Every Stances answer is grounded in primary sources,giving you credible, objective support for judgement.
01What is Stances, and which decisions is it for?
Stances turns judgements from interviews, podcasts, and public conversations into replayable insight briefs. It does not give one standard answer; it gives you consensus, disagreement, and primary perspectives to support an independent judgement.
Consensus
Important decisions begin with the factual ground shared by different voices.
Disagreement
Useful disagreement usually comes from different premises, not simply right or wrong.
Key variables
Whether the question is real, the voices are sufficient, and the next step can be tested.
02Why not just ask ChatGPT or Perplexity?
Chat and search tools are useful for explanation and retrieval. Stances organizes different perspectives on the same important question and shows whether each judgement returns to its original context. It is an evidence layer around judgement, not a replacement for general AI.
Consensus
General AI is already useful for finding information quickly.
Disagreement
A fluent answer does not always make the speaker, source, and counterexample checkable.
Key variables
Whether the next step is execution, debate, a bet, or persuasion.
Stances boundaryWhy does Stances not please the question? →
03How is Stances different from podcast search or an expert-interview library?
Podcast search finds a conversation and an interview library finds a person. Stances starts with a decision question, organizes voices across people and programs, and keeps the path back to the original voice.
Consensus
Original voice, speaker, and context are part of credibility.
Disagreement
A search ranking is not yet a relationship between views.
Key variables
Whether you need cross-source comparison and full context.
04How do these conclusions return to the original speaker and program?
Each judgement retains the person, original excerpt, program or setting, and source, with the specific timestamp of the traceable excerpt.
Consensus
Who said it and where they said it matter as much as the conclusion.
Disagreement
Traceability does not eliminate editorial interpretation.
Key variables
Whether identity, source, and clip status can be checked.
Stances boundaryWhy does Stances not fabricate views? →
05How does Stances handle disagreement, stale views, and translation?
Stances does not flatten disagreement into one conclusion. It shows shared ground, disputed premises, and variables that change the answer. Content keeps a review date, with checked Chinese interpretation alongside the original English voice.
Consensus
Important judgements change over time.
Disagreement
Different roles may reach different conclusions because their goals differ.
Key variables
Whether a new voice changes the evidence and whether the translation is reviewed.
Stances boundaryWhy does Stances not flatten disagreement? →
06When should I use Stances?
Use Stances when a question has no single standard answer but will affect your next choice. Start with credible primary views, then clarify consensus, disagreement, and what needs testing.
Consensus
It is for consequential questions that need independent judgement.
Disagreement
Not every question needs deep research.
Key variables
The decision’s importance, time pressure, and cost of being wrong.
07Who is Stances for?
Stances is for people who need independent judgement on complex questions: founders, investors, product leaders, researchers, and teams aligning before a meeting, memo, or important choice.
Consensus
High-quality judgement needs credible outside input.
Disagreement
Different roles need different depth and time horizons.
Key variables
Whether you need to explain the basis for a judgement to others.
08What kinds of judgement can Stances support?
It supports questions that require comparing expert views, locating the source of disagreement, and returning to primary voices: product direction, market shifts, technical paths, investment themes, organizational, and career choices. It provides grounds for judgement, not a verdict for you.
Consensus
The question needs a real choice and clear context.
Disagreement
Fact lookup is not the same as a judgement call.
Key variables
Whether enough primary views exist to compare.
09What is Stances Wiki, and how does it expand your understanding?
Wiki connects recurring concepts, people, and views from a brief into an explorable knowledge network. You can follow the network to view concept entries and their relevance to the current question, helping turn one answer into a reusable, long-term knowledge asset.
Consensus
One question usually connects to many related concepts.
Disagreement
A connection does not mean two views fully agree.
Key variables
Whether you need quick understanding or a long-term knowledge network.
10What is Timeline, and how do I use it?
Timeline orders key voices, events, and changes of view around a topic. Use it to understand how a question evolved, then enter the primary voices and opinions at a specific moment instead of reading past judgement through today’s conclusion.
Consensus
Judgement depends on its moment and context.
Disagreement
A changed view does not necessarily mean a contradiction.
Key variables
Whether events, evidence, or the environment changed.
11How can I use Stances content in Obsidian?
Export a knowledge pack with Markdown, wikilinks, evidence excerpts, and source information into your Obsidian vault. Connect a brief to existing notes, projects, and questions so the research keeps growing in your own knowledge base.
Consensus
Research should enter your own working system.
Disagreement
Export is not the end; connection and reuse matter more.
Key variables
How your notes and projects are organized.
12How can I use an exported PDF with Claude or Codex?
Upload the PDF as a sourced research foundation to Claude or Codex, then ask it to compare options, identify open questions, or analyze it with project material. Establish primary evidence in Stances before using a model for the next layer of reasoning.
Consensus
Models are more useful with high-quality context already in place.
Disagreement
Model-generated extension is not new primary evidence.
Key variables
Whether the next task is comparison, writing, or execution planning.
14How are credits used?
New AI research requires a positive credit balance and is charged after successful completion based on usage. Cached answers are charged using the original generation usage. Failed, cancelled or unknown usage is not charged. Reading existing answers, sources, audio and Wiki does not cost credits. PDF and Obsidian exports and sharing are free.
15How do seven-day credit cycles differ from monthly or annual billing?
Plan credits refresh on the configured cycle, currently every seven days; unused cycle credits do not roll over. Monthly and annual refer to billing periods, not credit refresh cycles. Check your account for refresh and membership expiry times. Purchasing and automatic renewal are not available yet.
16Are the 100 welcome credits granted every month?
No. Welcome credits are granted once, do not expire and do not reset with the plan cycle. Other promotional grants may have their own expiry. Cycle credits are spent before free credits, with the earliest-expiring free grants used first.
17Can I cancel at any time, and does cancellation mean a refund?
Payments and automatic renewal are not connected yet, so there is no paid subscription to cancel. Cancelling renewal and requesting a refund are separate actions. Their controls and policies will be provided when payments launch. A beta membership grant is not a paid subscription.
18What happens when my balance runs out?
New research requires a positive available balance; its cost is not estimated in advance. A successful task can exceed the remaining balance and still finish. Further research is blocked until credits become available, for example through the next cycle or a new grant. Existing answers remain readable.
19Can I use the same account across different clients?
Membership and credits belong to one account, with usage attributed to the client channel. Only currently released web features are available; this pricing preview does not activate unreleased clients or ecosystem plugins.
20How can I check an unfamiliar credit charge?
In Membership & credits, check the question title, time and amount in credit history. You can open the original conversation if it has not been deleted. Deleted conversations retain their billing records but cannot be opened. Include the question title and time when reporting an issue.
21How do I request a refund or check its progress?
Payments, refund requests and refund tracking are not available yet. Their controls and policies will be provided when payments launch. This preview does not create orders or charges.
22What if payment succeeds but my credits have not arrived?
Payments are not available in this phase, so there is no payment confirmation or entitlement delivery flow yet. If an existing membership or credit balance appears incorrect, check your account and credit history and contact us. Do not make repeat payments.
What Stances adds:
Every judgement answers four things.
- 01QuestionState what needs deciding
- 02Original voiceReturn to what the expert said
- 03DisagreementSee where consensus ends
- 04VariableKnow what to test next
We update for a new voice or material change. When evidence is thin, we do not force a conclusion.