa57d27b3220e9953..1d816e008b9bf629967e3b3c786c41afefc284e3 100644\n--- a/server/tests/integration_health.rs\n+++ b/server/tests/integration_health.rs\n@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ async fn healthz_ok() {\n }\n \n #[tokio::test]\n-async fn home_has_demo_panel() {\n+async fn home_has_main_panels() {\n     let (addr, _tmp) = start_test_server().await;\n     let client = reqwest::Client::new();\n     let html = client\ndiff --git a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs\nindex bee79407dec120699a083f1a75adf9291e207fc7..7ede46d681fefbe25b1d98fc33520a185515eb1c 100644\n--- a/server/tests/integration_ui.rs\n+++ b/server/tests/integration_ui.rs\n@@ -25,33 +25,6 @@ async fn start_test_server() -> (SocketAddr, TempDir) {\n     (addr, tmp)\n }\n \n-#[tokio::test]\n-async fn post_ui_bump_returns_javascript_morph() {\n-    let (addr, tmp) = start_test_server().await;\n-    let rpc = serde_json::json!({ \"action\": \"bump_demo_counter\" }).to_string();\n-    let mut form = HashMap::new();\n-    form.insert(UI_RPC_FIELD.to_string(), rpc);\n-\n-    let client = reqwest::Client::new();\n-    let body = client\n-        .post(format!(\"http://{addr}/ui\"))\n-        .form(&form)\n-        .send()\n-        .await\n-        .unwrap()\n-        .text()\n-        .await\n-        .unwrap();\n-\n-    assert!(body.contains(\"Idiomorph.morph\"));\n-    assert!(body.contains(\"demo-counter-panel\"));\n-    assert!(body.contains(\"Counter:\"));\n-\n-    let log_path = tmp.path().join(\"events.jsonl\");\n-    let log = std::fs::read_to_string(log_path).unwrap();\n-    assert!(log.contains(\"demo_counter_bumped\"));\n-}\n-\n #[tokio::test]\n async fn post_ui_record_vote_morphs_ranking_and_persists() {\n     let (addr, tmp) = start_test_server().await;\n@@ -90,8 +63,8 @@ async fn post_ui_record_vote_morphs_ranking_and_persists() {\n         port: 0,\n     };\n     let state = create_app_state(cfg).await;\n-    let mut group = state.group.write().await;\n-    let ranked = sorter2_server::ranking::ranked_items(&mut group, 10_000, 1e-8);\n+    let group = state.group.read().await;\n+    let ranked = sorter2_server::ranking::ranked_items_cached(&group);\n     assert_eq!(ranked.len(), 2);\n     assert_eq!(ranked[0].item.as_str(), \"alpha\");\n }\ndiff --git a/test/smoke.clj b/test/smoke.clj\nindex b332324743b58baf3fe96d7477353749f137feae..11887c48282088e140d823a88ba616f6325835b3 100644\n--- a/test/smoke.clj\n+++ b/test/smoke.clj\n@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@\n             false))))))\n \n (deftest http-smoke-against-running-server\n-  (testing \"build, start, healthz, home contains RPC demo\"\n+  (testing \"build, start, healthz, home contains main panels\"\n     (let [root (repo-root)\n           data-dir (.getAbsolutePath (doto (io/file (System/getProperty \"java.io.tmpdir\")\n                                                    (str \"sorter2-smoke-\" (System/currentTimeMillis)))\n","role":"user"}],"model":"~anthropic/claude-sonnet-latest"}