Polyplexus Instruction ManualContentsQUICK START GUIDE.........................................................................................................................................5

OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................................................5

20 TUTORIAL STEPS..............................................................................................................................................6

1) CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT..............................................................................................................................6

2) SIGN IN DAILY...............................................................................................................................................6

3) FILL OUT YOUR PROFILE...............................................................................................................................6

4) VISIT THE POLYPLEXUS HOME PAGE............................................................................................................6

5) CLICK THE HAMBURGER ICON......................................................................................................................6

6) VISIT THE INCUBATOR HOME PAGE.............................................................................................................6

7) VISIT DIFFERENT INCUBATOR PAGES............................................................................................................6

8) OPEN THE MICROPUBLICATION LIST............................................................................................................7

9) REVIEW THE MICROPUBS OF OTHERS..........................................................................................................7

10) FILTER FOR PUBLISHED MICROPUBS..........................................................................................................7

11) CREATE AN EVIDENCE MICROPUB..............................................................................................................7

12) CREATE A CONJECTURE MICROPUB...........................................................................................................7

13) CREATE YOUR OWN PRIVATE PORTFOLIO..................................................................................................7

14) ADD MICROPUBS TO YOUR PORTFOLIO.....................................................................................................8

15) ORGANIZE YOUR PORTFOLIO MATERIAL....................................................................................................8

16) EXPORT YOUR PROPOSAL OUTLINE............................................................................................................8

17) VIEW OTHER PLEXOR PROFILES..................................................................................................................8

18) FOLLOW OTHER PLEXORS...........................................................................................................................8

19) SEND DIRECT MESSAGES............................................................................................................................8

20) READ YOUR DIRECT MESSAGES..................................................................................................................8

THE POLYPLEXUS PLATFORM............................................................................................................................9

CORE SYSTEMS.....................................................................................................................................................9

OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM..............................................................................................................................9

OUR DEVELOPMENT SPONSOR........................................................................................................................9

USE FULL SCREEN MODE..................................................................................................................................9

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN POLYPLEXUS?..................................................................................................................9

POLYPLEXUS HOME PAGE..................................................................................................................................10

CREATING AN ACCOUNT.................................................................................................................................10

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WHAT YOU SEE FIRST.....................................................................................................................................10

CLICK JUMP IN TO EXPLORE THE FEATURES.......................................................................................................11

CREATE YOUR PERSONAL PROFILE.....................................................................................................................12

HOW TO CREATE YOUR PROFILE....................................................................................................................12

THE LEFT PROFILE PANEL................................................................................................................................13

THE RIGHT PROFILE PANEL.............................................................................................................................13

FINDING OUT WHO’S CURRENTLY ONLINE.....................................................................................................15

THE MICROPUBLICATION LIST.........................................................................................................................15

LIST CATEGORIES................................................................................................................................................16

THE MICROPUB APPROVAL PROCESS.................................................................................................................16

REVIEW EVIDENCE TO LEARN OF NEW SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH...........................................................................16

REVIEW CONJECTURES TO LEARN ABOUT NEW SCIENTIFIC IDEAS.....................................................................18

SUBMIT NEW EVIDENCE BASED ON YOUR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH......................................................................18

CREATE NEW CONJECTURES TO PRESENT A NEW SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESIS.......................................................20

VIEWING THE MICROPUBLICATION LIST TO FIND EVIDENCE AND CONJECTURES..............................................21

USING THE THREE DOT (…) ICON........................................................................................................................22

PERSONAL PORTFOLIOS..................................................................................................................................22

CREATE A PRIVATE PORTFOLIO..........................................................................................................................22

FILTER FOR TOPICS OF INTEREST AND STAR YOUR FAVORITES..........................................................................23

USING THE FILTERING FEATURE.....................................................................................................................23

STAR YOUR FAVORITES...................................................................................................................................23

USING THE SEARCH BOX.................................................................................................................................23

GATHER INTERESTING MICROPUBS IN YOUR PRIVATE PORTFOLIOS..................................................................24

INVITE OTHERS TO YOUR PORTFOLIO TO WORK TOGETHER..............................................................................25

OTHER WAYS TO USE YOUR PORTFOLIOS..........................................................................................................25

ONGOING CONVERSATIONS...........................................................................................................................26

LONG THINK PIECES........................................................................................................................................26

PERSONAL RESEARCH.....................................................................................................................................26

SCIENCE FICTION SPECULATION.....................................................................................................................26

PERSONAL BLOGS...........................................................................................................................................26

PERSONAL NARRATIVES.................................................................................................................................26

SPONSOR INCUBATORS..................................................................................................................................27

SPONSOR INCUBATOR GOAL..............................................................................................................................27

SPONSOR INCUBATOR DYNAMIC.......................................................................................................................27

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INCUBATORS TABS.........................................................................................................................................28

INCUBATOR STATUS - HOME PAGE................................................................................................................28

OVERVIEW TAB...............................................................................................................................................29

DISCUSSION TAB.............................................................................................................................................30

µPUB TAB.......................................................................................................................................................31

Add µPUB TAB................................................................................................................................................32

HOW IT WORKS TAB.......................................................................................................................................32

GRAPH TAB.....................................................................................................................................................32

DEVELOPING A PROPOSAL OUTLINE..................................................................................................................33

WRITE AN ABSTRACT, AND HOPEFULLY A PROPOSAL........................................................................................33

TIPS ON WRITING ABSTRACTS........................................................................................................................34

TIPS ON WRITING PROPOSALS.......................................................................................................................34

PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION........................................................................................................34

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INCUBATORS....................................................................................................................34

THE POLYPLEXUS COMMUNITY......................................................................................................................35

FOLLOW AND COMMUNICATE WITH EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDS........................................................................36

FRIENDING, FOLLOWING, AND FOLLOWERS......................................................................................................36

MESSAGES AND SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS..........................................................................................................37

DIRECT MESSAGES..........................................................................................................................................37

POLYPLEXUS SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS............................................................................................................37

POLYLEXUS EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS................................................................................................................38

PROMOTE EXCITING CONTENT...........................................................................................................................38

INVITING OTHERS TO JOIN.................................................................................................................................39

TOS VIOLATIONS.............................................................................................................................................39

OUR TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS).......................................................................................................................39

POLYPEDIA......................................................................................................................................................39

REPORTING CONTENT THAT VIOLATES OUR TERMS OF SERVICE...................................................................39

THE PLEXOR LEVELING SYSTEM..........................................................................................................................40

SPARKS, THE PLATFORM CURRENCY..................................................................................................................40

EARNING SPARKS............................................................................................................................................40

EARNING BADGES FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION.................................................................................................41

LEADERBOARD TRENDING..................................................................................................................................42

ACHIEVE STATUS AND RECEIVE PEER RECOGNITION..........................................................................................42

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS.......................................................................................................................................43

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POLYPLEXUS STORE (TO COME).........................................................................................................................44

POLYPLEXUS SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS....................................................................................................................44

TABLET AND SMARTPHONE SUPPORT................................................................................................................44

ACCOUNTS, TERMS OF SERVICE, LANGUAGE SUPPORT.....................................................................................44

COMMUNITY MANAGER SUPPORT....................................................................................................................45

GLOSSARY......................................................................................................................................................45

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QUICK START GUIDE

OVERVIEWWelcome to Polyplexus! This Internet platform is designed to accelerate innovation and offers tools that serve to accelerate the pace of your research and idea generation in support of scientific community and Sponsor needs. Polyplexus offers three integrated tool systems that serve to accelerate the pace of your scientific research that will be guided by a Sponsor. An overview graphic of how this dynamic works is provided below.

1) Your Sponsor publishes a Challenge in their Incubator – This guides your research and final papers2) Incubator interaction with your Sponsor – This is a forum for questions and the gathering of research 3) Portfolio development – You gather relevant MicroPubs, publish your own, and write a research paper

To amplify the impact of these combined systems, Polyplexus also offers a number of Community Activities to facilitate the finding and sharing of information, communicating with others within the security of the platform, and in advancing your status and achievements as you contribute.

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20 TUTORIAL STEPS Each Polyplexus tool involves core systems with multiple features and capabilities that are summarized below. These are the basics that we suggest that all Plexors frequently use to publish MicroPublications (also called MicroPubs or µPubs), the lifeblood of Polyplexus. Below are the steps you might want to follow when you first enter the site. Then, the sections following provide step-by-step instructions in using all platform features.

1) CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT

The first time you enter the Polyplexus website at www.polyplexus.com you must create your account and add the key information requested. This is very minimal and your Email address is kept confidential.

2) SIGN IN DAILY

You should log out and end of each daily session and sign in again the next day. This not only ensures that new technical updates are available, but will also reward you with Sparks (the Polyplexus scoring system) for each daily log in. Every constructive interaction you take on Polyplexus will increase your Spark total, so be involved!

3) FILL OUT YOUR PROFILE

Click on Your Name in the upper right-hand corner and you see the name you signed in with. Click on it to access your Profile, so you can fill it out. You can also click on the COMMUNITY tab on the purple bar at the top of each page. First fill it out so others (and any Sponsor) will know more about you, and then refer to your Profile often, as your score in Sparks will increase as your contributions are also displayed in Starburst graphs.

4) VISIT THE POLYPLEXUS HOME PAGE

Once you sign into Polyplexus you arrive at the Home Page, which is continually updated and informs you about major new events, messages, and content published on the site. You can always get back to this page by clicking on the word “POLYPLEXUS’ in the top purple bar. Explore the options here and notice the leaderboards where your contributions might be frequently highlighted.

5) CLICK THE HAMBURGER ICON

The 3 horizontal lines in the upper left-hand corner unfold a menu that lets you access all the system’s core features. Click on the Explore Sponsor Incubators text to open all Incubators that are currently available, both for interaction and past reference. Here you can also see and filter all MicroPublications, create your own Evidence and Conjectures, create Private Portfolios to gather relevant MicroPubs, and see your Messages.

6) VISIT THE INCUBATOR HOME PAGE

This page lets you access all Incubators. The timeline below each one calls out key dates and indicates which Incubators are still open and which have been closed so that research papers can be written and submitted. Click on any Incubator’s blue text to view that Incubator.

7) VISIT DIFFERENT INCUBATOR PAGES

Each Incubator has several tabs across the top. OVERVIEW summarizes the Sponsor’s needs (and can be updated over time based on Incubator insights). The DISCUSSION tab opens a question and answer page where you can interact with the Sponsor, sometime in real time when announced. The µPUBS tab shows all Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs that the Sponsor has approved for publishing. More Like This indicates their favorites, but there are also Might Be Useful and Hold sections, as well as Comments that can be added by you or a Sponsor to each MicroPub. The Add µPUBS tab lets you filter for any published MicroPub and submit it to the Sponsor, along with a Comment that justifies your submission. The HOW IT WORKS tab explains the basic

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rules for this Incubator and could vary from one to another. Finally, GRAPH presents a visualization of all accepted MicroPubs to provide an overview of accepted content.

8) OPEN THE MICROPUBLICATION LIST

Several features can be accessed using the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines in the upper left of each screen). For your reference, a pop-up panel overview appears when each hamburger item is hovered over. When you click on the See MicroPublication™ List you will see a list view of all published MicroPubs.

9) REVIEW THE MICROPUBS OF OTHERS

The list on the right first shows a µPubs™ To Review list. There could be both Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs in this section. These have been submitted for peer review by the community before they are approved. Click the REVIEW button to open a MicroPub and follow its instruction to register your evaluation, then click the SUBMIT button. When the acceptance criteria are met, that MicroPub moves to the next section.

10) FILTER FOR PUBLISHED MICROPUBS

The Published µPubs™ section of this list includes every MicroPub accepted by your community. This will become overwhelming, which is why each MicroPub includes Topic Tags and keywords that permit you to find specific scientific domains. To view all MicroPubs that search filters for, click on the MAGNIFYING GLASS icon. Click on the text of the MicroPub to view it in full – or to compliment it with the button in the upper right or click on the author’s name to view their Profile.

11) CREATE AN EVIDENCE MICROPUB

Evidence Micropubs are the cornerstone of the system, and to create them, finding a qualified research source is where you’ll want to begin. Appropriate sources include primary papers, patents, and review articles from peer-reviewed technical publications. Once you’ve analyzed a paper, from the hamburger icon, click on the Create MicroPublication™ section that says Submit Evidence. Now you will see an authoring panel with fields you must fill out to cite that source, provide a Summary of the key idea, and add Topic Tags and keywords so this published Evidence can be found in the MicroPublication List after peer review. Carefully follow the instructions on that panel, because you can’t submit Evidence for review until all required sections are filled out. Then click the SUBMIT button so this MicroPub can be peer reviewed.

12) CREATE A CONJECTURE MICROPUB

From the hamburger icon, click on the Create MicroPublication™ section that says Create Conjecture. This option lets you create a connector that takes scientific facts from two pieces of Evidence and joins them to pose a hypothetical question about what this fusion might result in. These Conjectures could be broad or narrowly focused, but each can serve as the genesis of a new research effort. This Conjecturing authoring panel also contains fields you must fill out, and a chain icon that permits you to link two pieces of published Evidence. Carefully follow the instructions on that panel, because you can’t submit a Conjecture for review until all required sections are filled out. Then click the SUBMIT button so this MicroPub can be peer reviewed.

13) CREATE YOUR OWN PRIVATE PORTFOLIO

if are going to respond to a Sponsor Incubator, you’ll definitely want to create your own Portfolio to harvest your favorite Incubator content, add your own, and shape your unique approach with Portfolio Notes. From the hamburger icon, click on the Work in Private Portfolio option to navigate to the Portfolio Home Page. Clicking on the CREATE NEW PORTFOLIO button (with a New Portfolio Name) creates a private workspace where each Plexor can develop their new ideas. They ae private, but others can be invited in using the Share option. The Favorite Stars and a MicroPub’s three-dot icon permits you to easily copy MicroPubs into your Portfolio.

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14) ADD MICROPUBS TO YOUR PORTFOLIO

Everyone invited to a Portfolio can add content using the Add µPubs tab on the left. The Activity tab here tracks all Portfolio activity by the owner and participants. Use the Add Note button to add additional thoughts and comments. The Share tab lets the Portfolio owner add more Plexors at any time in the process.

15) ORGANIZE YOUR PORTFOLIO MATERIAL

Clicking on the Synthesis tab offers 5 key questions that you can add to a Portfolio. These are very useful in organizing your Portfolio if you wish to turn it into a Proposal Outline. Any invited participant can also use Notes to rough in first-draft proposal copy, or to identify weaknesses. Only the creator of a Private Portfolio has permission to resequence via drag-and-drop or delete content by clicking the X next to each item.

16) EXPORT YOUR PROPOSAL OUTLINE

On the right next to the Portfolio headline are two Export Icons for different formats. Click one of these icons to automatically create a DOCX or TXT outline. This document will appear at the bottom of the Portfolio’s left-hand corner. You can then save this outline normally for further refinement, with all Evidence, Citations, Conjectures, and contributors listed in the outline for further reference in the writing of the final paper.

17) VIEW OTHER PLEXOR PROFILES

If you hover your mouse over another Plexor’s name anywhere on the platform, that means you can click on that name and view their Profile. On each Plexor Profile you can read all of their activity in terms of publishing Evidence and Conjectures. This will give you a good idea if they’re involved in ideas and subject matter that you’re interested in. You can then Follow them or invite them to your Portfolio. In addition to listing a Plexor’s Expertise and Interest, under each of two Starburst graphics that record overall activity are a number of tabs that let you view all the following and publishing activity of any Plexor on the site.

18) FOLLOW OTHER PLEXORS

Following is entirely under your control. Click on a Plexor’s name on any Evidence or Conjecture of theirs that is published, or anywhere else on the site. This takes you to their Profile. Click on the Follow button in the left panel. This button changes to Unfollow, so you can stop following them later.

19) SEND DIRECT MESSAGES

When you click on the Message button on any Plexor’s Profile, this takes you directly to the Messages section of the interface. Here at the bottom on the right is a message field that captures the Plexor’s name. Enter your message in the Start your message here field and click the Send button. They will receive it in Messages and will be notified using the Envelope Icon in the upper-right of their screen.

20) READ YOUR DIRECT MESSAGES

Click on the Messages option on the blue hamburger menu. This takes you to the Messages Page, with all messages in the scrolling left panel. OR, for a Received Message, you can click on the Envelope Icon in the upper right of every page, and this. This will also take you to the Messages Page, with ongoing message threads capturing all message conversation. Plexors are also notified in Messages when one of their Evidence or Conjecture MicroPubs are published or rejected, along with scoring updates.

Once you’ve explored all these features, you’re ready! It’s a good idea to get familiar with all these steps before you involve yourself in your first Incubator. It’s also a good idea to begin creating Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs once you know an Incubator’s topic area, so they’ll be approved quickly by your peers, to permit you to add them to that Incubator.

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THE POLYPLEXUS PLATFORMCORE SYSTEMSPolyplexus offers three integrated tool systems that are designed to accelerate the pace of scientific research. Each of these uses core systems with multiple features and capabilities that are explained in detail below. We urge all Plexors to use our systems to publish MicroPubs, the lifeblood of Polyplexus.

4) The MicroPublication List – A public publishing platform to promote inspiring research5) MicroPublication Portfolios – Private synthesis workspaces to develop new ideas6) Incubators – An R&D force multiplier to match research Sponsors to R&D specialists (you)

To amplify the impact of these combined systems, Polyplexus also offers a number of Community Activities to facilitate the finding and sharing of information, communicating with others within the security of the platform, and in advancing your status and achievements as you contribute.

OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Polyplexus is being developed by Aixxia, a not-for-profit consortium of cross-disciplinary experts, dedicated to exploring different means of amplifying the power of science through invention and innovation. The development of the Polyplexus platform is funded by a DARPA grant.

OUR DEVELOPMENT SPONSOR

Proposal funding is determined and announced by research sponsors and hosted on the platform in Sponsor Incubators. With the public launch of Polyplexus, DARPA Defense Sciences Office is funding up to 30 one-year seedling efforts on the platform over the next 18 months. These funding opportunities are capped at a maximum of $100,000 each. They will roll out at a pace of approximately two per month in Polyplexus Incubators, beginning in March 2019.

USE FULL SCREEN MODE

The Polyplexus platform is optimized for personal computers, and the best user experience occurs when in full screen mode. Tablets and smartphones are also supported.

WHAT CAN YOU DO IN POLYPLEXUS?

In using the core features above, Polyplexus rewards our users (Plexors) by offering a wide range of activities that all can engage in. The ultimate reward is to use all these sub-systems in various ways to create a proposal for a Sponsor, as defined in Sponsor Incubators, and have it accepted for a research grant.

But that’s not all you can do on a daily basis, and many of you will find our features support a variety of ways in which to explore the boundaries of scientific research, share their ideas with others, and interact with a community of scientific experts. To learn more about all of our features, also see our Polypedia (FAQ).

Click on Polypedia (FAQ) on the purple bar across the top. This takes you directly to our Polypedia. Polyplexus is in the Alpha stage of development as we continue to add exciting new features. You should

log out and log back in on a regular basis to refresh the software with updates. More is always coming! Polyplexus has embedded scoring systems throughout, and you will receive points that we call Sparks

for all of your key activities, including logging in. There is no cost involved at all in your participation in Polyplexus. Your privacy is protected and your personal Email is not shared by our system at all.

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POLYPLEXUS HOME PAGECREATING AN ACCOUNT

You can explore Polyplexus at www.polyplexus.com but some parts, such as Sponsor Incubators, will limit your access to all of the pages. You also cannot upvote, comment, or create content until you create your own personal account. We only require a username and your Email to sign up, and this is kept confidential.

WHAT YOU SEE FIRST

Once you sign into Polyplexus – and every time you go to our URL in your browser – you arrive at the Home Page, which is continually updated and informs you about major new events, messages, and content published on the site. You can always get back to this page by clicking on the word “POLYPLEXUS’ in the top purple bar.

YOUR PROFILE – Click on Your Name: In the upper right-hand corner you see the name you signed in with. Click on it to access your Profile, so you can fill it out. Refer to it often, as your Spark score will increase and you can see all your MicroPubs (and the compliments of others) here. When you click on your name, below are your options.

o View Profile: Click this button anywhere on the site to be taken to your Profile page.o Account Settings: Clicking this text lets you change your Profile data, and at the bottom of the

panel on the right you can also do the following. But be sure to click the SAVE CHANGES button to update your Profile.

Opt Out of Polyplexus Emails Update your password Update your Email

o Sign Out: Click on this text to log out. You will then need to sign back in for your next session. YOUR MESSAGES – Click on the Envelope Icon: This is next to your name in the upper right and informs

you of new notifications and personal messages you’ve received, either from the Polyplexus System or from other Plexors. You’ll find those messages by clicking on this hamburger menu item.

HAMBURGER ICON: The 3 horizontal lines in the upper left unfold a menu that lets you access all the system’s core features. Hover your cursor over an option to read the hover text explaining each item.

JUMP IN BUTTON: Clicking on this opens the hamburger menu. The X button closes this menu. POLYPLEXUS LOGO: Clicking on this on any page where it appears will take you back to the Home Page. POLYPEDIA (FAQ): Click on this text in the purple bar at the top to go to our Polypedia. It provides more

detail (and videos) about all aspects of the platform and answers most questions. VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS: Click on this text in the purple bar at the top to go to a number of videos that

show you how various features work. Use your browser’s go back arrow to return to the home page. AWARDS: Click on this text in the purple bar at the top to see Winner’s Circle proposals that have been

funded by a Sponsor. These researchers used Polyplexus in developing their proposals. NEWS: Click on this text in the purple bar to find links to the newest Incubators. Home Page Headlines: Important announcements are regularly updated as these headlines appear.

Some headlines contain links to articles of interest when clicked. When a funded Plexor publishes a research paper, a link to it will also appear here with their permission.

SHARE USEFUL INFORMATION - Latest Evidence MicroPublications: This is one of two current leaderboards, exclusively featuring published Evidence. Evidence MicroPubs of interest are listed here, and these boards are regularly updated. Click on any text go to the full Evidence publication. Each of these leaderboards contain three filtering buttons:

o MOST RECENT: These are the most recent peer-reviewed Evidence publications.

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o MOST USED: These are the published Evidence most used in Conjectures and in Incubators.o MOST COMPLIMENTED: These are published Evidence that have received the most

compliments with the “Good Evidence!” button. SHARE OPEN SOURCE IDEAS - Latest Conjecture MicroPublications: Conjecture MicroPubs of interest

are listed here and are also continually updated. Click on any text go to the full Conjecture publication. This leaderboard also contains three filtering buttons:

o MOST RECENT: These are the most recent peer-reviewed Conjecture publications.o MOST USED: These are published Conjectures most used in Incubators.o MOST COMPLIMENTED: These are published Conjectures that have received the most

compliments with the “Good Thinking!” button. CONNECT WITH RESEARCH SPONSORS – Engage in a MicroPub Conversation. Compete for Funding:

The most recent Sponsor Incubators are listed here. Click on any to go directly to it. We have also added public interest Cross-Disciplinary Incubators that are not funded but might lead to new Sponsor requests for funded submissions.

SCROLL DOWN – The Polyplexus Propulsion Loop: This circular graphic shows how the various systems work together to propel ideas toward funded research grants. Hover over various graphical elements to see a pop-up explanation of that part of the process.

SCROLL DOWN – Our Social Media Feeds: The Polyplexus community is active across Twitter and Instagram media feeds. Check here for what the community and Sponsors are saying on these platforms.

CLICK JUMP IN TO EXPLORE THE FEATURESTo get a quick overview of the main systems, click on the JUMP IN button on the Home Page. This opens the blue hamburger menu on the left.

You can also click the hamburger icon (3 horizontal lines) in the upper left to see the same menu from anywhere on the platform.

o See MicroPublication List: All published µPubs appear here, along with those awaiting peer review, and also includes your µPubs currently under review. There are various ways to filter this Polyplexus library of MicroPubs, as explained later on. The next two items below let you create these MicroPubs.

PLEXOR LEVELS AND SPARK SCORES: These are listed next to each clickable name, wherever it appears. These scoring mechanisms are described further on.

PRO TIP: Higher level Plexors with high scores are the most active on the site.o Create MicroPublication: There are two options here that you can click on:

Submit Evidence: Here you can research a source, cite it, and write an Evidence Summary, along with relevant Topic Tags and keywords.

Your submission then appears in the MicroPublication list for other Plexors to review.

Create Conjecture: Here you can find and link any two Evidence µPubs, link them, and write a Conjecture Hypothesis (often in the form of a question) Summary, along with relevant keywords.

Each Conjecture inherits the Topic Tags of the related Evidence. Your submission then appears in the MicroPublication list for other Plexors to

review.

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o Work in Private Portfolio: Clicking this hamburger option takes you to the Portfolio Home Page, where you can create as many private Portfolios as desired. This shows all the Portfolios you’ve created, along with those you’ve been invited to participate in.

These are private workspaces you can create, then add MicroPubs, Notes, and key Synthesis questions to organize your thinking.

You can also invite others to participate, but no others on the site will have access. In a Portfolio you can organize a content outline for an abstract or proposal, and then

export it as a text-based proposal outline for the final writing and editing of your separate submission to a Sponsor.

When someone you’ve invited contributes to your Portfolio, you will receive a Message on your Messages page.

o Explore Sponsor Incubators: Clicking this hamburger option takes you to the Incubator Home Page where you will see all recent Incubators listed, along with a timeline to indicate their current development step.

o Messages: Clicking this hamburger option takes you to your personal Messages page. Here you will see all current Polyplexus System Notifications and personal messages from other Plexors.

Polyplexus System: These Notifications in the left-hand panel inform you when your MicroPub has been published or rejected.

Personal Messages: Every Plexor who sends you a direct Message will also show up in the left-hand panel. You can also send a message here in this panel.

New Message: Enter a name in the field that says, “Search for User” and click on the Magnifying Glass Icon to search for that Plexor.

Find a Plexor: The name(s) found will appear under this field, and you can contact them directly with the Message button.

Write a Message: At the bottom of the panel on the right is a message field that says, “Start your message here”. Click in this field and type your message, then click the Send button to deliver it to them.

Message Threads: Similar to smartphone instant messages, your conversation with another Plexor will be recorded in the large panel on the right.

Your Envelop Icon in the upper right-hand corner of all screens informs you if you have any new Messages or Notifications.

A red dot appears, showing the number of new messages. Click on this icon to go to your Messages section.

Hover text: Each hamburger menu item can display a message box when your cursor is over it. This panel explains more about every feature. Click on any selection to go to that part of Polyplexus.

CREATE YOUR PERSONAL PROFILEThis is one of the first things you should do when you join Polyplexus. Including a brief summary of your background and areas of Expertise and Interest informs the whole community about your key interests so they can follow you and send you messages and even invitations to their private Portfolios. Adding your photo is optional, but helps others get to know you visually.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR PROFILE

Click on Your Name in the upper right. o This opens an options box. Click the View Profile button.

Once in your Profile, on the left, click the Edit Profile button.

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Enter in the text fields on the left: Bio, Location, and Affiliation information about yourself. Select your areas of Expertise (at least 2). Then select your areas of Interest (at least 3).

o Expertise and Interests will help other Plexors know what you’re interested in. When you click these fields, a scrolling menu of all current fields of scientific inquiry are listed. Select a scientific domain, then click on the field area again to add another. Then click on the Choose File button to upload an avatar image for yourself in PNG format.

o PNGs should be smaller than 1MB in size.o If you do not add a portrait, the first letter of your last name appears as a Plexor Icon.o You can always use the Edit Profile button to add a portrait at a later time.

Finally, save your Profile by clicking on the Save Changes button. You can always return and use Edit Profile to modify your bio information or change your Password or

change your Email.

THE LEFT PROFILE PANEL

Once you’ve saved your Profile, you will see the following information in the panel on the left. Note that you will ALSO see all of this information concerning every other Plexor Profile you navigate to by clicking on their name anywhere on Polyplexus!

Top of the left panel – Profile Summary (turquoise box)o Portrait: Your photograph will appear here if you uploaded one.o Name: This is the name you provided during sign-in. o Level (and Sparks): Your Level is based on your accumulated activity points (called Sparks).

Your total number of Sparks accumulated is also shown.o Bio info: This is a brief summary of your background, interests, or other relevant

information.o Affiliation: This can list any university, organization, company, or independent effort you are

or have been involved with.o Location: This can be as general or specific as you desire.o Badges: The space under your Location is where icons will appear indicating the

performance Badges you’ve received through exceptional participation. Each badge shown has hover text explaining what is was received for, and most

have 3 versions: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Bottom of the left panel

o Edit Profile button: Click this button to create your Profile or edit it later on.o Expertise: These are areas where you (or any Plexor) has experience or specialized learning.o Interest: These are areas of interest but more generalized knowledge.o SCROLL DOWN: Latest Spark Awards: This is where every action is listed where you’ve

performed an activity that receives Sparks. These activities and point awards are listed in detail in a later section. SPARKS, THE PLATFORM CURRENCY.

THE RIGHT PROFILE PANEL

The panel on the right in your Profile contains a wealth of information about your activities and others in the community who you’ve interacted with or are interacting with you.

o Starburst – Evidence Created: This appears at the top of your Profile in the panel on the right. This large circular ‘starburst’ is a visual display of which scientific fields you’ve indicated as relevant to your Evidence by using their Topic Tags you’ve submitted.

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This display calls out the diversity of Evidence topics that you have called out through your use of Topic Tags when creating that Evidence.

Sometimes these topics are directly related to the Evidence Summary, and sometimes they will serve to ‘advertise’ potential related fields.

Segments: Each ‘’pie slice’ in this circle indicates a discrete professional area based on the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine taxonomy of fields and subfields and are used to describe areas in which degrees are awarded. Hover over each spoke to see the related field.

Initially: This Starburst will be empty, but as your Evidence is published, new ‘pie slices’ will appear.

Example: Go to the Profile for our Community Manager Monica Meyers to see how this Starburst will evolve over time.

Hover: Hovering your mouse over any filled-in spoke of the starburst will display a specific scientific field, and how many times you’ve referenced it.

PRO TIP: When you view the Profiles of other Plexors, this will give you a quick idea of which subject areas they are most involved in.

Score: The number in the middle of the Starburst is a summary of how many Topic Tags you’ve applied in total.

Becoming a Polymath! If you’d like to emulate Leonarda da Vinci, you’ll want all of the spokes on your starburst to be filled in and extend to the outside of the circle.

PRO TIP: If you’re interested in partnering with Plexors conversant in a wide range of scientific fields, this is a great way to find them. Remember that idea breakthroughs will often come when divergent fields of inquiry collide.

o Starburst – Point Awards: This second Starburst displays the system’s scoring activities that build the community, and some are included in your Sparks total, but some are not.

Segments: Each ‘pie slice’ in this circle indicates an area of contribution that helps build our community. Hover over each pie slice to see the activities that this Starburst tracks.

Build Collaboration (use, share, invite) Contribute Imagination (submit Conjectures) Contribute Knowledge (submit Evidence) Maintain Quality (review MicroPubs) Predict the Future (compliment good ideas) Share the Future (contribute to Incubators) Think in the Abstract (create Private Portfolios)

Initially: This Starburst will be empty, but as you perform the above activities, new ‘pie slices’ will appear.

PRO TIP: Go to the Profile for our Community Manager Monica Meyers to see how your Starburst will also evolve over time.

Hover: Hovering your mouse over any filled-in pie slice of this Starburst will display a specific contribution, and the number next to each item summarizes the total number of these contributions.

PRO TIP: When you view the Profiles of other Plexors it will give you a quick idea of which types of contributions any Plexor is making.

Score: The number in the center of this circle indicates the total number of all of these contributions. This number will be different than your overall Sparks score.

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o Your following list, your follower list, your publishing, compliment you’ve received, and follower activity

Following: This is a list of all the Plexors you’d followed using the Follow button on their Profile.

PRO TIP: You can look at the Home Page Leaderboards or use List Filters to find interesting MicroPubs to navigate to. Upon reading that µPub you can click on that name and follow them to see all of their future publications.

Followers: These are the Plexors who have elected to follow you. PRO TIP: If you find Plexors who are following you but you’re not following

them, this is a logical time to make that a reciprocal relationship on Polyplexus. My Published µPubs: This tab on your Profile is initially empty, but over time as your

Evidence and Conjectures are published, they’ll all be automatically listed here. Clicking: You can hover over each MicroPub and it will underline, indicating that

you can click on it and see it’s full card display. Scroll: Over time your list of published MicroPubs will grow, but there is an

internal scroll bar here to see them all.o PRO TIP: Looking at the published µPubs of others is a great way to see

all of the content created by any Plexor, and that might help you decide if you want to follow them or invite them into one of your Private Portfolios.

My Compliment Activity: This tab lists all of your Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs that have received compliments from other Plexors.

PRO TIP: This is a great way to connect with others who have said something nice about your efforts by following them and perhaps messaging them with a thank you note.

PRO TIP: This is also an opportunity to strike up a direct message conversation with an interested Plexor about a particular idea or piece of research.

Following Activity: Similar to your Published µPubs, everyone you are Following will have their content listed here.

PRO TIP: This is a quick way to stay familiar with all the publishing activity of those Plexors you’re interested in.

Follower Activity: Similar to your Published µPubs, everyone who is Following you will have all of their published MicroPub content listed here.

PRO TIP: This is a quick way to stay familiar with all the publishing activity of those Plexors who are interested in YOU.

FINDING OUT WHO’S CURRENTLY ONLINE

PROFILE: Both the Following and Followers lists have a grey dot next to each name. When a name displays a GREEN DOT, it means that Plexor is currently on the site!

o PRO TIP: This is a good way to find Plexors who you can direct message in real time.

THE MICROPUBLICATION LISTTo accelerate innovation, Polyplexus offers a unique public publishing platform to promote inspiring research. Thousands of MicroPublications are listed here in our library, after being peer-reviewed by our community. The features below can be accessed either using the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines in the upper left of each

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screen), or directly by clicking that icon from the MicroPublication List or anywhere else that icon appears. For your reference, a pop-up overview panel appears when each hamburger item is hovered over.

LIST CATEGORIES

The MicroPublication List has 3 main sections, each with a headline in the scrolling panel on the right. Sometimes not all of these will appear, but you will ALWAYS see all Published µPubs.

µPubs to Review: Every MicroPub that is submitted will appear here until peer reviewed. Your µPubs Awaiting Review: All MicroPubs that you submit will appear here until peer reviewed. Published µPubs: This is the full list of all Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs that have been published.

o Click on the down/up arrowhead next to these titles to unfold or refold each of these sections.

THE MICROPUB APPROVAL PROCESSPolyplexus has created an innovative system of peer review that permits the entire community to evaluate the efficacy of Evidence and the validity of Conjectures. We have thousands of experts in multiple fields who are part of our community, and we believe that they are perfectly positioned to accurately and swiftly review and approve content that our system will then publish.

µPubs To Review: When any new Evidence or Conjecture MicroPub is submitted, it will appear here first. See the following sections for what reviews entail, and all content must be approved by the community to be published.

o Review Requests: When you sign in each day our system will request that you review some MicroPublications.

Speed: Review is optional, but it is of great value to others if submitted µPubs are quickly published, particularly for content relevant to an Incubator.

Reward: You will also receive Sparks for performing this vital review task.o Examine Evidence Citations and Source Material: Thorough reviews are very important, beyond

the Evidence Summary itself. This requires some effort on the part of the Plexor conducting the review but ensures

that the summary is accurate. PRO TIP: Many Evidence µPubs will have a URL listed under the citation. Reviewers

should click on those links, read the article, and then verify that the summary reflects a key aspect of that research.

Your µPubs Awaiting Review: When you create and submit any new Evidence or Conjecture MicroPub, it will appear here, but only in your personal view of the MicroPublication List.

o When a MicroPub disappears here, that means it was either published or rejected (in which case you’ll get a Notification in Messages).

Published µPubs: All community vetted MicroPubs appear in this growing list, with many tools for filtering it for a specific Plexor’s focus.

o As you scroll down thorough it, more of the several thousand published MicroPubs will automatically appear.

REVIEW EVIDENCE TO LEARN OF NEW SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHNew Evidence summaries will continually appear in the Polyplexus MicroPublication List as Plexors add their own Evidence Summary and a formatted Citation, along with Topic Tags and keywords to surface cutting-edge scientific research. If you like following the newest discoveries in science, you can review new Evidence in a

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variety of fields. If you’re an Expert in those fields, your evaluations will add the best possible rigor to this peer review process.

ACCESSING: Click on the See MicroPublication List option on the hamburger menu.o Find any new Evidence MicroPub in your µPubs To Review section of the list.

Evidence MicroPubs have a long teal-colored line on their left-hand edge.o Click on the large REVIEW button under the text to open the Evidence to full view.

VIEW: Read the Evidence Summary and determine if it is complete and communicates properly.o If available, click on the URL listed, and read the original research for yourself.o Pay Walls: Some sites hosting papers require a subscription or registration to view them, but

often the authors will have the same material published in other locations as well, without such restrictions.

PRO TIP: You can also cut and paste a full citation into a search engine. This will typically lead you to several places where the research might be published in an Evidence MicroPub.

REVIEW OPTIONS: Scroll down to see the 3 buttons that let you input your review evaluation. OVERALL EVALUATION: Click on one of the Review Buttons for any Evidence µPub:

o Yeso Noo I am not qualified to review this MicroPublication

The last of these 3buttons lets you ‘pass’ on a review if this Evidence is outside your area of expertise. ADDING A COMMENT: When you click the Yes or No button, a new field opens so you can provide the

creator of the MicroPub with the reason that you either approved it or rejected it. This comment will appear as part of the System Notification in their Messages section.

o Yes, and. . . This lets you amplify on why you approved this Evidence.o No, but. . . This explains why you rejected this Evidence.

REVIEW CRITERIAL: Pay attention to the bulleted text on the right, explaining the standards for Evidence review. These are the criteria for a good Evidence µPub. Each should address these key points.

o Are clearly writteno Describe a tangible finding or resulto Cite a recognized and trustworthy source. Appropriate sources of evidence include primary

papers, patents and review articles from peer-reviewed technical publications -- published journal articles or articles on pre-print servers. Secondary reporting from digests and newspapers is not appropriate.

o Are plausible and useful COMPLIMENTS: You can also click on the Good Evidence! Button to compliment it when you review it. RECORDING YOUR VOTE: Click any of these 3 Review Buttons and then the SUBMIT button. This will

automatically record your review of this Evidence.o You will see a “Vote Submitted” message in the orange bar at the bottom.

APPROVAL: Evidence will not be published unless it receives five Yes reviews. REVIEW MORE: Return to the MicroPublication List if you wish to review more Evidence.

o Once reviewed, this Evidence is removed from the µPubs To Review section of your list and moved to the Published µPubs list.

NO SELF-REVIEW: You will not be able to review your own Evidence. FEEDBACK: All reviews are tracked for your Conjectures. Rejected Conjecture MicroPubs are

summarized for creators as Notifications in the Messages menu as Polyplexus System messages.

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REVIEW CONJECTURES TO LEARN ABOUT NEW SCIENTIFIC IDEASEvidence is an underlying building block of a new idea. Building upon that, a Conjecture connects two pieces of diverse Evidence to form a new hypothesis for research. These Plexes are the nascent ‘idea seeds’ of a proposal, and you can gather and build upon these nuggets of thought in your own Portfolios. If you are a creative individual who likes to find new scientific connections, if you engage in Conjecture reviews you’ll be exposed to these ideas first.

ACCESSING: Click on the See MicroPublication List option on the hamburger menu.o Find any Conjecture in the µPubs To Review section of the list.

Conjecture MicroPubs have a long blue-colored line on their left-hand edge. Indented under it are Plexor icons for the two pieces of linked Evidence.

o Click on the large REVIEW button under the text to open the Conjecture’s full view. VIEW: You will see a Conjecture, and under it the two pieces of Linked Evidence. EVALUATE THE CONJECTURE: Ideas are difficult to quantify, because novel approaches and innovations

are by definition new and unique. You should approach Conjecture evaluation with an open mind and not simply reject one because it is unconventional. It might inspire a better idea in another Plexor.

o PRO TIP: It’s important for you to understand the full context of the Conjecture. We recommend that you click the View Full Card for each piece of attached Evidence to review its citation and URL link for more detail.

REVIEW OPTIONS: Scroll down to see the 2 buttons that let you input your review evaluation. Conjectures only have 2 options. Click on one.

o Approveo Reject

REVIEW CRITERIAL: Pay attention to the text on the bottom, explaining the standards for Conjecture review.

o Conjectures should not contain objectionable, unprofessional, rude, or other similar content. APPROVAL: A Conjecture will not be published unless it receives 3 Approve votes.

o Since a hypothetical idea is inspired by Evidence but itself unique, the review standards for Conjectures are different.

COMPLIMENTS: You can also click on the Good Thinking! Button to compliment it when you review it. RECORDING YOUR VOTE: Click any of these 3 Review Buttons and then the SUBMIT button. This will

automatically record your review of this Evidence.o You will see a “Vote Submitted” message in the orange bar at the bottom.

REVIEW MORE: Return to the MicroPublication List if you wish to review more Conjectures.o Once reviewed, this Conjecture is removed from the µPubs To Review section of your list and

moved to the Published µPubs list. NO SELF-REVIEW: You will not be able to review your own Conjectures. FEEDBACK: All reviews are tracked for your Conjectures. Rejected Conjectures are summarized for

creators as Notifications in the Messages menu as Polyplexus System messages.

SUBMIT NEW EVIDENCE BASED ON YOUR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHEvidence MicroPubs are the life blood of the system, and to create them, finding a qualified research source is where you’ll want to begin. Once you’ve analyzed a paper, you can access the Submit Evidence option and cite that source, provide a Summary of the key idea, and add Topic Tags and keywords so this published Evidence can be found in the MicroPublication List after peer review. Creating Evidence is where domain experts can also exert influence by supplying the idea building blocks of the future.

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RESEARCH: First, from your research identify an appropriate piece of published research. Appropriate sources include primary papers, patents, and review articles from peer-reviewed technical publications.

o Secondary reporting from digests and newspapers is not appropriate. OPEN: Click on the Submit Evidence option on the hamburger menu. This opens a Create New Evidence

µPub panel on the left. CITATION: Enter in the Citation field the source author(s), title of the publication, and publication

source.o There are various websites that create citations, such as:

http://www.citationmachine.net/mla/cite-a-website Click on the Help text under the Citation field to find a similar online resource

o Here is a Polyplexus example: Wang CX, Hilburn IA, Wu DA, Mizuhara Y, Cousté CP, Abrahams JN, Bernstein SE, Matani

A, Shimojo S, Kirschvink JL. Transduction of the Geomagnetic Field as Evidenced from Alpha-band Activity in the Human Brain. eNeuro. 2019 Mar 18:ENEURO-0483.

o Note there are 300 characters in this field. Condense items if some text is cut off. URL: If the publication has an accessible link, enter it in the (Optional) URL field.

o URLs let readers link directly to the research, providing ongoing education and insight. YEAR: In the Year of Evidence Emergence field enter the date of the content, which might not be the

publication year. SUMMARY: In the Summary field write a summary of a fact from this source, communicating a key

learning or the results from this research.o PRO TIP: There are 200 characters in this field. Condense if some text is cut off.

TOPICS: Click in the Topics field to scroll down and select the topic tags that can be added to Evidence.o You can select multiple Topics if you wish to provoke ideas in related disciplines.o PRO TIP: You can ‘advertise’ Evidence by adding Topic Tags for related fields of potential use.

KEYWORDS: In the Keywords field enter at least 4 keyword tags to describe this MicroPub.o Separate keywords with a comma. Enter quotes around multi-word entries.o In the Search Box you can search for keywords, and not just Filter for Topics.

SUBMIT: Click Submit button at the bottom to submit this Evidence for community peer review.o When published, your Evidence appears at the top of the MicroPublication List in the µPubs to

Review section. CONFIRMING ANIMATION: The Submit action is accompanied by an animation of this Evidence going

into the Polyplexus Propulsion Loop. CITATION SHARING: More than one piece of Evidence can use the same Citation. An item of research

might yield several useful facts that can be submitted individually as Evidence. APPROVAL: All submissions are tracked. Like Rejected Evidence, accepted Evidence is also summarized

for you in the Messages menu.o Accepted Evidence: An Evidence MicroPub is not published until it receives 5 review approvals,

and you will receive a Message Notification.o Rejected Evidence: Due to the review process, you will sometimes receive a Rejection

Notification in Messages and your content will be double-checked by our Community Manager.o Overruling: If the Community Manager deems that this Evidence has merit, the rejection will be

overruled. CAN’T DELETE: Once Submitted, an Evidence MicroPub cannot be changed or deleted. DISPLAY: Your total of submitted Evidence is displayed in the Point Awards Starburst on your Profile.

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CREATE NEW CONJECTURES TO PRESENT A NEW SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESISThe Create Conjecture option lets you create an idea-connection that combines scientific facts from two pieces of Evidence and poses a hypothetical question about what this fusion might result in. These Conjectures could be broad or narrowly focused, but each can serve as the genesis of a new research effort. If you are creative and can find new ways to connect scientific findings, you’ll love to submit for publishing these new ideas to inspire the community. You can also explore ideas by creating your own Evidence and adding Conjectures as the first step in building a Private Portfolio.

OPEN: Click on the Create Conjecture option on the hamburger menu. DISPLAY: On the left is the authoring panel. On the right is the MicroPublication List.

o Note a small chain icon is added to each item in this mode. LINK 1: Find Evidence and click on its chain icon. That Evidence summary is placed in the first field.

o PRO TIP: See FILTERING and FAVORITES below for ways to target items of interest in the MicroPublication List.

LINK 2: Find a second piece of Evidence and add it to the second field with its chain icon.o PRO TIP: Insightful Conjectures will often come from diverse scientific Evidence.

INPUT CONJECTURE: In the Summary field provide in a question or statement how these two Evidence µPubs could result in a new idea to investigate. A 250-character limit requires succinct, insightful questions or hypothesis.

o PRO TIP: Strive to ask Big Questions that reframe traditional thinking. KEYWORDS: In the Keywords field enter at least 3 keyword tags to describe this MicroPub.

o Separate keywords with a comma. Enter quotes around multi-word entries.o In the Search Box you can search for keywords, and not just Filter for Topics.

NO TOPIC TAGS: Note that Conjectures do not have Topic Tags defined. o Instead, for purposes of searching, Conjectures inherit the topics and keywords contained on

both linked pieces of Evidence. SUBMIT: Click Submit button at the bottom to submit this Conjecture for community peer review.

o When approved for publishing, your Conjecture appears at the top of the MicroPublication List in the µPubs to Review section.

o You will not see your Conjecture here, but it will appear in the Your µPubs Awaiting Review section instead.

APPROVAL: All submissions are tracked. Like Rejected Conjecture, an accepted Conjecture is also summarized for you in the Messages menu.

o Review buttons: There are two options in a Conjecture review. Approve Reject

o Accepted Conjecture: A Conjecture is not published until it receives 3 review approvals, and you will receive a Message Notification.

o Rejected Conjectures: Due to the review process, you will sometimes receive a Rejection Notification in Messages and your content will be double-checked by our Community Manager.

o Overruling: If the Community Manager deems that this Conjecture has merit, the rejection will be overruled and it will be published.

PRO TIP: You can still message or Email the Community Manager to ask for a reversal. CAN’T DELETE: Once submitted, a Conjecture MicroPub cannot be changed or deleted. DISPLAY: Total submitted Conjectures are displayed in the Point Awards Starburst on your Profile.

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VIEWING THE MICROPUBLICATION LIST TO FIND EVIDENCE AND CONJECTURESThe See MicroPublication List option on the blue hamburger menu lets you see all published content in the MicroPublication List (sometimes also called the List View). The is the Polyplexus library of published content.

Click on the See MicroPublication List option on the hamburger menu.o If you have submitted Evidence that is still in review, it will be listed at the top in the Your

µPubs Awaiting Review section. Under the Published µPubs headline all published MicroPubs are listed with a timestamp.

o Each published Evidence and Conjecture includes the author’s name, the date published, and the full MicroPub Summary text.

Hovering over text underlines either the Plexor name or a MicroPub Summary (Evidence or Conjecture).o If you click on a name, it takes you to that Plexor’s Profile.o If you click on the text, it opens either an Evidence or Conjecture MicroPub in full detail.o Use your browser’s BACK ARROW to return to the MicroPublication List.

Scroll down to see more of the thousands of MicroPubs in the Polyplexus database.o As you scroll down, more will load automatically.o See the Filter section below for ways to probe the full MicroPublication List.o Use the View Full Card button on each Evidence to open it fully in understanding the full context

of a Conjecture. A Conjecture’s associated Evidence is folded under each.

o Click on the down/up arrowhead to unfold/refold the linked Evidence. The large blue tab lets you fold and unfold the panel on the left when clicked. On the left panel there is a Search Box and a Filter µPubs set of options.

o The Search Box lets you enter A keyword, name, or any other text that you think might be contained in an Evidence or Conjecture and search for those words in the list on the right.

See the USING THE SEARCH BOX section for how this feature operates.o The Filter text fields let you search broad categories.

Type: This lets you search either Evidence or Conjectures. Topic: This lets you specific a single scientific Topic and search for that.

PRO TIP: If you don’t select a Type, you can do a Topic filtering for BOTH Evidence and Conjectures.

See the USING THE FILTERING FEATURE for more on how this feature operates. When viewed fully, every published MicroPub includes a Star icon in the upper right-hand corner.

o Stars: These can be clicked to mark it as a Favorite (see FAVORITES below). This is a way to organize content you want to add to a Private Portfolio.

PRO TIP: Each time you review the MicroPublications List you might want to Star and tag interesting items for future use in separate tag folders.

On the top of the MicroPublications List you will see an All and Favorites tab.o All lists everything in List Viewo Favorites brings up your Favorites tabs and you can unselect all but the black tab you desire

You will also see a Level and Score next to the name of each MicroPub author. o Leveling and scoring are described in detail below in THE PLEXOR LEVELING SYSTEM and

SPARKS, THE PLATFORM CURRENCY sections. Clicking on a Plexor’s name on their MicroPub will take you to their Profile.

o This is true anywhere you see a Plexor name that you can hover over to underline it.

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A summary of these features is also provided in our Polypedia.

USING THE THREE DOT (…) ICONThere is a special three dot icon (…) in the upper right-hand corner of every published MicroPublication. Clicking on this permits the easy copying of that MicroPub to another location such as a Private Portfolio or an Incubator.

o Add a New Portfolio: This moves a copy into a new Portfolio you must create. When you click on this option a text box appears saying “Enter a name for your new

portfolio.” Type a Portfolio name into this text field and click the Create button. You can also

Cancel this operation. If you now go to the Work in Private Portfolio option on the blue hamburger menu, you

will see this new Portfolio on your Portfolio Home Page. Opening it, you’ll see that you moved a copy of this MicroPub to this new location.

o ADD TO PORTFOLIO: This moves a copy into a Portfolio you’ve already created. All of your Portfolios are listed under this option, but none are shown if you haven’t created a Portfolio yet.

o SUGGEST FOR INCUBATOR: This moves a copy into an active Incubator for the Sponsor to approve for publishing by not deleting it. All available Incubators are listed under this text option. Click on the name of one to suggest the MicroPub to the Sponsor.

PRO TIP: If you have your MicroPub accepted in a Sponsor Incubator and you intend to submit a proposal, you can use this icon within the Incubator to move a copy of your (and other) MicroPubs into a Private Portfolio for use in your submission.

PERSONAL PORTFOLIOSPortfolios are the second core Polyplexus system. These private synthesis workspaces are where each Plexor can develop their new ideas. These Portfolios ae private, but others can be invited in using the Share option. Several other features permit you to navigate the MicroPublication List, find inspiring material, and add it.

CREATE A PRIVATE PORTFOLIOYour first step is to create a Private Portfolio You can create as many as you wish and delete old ones or move content into other Portfolios.

Click on the Work in Private Portfolio option on the blue hamburger menu. This takes you to the Portfolio Home Page where you can create a new Portfolio and will see all other

Portfolios you have access to. First, in the New Portfolio Name field, type in your Portfolio a name. There is a character limit.

o PRO TIP: If you’re gathering material in this portfolio to use in an Incubator proposal, you might want to create a similar name here.

CREATE NEW PORTFOLIO Button: Click this when you’ve named your new Portfolio.o It will appear below, in the Your Portfolios section.o Click on its name there to open it.o There is an X icon next to each Portfolio.

Clicking this deletes the Portfolio if your created it. This X simply deletes it from view if it was shared with you. The author’s Portfolio is

otherwise untouched in this case.

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Your Portfolios: You can have a variety of Portfolios, some to work on ideas of your own, some to address an Incubator’s challenge, and some where you simply communicate with fellow Plexors to explore a topic area.

o See the GATHER INTERESTING EVIDENCE AND CONJECTURES IN YOUR PRIVATE PORTFOLIOS section below for more detail on how to fill your Portfolios.

Portfolios Shared With You: As you get to know fellow Plexors, some will share their Private Portfolios with you, so you can contribute to them.

o See the INVITE OTHERS INTO YOUR PORTFOLIO TO WORK TOGETHER ON AN IDEA section below for more detail on how you get and can give Portfolio access.

FILTER FOR TOPICS OF INTEREST AND STAR YOUR FAVORITESThe See MicroPublication List option on the blue hamburger menu lets you see every Evidence and Conjecture MicroPublication on Polyplexus in the MicroPublication List, with the most recent on the top. As you scroll down, you’ll keep finding more. But since there are thousands already, you’ll probably want to Select Filters or search keywords to define more specifically what you want to find.

If you want to graze for interesting items to return to, you can click the Star next to any content item and add it to your Favorites List (with optional personalized tags you can give to sort them).

This can be the first step in developing an idea of your own, as you collect related items of interest.

USING THE FILTERING FEATURE

Click on the See MicroPublication List option on the blue hamburger menu. A Filter µPubs list appear in the left panel. Use the dropdown lists in the fields to turn ON specific Filters.

o Type: Click on Select, then on either option to filter all MicroPubs for Evidence or Conjectures. The default view is to show both. This filter selection will appear in the Type text field.

o Topic: Click on Select, and then you can click on one or more of the scientific fields in the dropdown text list to look only for MicroPubs with those Topic Tags. It will appear in the appropriate text field.

o Auto-Filter: Once you have made these selections, the list on the right will be filtered for the MicroPub types and scientific areas you’ve selected. If there are many available, as you scroll to the bottom of the list, you’ll see a MORE button that loads more of the MicroPubs you’ve found.

o Clear Filters: Clicking the X button next to an item in the Type or Topic text fields removes any specific filter.

o Clear Search Box: Be sure to also remove any text entries in the Search Box to get back to a full MicroPublication List.

STAR YOUR FAVORITES

Above the MicroPublication List on the right there are two text Options: All and Favorites.o If you click All, you see everything in the MicroPublication List.o If you click Favorites, you see your unique tags and Starred content.

Every published item in the MicroPublication List has a Favorites Star to the left of it. Click on a Star to Add it to your Favorites. The Star fills in, indicating that you saved a copy. A text box appears, saying Enter Tags Separated by Spaces. These tags are different from Topic Tags and are tags you use for your own organization. Enter a tag and click ADD. If you SKIP ADDING TAGS, they all appear in one Favorites list.

o PRO TIP: If you are looking for MicroPubs for a Portfolio, use a similar tag name.o PRO TIP: If you are finding material for an Incubator, use an identifiable Incubator tag.

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USING THE SEARCH BOX

TO ACTIVATE: Click on the See MicroPublication List option on the blue hamburger menu. DISPLAY: The Search Box (with a magnifying glass) appears on the upper left. Enter any keyword, Plexor name, or word that might be contained in MicroPubs.

o PRO TIP: Try using several potential keywords that might be tagged to an Evidence MicroPub and add a Favorites Star and tag to relevant material that each search surfaces.

o PRO TIP: You can copy-and-paste any full Citation (or author) from Evidence, and the search will take you to the relevant Evidence MicroPub.

To Search: Click on the magnifying glass icon. The list on the right will surface any MicroPubs involving these words.

o Deep Search: Our search system also parses through Evidence and Conjecture text to find words that aren’t included as Topic Tags or keywords.

GATHER INTERESTING MICROPUBS IN YOUR PRIVATE PORTFOLIOSIn some ways Private Portfolios work like typical folders on your desktop. Here you can gather any Evidence and Conjectures from the MicroPublication List or your tagged Favorites lists.

Adding MicroPubs: As you add each one using either the Add button for Favorites or a (…) option from the MicroPublication List, a copy appears in a personally created Portfolio. Now you can sequence them and add Notes of ideas or other material to find.

Multiple Portfolios: You can create multiple Portfolios and can tailor some of them to begin building a proposal idea for a Sponsor Incubator, or to create a proposal you hope to find an investor on the site to support.

Sequencing: Click inside the box for any Evidence, Conjecture, or Note in your list and while holding the mouse button down, slide it to a new position and release the button. It will appear in that position and the sequence numbers on the left will be updated automatically.

o PRO TIP: When you add Notes, you can reference the sequence number in the Note so that the owner of the Portfolio can move those notes under a specific MicroPub or related Note.

Adding Notes: Each Portfolio has a Notes field at the top. Simply click inside the field, type any content up to 10,000 characters long, and click on the Add Note button. Your new Note will appear at the top of the list.

Deleting Content: Next to the sequence number, each item has an X icon. Clicking this removes this content. Note that ONLY the creator of a Portfolio can delete or sequence content.

Add µPubs: In the left panel there are four options toward the top. Using this option lets you add any Evidence or Conjectures to a Portfolio.

o Tags: When you Star any content and give it a Favorites Tag, those tags will appear here. Initially they are all selected but clicking some off will let you limit the lists of tagged content below the tags.

o Show µPubs without any tags: You can also Star content but not give it a Favorites Tag. Checking this box will list All content instead of your tagged content.

The three dots on the right of each piece of content in the MicroPublication List permits easy copying of that material.

o Add a New Portfolio: This moves a copy into a new Portfolio you must create.o Add to Portfolio: This moves a copy into a Portfolio you’ve already created.o Suggest for Incubator: The options under this permit Adding this content to one of the active

Sponsor Incubators but won’t be published until they approve its addition.24

Evidence URLs: You can also use the URLs on Evidence cards to open research in your browser, and cut and paste other facts, conclusions, or related text into a Notes field in your Portfolio.

INVITE OTHERS TO YOUR PORTFOLIO TO WORK TOGETHERIf you’re a team player, sometimes you might want to partner with another Plexor (or a few), to develop an idea together. Your Private Portfolios have a Share option, so you can input names and send them an invitation that grants them access to your Portfolio. Now you can all use Notes to discuss ideas, as your team works together to find relevant Evidence and Conjectures. To find potential partners to work with, you’ll also want to use the following tab options on the left.

Add µPubs: Everyone invited to a Portfolio can Add content. Activity: This tab offers a log that tracks all Portfolio activity for the owner and participants. Share: This tab lets you Invite people to this Portfolio and tells you how many are sharing it.

o Search for User: Type a name into this field and click on the Magnifying Glass Icon. Results are shown below.

o Invite: Click on the Invite button to have this Portfolio appear on that Plexor’s Portfolio Home Page.

Portfolios Shared With You: Another Plexor’s Portfolio appears here on your Portfolio Home Page if you were Invited.

Synthesis: Clicking on this tab offers 5 key questions that you can add to a Portfolio.o These ask the same questions that Sponsors such as DARPA ask in proposal solicitations.o Use these to organize your Portfolio if you wish to turn it into a Proposal Outline.o You can use Notes to also rough in first-draft proposal copy, or to identify weaknesses.o Export: Next to the Portfolio headline are two Export Icons for different formats.o Click one of these icons to see and open the DOCX or TXT outline.

This will appear at the bottom of the Portfolio’s left-hand corner. Save this outline normally for further refinement. Note that Evidence, Citations, Conjectures, and contributors are all listed in the outline

for further reference in writing.o Working Offline: Now you can use this editable outline, sharing it via Email with your team to

refine it into a final proposal abstract, which is often a short snapshot of a longer proposal you wish to make.

Portfolio Control: Only the creator of a Private Portfolio has permission to resequence or delete content by clicking the X next to each item.

o PRO TIP: Be sure not to Share with yourself, or you’ll lose this ability!

OTHER WAYS TO USE YOUR PORTFOLIOSIf you want to explore ideas but aren’t seeking to compete in proposal submission, your Portfolios offer workspaces where you can creatively engage with others in additional ways.

PRO TIP: Since you can experiment in your Private Portfolios, feel free to experiment in different ways. We’ve added some suggestions below. If one doesn’t work out you can simply delete it.

The core technology that enables diverse approaches is the Notes field in any Portfolio, where each entry has a 10,000-character limit so any topic can be written about in depth. You can also name these Private Portfolios along the lines below, if desired, and then invite interested Plexors in using the Share tab in every Portfolio.

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PRO TIP: The Portfolio Notes field doesn’t offer sophisticated word processing features such as carriage returns or paragraph indentations. If you want to write long pieces, you might want to break it up into paragraphs and add those one at a time as discrete Notes.

PRO TIP: If you’re writing a very long piece you might want to create it in Word or another word processing tools, and then copy-and-paste those paragraphs in. Since the display lists entries starting from the most recent, you can start at the end of the document and add paragraphs in reverse order, eliminating your need to resequence them.

ONGOING CONVERSATIONS

If you want to explore an idea or topic, you can create a Private Portfolio and invite select others in. You can then talk back and forth with several Plexors using the Notes field, and even adding Evidence and Conjectures as you go along.

You’ll sometime have to resequence incoming Notes since they appear in the order added.

LONG THINK PIECES

If you want to create a long Op-Ed or other type of think piece, you can also break this up into paragraphs and add them, either all at once or as your thinking evolves.

Others you invite in can also use the Notes field to comment on your thoughts. In the text you can also add URLs to visuals on the Internet if those are helpful (although these will

have to be pasted into a browser for viewing), since Polyplexus doesn’t currently support image import beyond your Profile image.

PERSONAL RESEARCH

Already Plexors have asked us how they should handle research that hasn’t been published. While this kind of material doesn’t meet the criteria for an Evidence submission, there are still ways it can be presented to others.

Again, you can use the Notes field and embed URLs if you want others to view your unpublished research, then develop that research further if your Portfolio partners find supporting Evidence and Conjectures.

SCIENCE FICTION SPECULATION

If you want to extrapolate into the future, you can use a Private Portfolio to create a sci-fi scenario. You can either present it in paragraphs, or even invite others in to submit ongoing sections from the

perspective of various fictional characters they give voice to. You can use the Notes field to write your paragraphs it is useful to first create a Word file of your

story, then import the paragraphs in reverse order to quickly assemble the proper sequence.o This is because the most recent Note always appears at the top of the Portfolio list.

PERSONAL BLOGS

You can also use a Private Portfolio as a personal blog that you share with others. You could chronicle your personal user experience, or you could add Evidence and Conjectures and

use the Notes field to speculate on them further.

PERSONAL NARRATIVES

Have you found a new way to use Polyplexus to develop your ideas? You can break down the steps using Portfolio Notes, and then invite others to share in your discoveries.

Do you have a personal story to share that might inspire innovation? 26

You can also use Portfolio Notes to share this with your Friends. You can also invite our Community Manager Monica Meyers in, to help us help others.

SPONSOR INCUBATORSIncubators: These are the third and most vital aspect of Polyplexus. They offer a research and development force multiplier that matches research Sponsors to R&D specialists (you?). They are also central in getting research projects funded. Participation in any Incubator is voluntary but serves as a great way to get yourself known to a Sponsor. We are developing many types of Incubators to serve a wide range of Plexors.

Types of Incubators: There are three types of Incubators currently supported by Polyplexus.

PUBLIC INCUBATORS: These Incubators are open to the entire Plexor community. Visitors can see the first page of these, but then must sign up to contribute. There are two key types.

o Sponsor Incubators: These solicit proposals and will provide research funding to the winners.o Cross-Disciplinary Incubators: Although Sponsor Incubators solicit abstracts and/or proposals,

we have also launched these Cross-Disciplinary Incubators such as the Coronavirus Incubator that are not funded but might lead to future Sponsor funding. These address urgent and broad areas needing innovation.

PRIVATE INCUBATORS: Some Sponsors might elect to create Private Sponsor Incubators where only the top contributors are invited in.

YOUR INCUBATORS: Polyplexus will also permit top-performing Plexors to host their own Incubators. These are called Citizen Incubators. Here the focus will be on emerging scientific challenges and seek to involve the community in finding solutions and surfacing links to currently available resources.

o These will also potentially inspire new solutions from those able to provide a new innovation or solution.

o These are typically not funded and focus on scientific challenges of great public interest that are not covered by funding Sponsors.

o In these Incubators there is not a traditional Sponsor. Instead there will be a very active Plexor who will serve as a Moderator.

SPONSOR INCUBATOR GOALSponsors provide the funding energy that propels future research efforts. Each Sponsor can publish any number of Sponsor Incubators, laying out research efforts they’d like to see the community develop with them, and indicating the level of funding and key deadlines. They’ll have control of which Plexor submissions are published for public viewing in the form of Questions, Discussion comments, Evidence, and Conjectures.

To add further detail, Sponsors will also include PDFs of key information or requirements they are looking for. See ATTACHMENTS below.

If you are competitive and want to advance great ideas for funding, then Sponsor Incubators will be an ongoing source of new opportunities and inspiration.

o PRO TIP: Sponsors wat to find Plexors that they find qualified for a grant, so be sure to fill out your Profile so they can quickly assess your abilities.

SPONSOR INCUBATOR DYNAMICEXPERT CONVERSATION: Think of an Incubator as an ongoing conversation about an important area of scientific research with a Sponsor, conducted exclusively within the Polyplexus community on this site.

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PLEXOR ROLE: The Plexor side of the conversation is to suggest Evidence or Conjecture µPubs that might help answer or advance this area of interest (either your own or those already posted by others).

o Conjecture µPubs are of particular interest because they provide potential connections among evidence. You can select these from your Favorites panel or directly from the View µPubs panel and suggest them to the Incubator.

SPONSOR ROLE: The Research Sponsor side of the conversation is to select for publishing and promote submitted Evidence and Conjectures, based upon the Sponsor’s thinking and interest, and to update their Overview until it is finalized on the date specified.

o To prepare for the different Incubator sessions that are offered, the following parts of an Incubator are described in detail to help you engage in these conversations.

INCUBATORS TABS

FORMAT: Each Incubator uses a similar format to organize ongoing activity. Tabs: When you click on any Incubator from the Incubator Home Page – either Active or Closed – you will see 6 tabs along the top under the headline.

The Tabs: These are the OVERVIEW, DISCUSSION, µPUBS, ADD µPUBS, HOW IT WORKS, and GRAPH tabs.o Click on each tab to get familiar with the display of each Incubator section.

Hover Text: If you hover your cursor over each of these tabs you will see a text box pop up that explains what this tab does.

INCUBATOR STATUS - HOME PAGE

ACCESS: Click on the Explore Sponsor Incubators option on the hamburger menu to go to the Incubator Home Page. Clicking anywhere on any of these summary panels takes you to a particular Incubator.

o PRO TIP: If you hover over this on the hamburger menu, you’ll see a brief pop-up explanation.o You can also click on the CONNECT WITH RESEARCH SPONSORS Incubators from the Polyplexus

Home Page or select an Incubator from the NEWS tab in the purple bar at the top of all pages. These two options will link directly to the Incubator listed.

STATUS: On the Incubator Home page there can be four states for each incubator. Active, Partially Active. Closed, and Archived Incubators.

o Open Incubators: Those Incubators with black text are currently active. Active: The currently Active Incubators have a blue Active button and closed Incubators

display a grey Closed button in the bottom left-hand corner. All Active Incubators that have not reached the Overview Finalized date can still receive MicroPubs, comments, and thumbs-up likes.

Once the Overview Finalized date is reached, it is unlikely the Sponsor will add more direct responses in this Incubator.

Partially Active: After the Overview Finalized date, these Incubators are still open and still have a blue Active button but are at the point where abstracts are being received, evaluated, and potential award winners are being directly contacted and asked to write a proposal.

New MicroPubs cannot be added to Incubators that have passed the Overview Finalized date.

If you try, you will see a message in an orange bar at the bottom that says, “The deadline for suggesting µPubs is passed.”

In these cases, you can still add DISCUSSION topics, comments on MicroPubs, and likes (using the thumbs-up icon),

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o Closed Incubators: Those Incubators with greyed-out text are no longer active because awards are pending. Previous Incubators where a research grant has occurred will no longer be listed.

No Sponsor Mediation: MicroPubs are no longer being reviewed by the Sponsor and it’s highly unlikely that they will respond to future comments or questions.

Partially Interactive: On these greyed-out Incubators you can still add comments, either in the DISCUSSION tab, or on MicroPubs, and likes can still be added.

No New MicroPubs: New MicroPubs cannot be added to greyed-out Incubators, either. If you try, you will see a message in an orange bar at the bottom that says, “The

deadline for suggesting µPubs is passed.”o Archived Incubators: Incubators where a Sponsor award has been granted will not appear on

the Incubator Home Page. Check the AWARDS tab in the purple bar at the top of all screens later on when we

update the winning proposals.

OVERVIEW TAB

ACCESS: When clicking on the Incubator Home Page, you are taken to its OVERVIEW tab. It summarizes the topic that this Incubator is focusing on.

Look in the bottom right hand corner of this OVERVIEW page to see when this tab was last updated.

SPONSOR: Under the Incubator tabs you will see under the SPONSORED BY headline who is overseeing this effort.

DARPA is currently funding 30 Incubators, but other Sponsors will be added over time.

DETAILS: Carefully read the Details section of the OVERVIEW page. It is the opening idea a Sponsor is advancing.

Read the text summary provided by the Sponsor. This gives the overall Sponsor goal.o Note that the Overview might change over time as new Evidence and Conjectures inspire the

Sponsor to reframe or refocus their research goal.

IMPORTANT DATES: For each Incubator, the key dates are given on both the Incubator Home Page and on the OVERVIEW page. A grey dot appears next to each date when that stage has been activated. These Incubator timelines provide up to six dates to guide Plexors, although not all dates necessarily apply:

Incubator Started: This is when this Incubator was officially launched. Suggestion Period Ending: This is when the Sponsor stops accepting Incubator MicroPubs. Ask Me Anything (AMA): This announces when specific questions about the Incubator topic,

requirements, or anything related can be directly submitted to the Sponsor in the DISCUSSION section during either live AMA sessions or at other times when the Sponsor is still involved.

o PRO TIP: We send out a brief bio of each Sponsor prior to an AMA session. Read this so that you understand the areas of expertise and interest for the participating Sponsor.

Overview Finalized: The Sponsor can then finalize their Overview, often updated based on community input, and specifically laying out the issue that submitted abstracts should address.

Abstract Due: These short summary papers will be sent directly to a Sponsor. Proposal Due: If an abstract gains Sponsors approval for a full proposal, this is the delivery date.

o PRO TIP: Mark on your calendar the upcoming Important Dates if you wish to respond.

ATTACHMENTS: Sponsors will typically attach PDF files that provide many details about the Incubator’s proposal goal, along with specifics on how to format abstracts and proposals.

A Sponsor might also attach here other PDFs of general interest in the topic area.

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o PRO TIP: For a proposal solicitation, download the PDF and highlight key ideas and requirements.

EVOLVING SPONSOR OVERVIEW VERSIONS: Since over time a Sponsor might delete some content from the µPUBS section, upvotes new MicroPubs, and made comments on them or in the DISCUSSION tab, these saved versions permit you to go back and see how an Incubator has evolved. For example:

Specific Evidence and Conjectures that are interesting to them. How their OVERVIEW might have evolved based on MicroPub comments. DISCUSSION material that might have informed the Sponsor.

o PRO TIP: If the Incubator has been going on for a while, check what is changed in Versions.

DISCUSSION TAB

This is where you can conduct both live AMA conversations and also discussions over time with a Sponsor.

ASK ME ANYTHING (AMA) DISCUSSIONS: You will receive Email notifications about upcoming AMA sessions from Polyplexus using the Email address you used when signing in.

Some of these Emails will be specific invitations that request that you RSVP.o PRO TIP: It’s a good idea to log in for an AMA session early, both because some questions will

already be asked and to avoid any server lag when everybody jumps in at once. After reading a solicitation PDF, be sure to ask the Sponsor about any ambiguities or areas of focus.

ONGOING DISCUSSIONS: The Sponsor will return to this section periodically which this Incubator is active to answer new questions or react to thoughts that are added by the community.

Use the ongoing DISCUSSION session to ask about content the Sponsor upvotes a “More Like This”.o PRO TIP: Realize that if a Sponsor answers your question, it is important to the community.

If the Incubator’s solution might have many avenues of exploration for your proposal, clarify if some are favored. This avoids you chasing an idea that a Sponsor considers out of scope or bounds.

o PRO TIP: If you want to have a Sponsor know you, ask them good questions!

CREATING A DISCUSSION TOPIC: This can be either some information or a direct question to the Sponsor. At the top, click inside the Add to the Discussion field, and enter your text.

o You have 1000 characters available in writing these comments.o PRO TIP: Sponsors must review many posts, especially during AMA sessions. Be concise.

Click on the SUBMIT button and your topic or question will be published.o The default filtering for Discussion is Most Recent, so your topic will appear directly under this

button. You can also cite interesting articles, and even paste in a URL to a source you think the Sponsor or

community might be interested in.o PRO TIP: Unlike our stringent requirements in reviewing citations for Evidence, this permits

news, publications, and other sources outside peer-review to the attention of everyone.UPVOTING DISCUSSION COMMENTS: You can use the thumbs-up icon to register approval for any comment in the Discussion section.

When you take this action the number to the right of the icon will increase. o You have 1 vote per topic.o PRO TIP: This is a way you can call out discussions you think the Sponsor should pay attention to.

FILTER DISCUSSION COMMENTS: The Sort By option permits you to select and filter all Discussion comments by Most Recent or Most Liked, based on the upvotes above.

Click the down triangle to open this dropdown field, then click on the filtering you desire.

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o PRO TIP: Most Recent is very useful during an AMA, and Most Liked is interesting when you are personally looking for interesting discussion topics to respond to.

µPUB TAB

SPONSOR EVALUATION: When either an Evidence or Conjecture MicroPub is added it will appear in one of the following three sections, based on how the Sponsor rated it using a mechanism unique to them.

More Like This Might Be Useful Hold

A GUIDE FOR PROPOSAL CREATION: The MicroPubs in this section can potentially serve as useful elements as you craft your abstract and proposal.

Pay attention to items in the More Like This section. This is a Sponsor’s editorial voice. PRO TIP: A good way to connect with a Sponsor’s needs is to Add content that is relevant to

what they are promoting in this section. Items in the Might Be Useful section are helpful, but the Sponsor is uncertain of their value. Items in the Hold section are not considered as valuable by the Sponsor.

MOVING INCUBATOR CONTENT: Use the three-dot icon to copy MicroPubs of interest into a Private Portfolio.

PRO TIP: You could find that Might Be Useful or even Hold MicroPubs are valuable in your specific proposal approach, and in some ways might offer an idea that is different from others who only work with More Like This content.

COMMENTING ON INCUBATOR MICROPUBS: Within an Incubator you can generate very useful conversations about specific µPubs through generative dialogue, building on the comments of others and adding additional research information, URLs, and other relevant links.

CREATING A MICROPUB COMMENT: All Evidence and Conjecture µPubs in Incubators contain a Comment Field. Click on the µPUBS tab and the list of accepted MicroPubs appears, sorted by the Sponsor.

o Hover over any MicroPub’s summary text and it will underline. Then click on it.o Now the full µPub card appears, including Topic Tags and keywords.

You can also compliment it using the button in the upper right-hand corner of the card.

o Scroll down below the MicroPub card and you’ll find a large box. Initially it will say “0 comments”.

Click in the New Comment field and enter your comment. Note that there is a 1000-character limit.

Click on the Create button to publish your comment. It will be immediately added to the COMMENTS listed under that MicroPub in the µPUBS tab.

Comments will appear sequentially in this field as more are added. When viewed from the MicroPub itself, you can Report any objectional comments.

If you find a comment you should report to us, click on the green Flag Icon to the right of that comment.

This opens a panel where you can send us a reason why you this comment should be removed.

If we agree, this comment is permanently removed from this comment thread.

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See the Terms of Service section for more detail on this feature. There is no limit on how many comments can be added by Incubator participants (or

the Sponsor) in this Comment thread, so it is possible to engage in a conversation about any particularly interesting MicroPub with any and all Incubator participants.

PRO TIP: Adding a Comment can add context to the submitted MicroPub and provides an opportunity to engage with the author.

o VIEWING ALL COMMENTS: All added comments are folded below each MicroPub in the µPUBS tab.

There you see the text COMMENTS and an inverted arrowhead below all µPub summaries. Click on it to unfold all the comments.

Click on the arrowhead to fold the comment list back up. Note that the green Report flag does not appear when viewing comments in this

way, only when viewing from the MicroPub itself.o NO COMMENTS ELSEWHERE: You can’t comment on MicroPubs in the Micropublications

List. Comments can only be added within an Incubator. This is because the Sponsor has a special tool to delete comments in their Incubator,

while MicroPubs in the List View can’t be removed in this way.

Add µPUB TAB

ADDING INCUBATOR CONTENT: There are two methods you can use to do this.

FAVORITES: You can refer to your Favorites in the left panel and click on specific tagged content, then click the Add button to Submit a MicroPub you’ve already favored to an Incubator.

COPY ICON: Or you can click the three-dot icon (…) in the upper right-hand corner of every MicroPub, anywhere in the MicroPublication List, and use the drop-down menu to directly Add them to an Incubator.

WHEN YOU ADD A MICROPUB: Whichever method you use, before a MicroPub is submitted a pop-up panel appears, instructing you to “Enter a reason why this µPub belongs to the selected Incubator.”

Click in the Reason for adding field and enter a comment that is shared with the Sponsor and Community, then click the SUBMIT button. This appended note will appear as a Comment below your submitted MicroPub, should it be published by the Sponsor.

o You can also click the CANCEL button and not add a comment. PRO TIP: BE SURE to have filled out your Profile, so Sponsors know your credentials! PRO TIP: Pay attention to the Plexors who submitted content that the Sponsor favors.

They might be your competitors, OR If you click on their name, follow and message them, they might be one of the partners

on this proposal!

If you decided to Add an Evidence or Conjecture that doesn’t appear, that means the Sponsor rejected it from publication by deleting it.

HOW IT WORKS TAB

All Incubators contain this page that explains broadly the purpose of an Incubator and how to interact with it. There are no specifics about a particular Incubator in this section.

GRAPH TAB

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This is a visual display that shows at a glance all of the MicroPubs currently contained in this Incubator. You can not only get an overview of Incubator content, but this visualization is useful for other reasons as well.

In the right panel you can click on any graph icon and see its clickable Summary in the left panel.o Click this Summary to see the full MicroPub. Use your browser’s go back arrow to return.

You can type a word into the µPub Search field and any MicroPub summaries using that word appear.

DEVELOPING A PROPOSAL OUTLINE

If you’ve explored all the above features and activities, you can put them all to use in your own Private Portfolios. In fact, if you’re interested in a Sponsor Incubator, you’ll definitely want to create your own Portfolio to harvest your Favorite Incubator content, add your own, and shape your unique approach with Notes. As discussed above, when you develop your proposal idea, your Portfolio has a Synthesis option that supplies 5 key questions Sponsors want addressed in your proposal.

Once you’ve clicked on the Synthesis text, click on each question that appears in the left panel to add it to your outline on the right.

Once you’ve added these, you can organize your material under these questions, find additional material to flesh out key questions, and use the Notes field to write a rough draft of the sections.

Finally, there are export options so all this material can be turned into an offline document for you and your team to finalize.

PRO TIP: As soon as you find an Incubator you might want to propose to, create a Private Portfolio about it. Name it so it associates with the Incubator.

PRO TIP: Flesh out the 5 question Synthesis questions to your Portfolio early and keep an eye out for Evidence or Conjectures that support your approach in the Incubator.

PRO TIP: As you do other content reviews or perusal, have in mind a few tags you can add to content that associates with this Incubator, and tag it so it’s easy to add.

PRO TIP: Return to Incubators and either Star/Tag favored content that you find promising or move it immediately into your Private Portfolio.

o Some of this content might be deleted by a Sponsor later, but you’ll keep track of it. PRO TIP: Be aware of the End of Suggestion Period.

o If you are creating Evidence to Add, keep in mind the review process before it is published so that you can add it. Create new Evidence a few days earlier.

o If you are creating a new Conjecture to Add, keep in mind the review process, and then the Conjecture Gamification delay before it is published so that you can add it. Create new Conjectures several days earlier.

PRO TIP: As you develop your Private Portfolio, keep looking for experts in this domain. Use our social media tools to see if they want to join with you and add their content either to the Incubator or to your shared Portfolio.

o There are times when you might want to hold back your ‘secret sauce’ for the Sponsor.

WRITE AN ABSTRACT, AND HOPEFULLY A PROPOSALAll of the above activities tie into a key purpose of Polyplexus: to help you develop winning research proposals for a Sponsor. There are often two stages that the proposal that you’re editing offline will go through. First, Sponsors will often ask you to submit a few-page Abstract to them, outlining your proposal approach. Based on these Abstracts, Sponsors will notify promising submitters and contact you directly through your Email to request a full proposal. This is when you can fully leverage your exported Proposal Outline to expand upon the

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Evidence that validates your approach and propose answers to the hypothetical Conjecture questions through your research. After that, the most promising proposal(s) will be funded by a Sponsor, and you will be notified outside the platform.

TIPS ON WRITING ABSTRACTS

Developing a Narrative: You need to catch a Sponsor’s attention in the first paragraph. If the problem you’re researching is the story, give it first. If your solution is novel, it might be your starting message. Try to briefly tell the story of your effort. Make it compelling.

Allude to Resources, Credentials, Procedures: Summarize steps you’ll later propose. Know where your proposal will go, and only summarize the approach in an abstract. Warp the abstract up with a Sponsor call to action.

Points of Contact: Sponsor PDFs will specify where you should send an abstract, and how it should be submitted.

Abstracts will only proceed to a proposal phase if the Sponsor likes the abstract and contacts you directly to proceed.

Don’t Bluff: Know where your proposal is going before you propose an abstract. Convince: Be ready to close the deal in your proposal on all fronts.

TIPS ON WRITING PROPOSALS

Points of Contact: A Sponsor will notify you directly if they desire that you submit a full proposal, where it should be sent, and any additional requirements beyond any earlier PDF requirements.

Competition: There might be multiple abstracts submitted, but at this phase a Sponsor will often have dramatically narrowed the field for proposals.

Free Form Ideas: Some Sponsors will not require a specific research solution to their Incubator. In this case all promising abstracts will be considered, and the most promising ones will be asked to proceed.

PRO TIP: In some scientific efforts, a 10% success rate for proposals is astounding. Don’t be discouraged!

PROPOSAL ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION

Points of Contact: Sponsors will notify you if your proposal was accepted. Polyplexus Announcement: We will announce your success on the site and celebrate it through

scoring and badges when we receive this Sponsor notification. Polyplexus Celebration: With your approval, we will post links to your research papers on the

site and celebrate it in our AWARDS section. From time to time we will also conduct Interviews with outstanding Plexors.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY INCUBATORSPURPOSE: Some scientific challenges such as the coronavirus outbreak are too big to be solved by only a few. That’s why Polyplexus has created new public Cross-Disciplinary Incubators. Our goal is to let our community explore broad scientific questions of great and ongoing interest to all of us.

FUNCTIONS: These public Incubators work in most ways that are identical to a Sponsor Incubator. Key differences include: WIDE PARTICIPATION: These public Incubators are open to everyone who has a Polyplexus account.

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o PRO TIP: These public Incubators are deliberately called ‘cross-disciplinary’ because we encourage a wide range of experts to be involved to seek novel innovative solutions.

NO PROPOSALS: These Incubators do not include final steps or deadlines involving abstract or proposal submission.

o PRO TIP: Since a public Incubator might later lead to a sponsor-funded solicitation, it is a good idea to create your own Private Portfolio where you can gather the MicroPubs that you personally think are of the highest value for a potential proposal in the future.

NO SPONSOR REQUIREMENTS: Since these Incubators are not funded, there is typically no PDF attached that outlines the requirements for proposal submission.

LESS SEVERE REVIEW REQUIREMENTS: Since the purpose of these Incubators is to explore new scientific ideas where there might not be much published research, the citation requirements for Evidence submission can be considered laxer when this content is peer reviewed.

o PRO TIP: Since pressing scientific topics will emerge where sources such as news reports provide ongoing information, you should consider these acceptable for this type of Incubator content, although established prior research is also very important.

LONGER DURATION: These Incubators will often run for longer periods of time than a Sponsor Incubator.

PRO TIP: Since Discussions can remain active, you can continue to add new ideas here. REMAIN ACTIVE: Even after one of these Incubators closes, Plexors can still add Discussion material,

comments and upvotes. The only exception is that cannot add any further MicroPubs. PRO TIP: Although this Incubator might close of MicroPubs, you can continue to create

and submit new ones, should this topic area emerge for a funding solicitation. GENERATIVE DIALOGUE: The Discussion tab in these Incubators need not involve specific

questioning of a Sponsor, since the host of a Cross-Disciplinary Expert is more advisory. PRO TIP: Since these comments need not follow a strict Q&A format, there is great

freedom in Discussion topics and comments to generate ongoing dialogue about any issues that surface. This includes URLs to referenced sources, new ideas that can inspire Evidence research and Conjecture creation, and the formation of new social contacts for ongoing direct message conversation.

INCUBATOR MODERATION: These Incubator leaders will conduct Ask Me Anything sessions and respond and will upvote to More Like This the Evidence they believe is useful, but they will not themselves be involved in subsequent Sponsor funding, although they may recommend potential topic areas for funding.

PRO TIP: Our expert Incubator Moderator will spend significant time on the site, adding their responses during AMAs, to additional Discussion topics, and will add their comments to MicroPublications. Which not defining in the way a funding Sponsor might suggest, it will be worthwhile to know how an established expert in the fiend is responding.

AWARDS: While these Incubators do not involve sponsorship funding, they MAY inspire potential Sponsors to open their own subsequent Incubators to solicit proposals based on the quality of the community response.

PRO TIP: Consider these public Incubators an opportunity to express your creativity and interest, knowing that your contributions might help shape future research.

THE POLYPLEXUS COMMUNITY

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Polyplexus is continuing to add social media communication systems in ways that encourage cooperation and contribution, while ensuring that our Plexors feel secure in their interactions. But beyond the ability to Report inappropriate behavior, we have integrated a number of familiar systems that promote trending ideas, facilitate the building of collaborative partnerships, and celebrate personal achievement.

FOLLOW AND COMMUNICATE WITH EXPERTS IN THEIR FIELDSIf you enjoy social media engagement, Polyplexus offers familiar systems. The names of other Plexors appear on Evidence, Conjectures, and in many other locations on the site. Clicking on any name takes you to their Profile, so you can learn who they are and how actively they contribute by reading all their published content and seeing their scores. When you find an interesting Plexor, you have two options:

First, you can follow them, and stay current with their activity on their Profile. Second, you can send them a Message to introduce yourself, and perhaps request they follow you as

well. As you develop these reciprocal associate relationships with new Polyplexus Friends, you’ll begin to

build groups for future brainstorming and tiger teams to help develop your proposals.o PRO TIP: Every Plexor has their Expertise listed on the left side of their Profile, making it easy to

find others whose knowledge is relevant to your interests. o PRO TIP: You will want to correlate a Plexor’s Expertise or Interest with their activity, and their

Level, Spark score, badges, and completeness of their Starburst displays, all on their Profile, will tell you how involved and knowledgeable about Polyplexus they are.

o PRO TIP: Diversity in scientific disciplines will make you more effective. Some of the most innovative ideas will emerge when you work with those in very different fields. The grey space between one discipline and another is where many new ideas will take form.

FRIENDING, FOLLOWING, AND FOLLOWERSThese are familiar social media conventions that Polyplexus supports. The lists of these associations are viewable on your Profile.

Following: This is entirely under your control. Click on a Plexor’s name on any Evidence or Conjecture of theirs that is published. This takes you to their Profile. Click on the Follow button in the left panel. This button changes to Unfollow, so you can stop following them later.

o You can always elect to Follow any Plexor you previously elected to Unfollow.o PRO TIP - Getting Followed: Following is always up to another Plexor. To increase the chances

that they’ll decide to follow you, you can: Direct Message them and ask them to follow you. Strike up a DM conversation thread

with them. Compliment their MicroPubs anywhere: This will help them appreciate you. Comment on their MicroPubs in an Incubator: This will help get them to know you. Invite them to one of your Private Portfolio: If you find their Expertise or Interests

helpful, after reviewing their published content, Share your Portfolio with them. Making Friends: On your Profile you’ll see which Plexors who have followed you, but you haven’t yet

followed them. Make sure to follow them to establish a Friends relationship.o PRO TIP: There is a green dot next to each Plexor who is currently online and listed on your

following and followers lists in your Profile, so you can chat with them immediately via direct messaging.

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Following and Follower activity: On each Plexor Profile you can read all of their activity in terms of publishing Evidence and Conjectures. This will give you a good idea if they’re involved in ideas and the subject matter that you’re interested in. Then Follow them.

o PRO TIP: Keep Searching: Regular views of the MicroPublication List and Latest MicroPublication lists on the Home Page will tell you of new Plexors you might follow.

MESSAGES AND SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONSPolyplexus will send you messages from a number of sources every day, including System Notifications and direct messages from other Plexors.

DIRECT MESSAGES

Click on the Messages option on the blue hamburger menu.o This will take you to the Messages Page, with all messages in the scrolling left panel.

OR, for a Received Message, click on the Envelope Icon in the upper right.o This will also take you to the Messages Page.

Sending a New Message: Plexors can send messages to each other by entering a Plexor name in the Search for User field and clicking the magnifying glass icon.o If you’ve already searched for some users, their names will appear in a dropdown menu when

you click on this field. Select a name in the dropdown and click the magnifying glass icon. Their name will appear under the Results text, along with a Message button. Clicking this will direct your message to that Plexor. They will also receive an alert in their Envelope Icon in the upper right of each screen. Enter your message in the bottom right where a text field says, “Start your message

here”, then click the Send button.o If you enter a new user’s name and click the magnifying glass icon, their name will appear under

the Results text, along with a Message button. Clicking this will direct your message to that Plexor. They will also receive an alert in their Envelope Icon in the upper right of each screen. Enter your message in the bottom right where a text field says, “Start your message

here”, then click the Send button. Sponsor Messages: An Incubator Sponsor can also send direct messages to Plexors, although this

will be a rare occurrence. Existing Messages: These direct message (DM) threads persist in your Messages section on the

right-hand side of the screen.o Once a Message thread exists, click on that name under this section.o This opens the ongoing thread in the right panel.o Enter a new response in the Start your message here field.o Click on the Send button, and it appears above.

Again, they will also receive an alert in their Envelope Icon in the upper right of each screen.

POLYPLEXUS SYSTEM NOTIFICATIONS

Polyplexus System: Plexors are notified when one of their Evidence or Conjecture MicroPubs are published or rejected, along with scoring updates.o These notifications appear separately as coming from the Polyplexus System.

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o You can also send a message to our Community Manager under these notifications if you have a question or complaint.

POLYLEXUS EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS

Polyplexus will send you occasional Emails at the address you provided when you signed in. These involve important system announcements and Invitations to new Incubators. Invitations will sometimes request a RSVP response so we know how many Plexors to expect. Your Account Settings (when you click your name) let you request that we don’t send Emails. This is described in more detail in the POLYPLEXUS EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS section below.

PROMOTE EXCITING CONTENTIf you want to support excellent thinking, promoting the work of others will help surface it for all to see. Beyond gathering interesting Evidence and Conjectures for your own Portfolios, Polyplexus offers a number of ways to expose worthy ideas and facts that might inspire the entire community.

Following: If you hover your mouse over another Plexor’s name anywhere on the platform, that means you can click on that name and visit their Profile. On the left is a large Follow button. When you do this, they are automatically added to the Following list on your Profile.

Compliments: Each published MicroPub has a compliment button in the upper right-hand corner. Clicking this records your compliment, and the growing number of compliments is displayed.

o Evidence has a Good Evidence! button.o Conjectures have a Good Thinking! button.o You will see on your Profile which of your MicroPubs has been complimented when you click on

your My Compliment Activity tab.o You can complement on a daily basis as many MicroPubs as you desire.

PRO TIP: Everybody loves to receive random acts of kindness! Forwarding: Currently there are two ways in which you can call any MicroPub to another Plexor’s

attention.o Copy and Paste: Every screen in Polyplexus has a unique URL at the top of the screen. You can

copy this into a Direct Message and send it to another Plexor.o Sharing: Soon we’ll implement an easier mechanism to share MicroPubs.

PRO TIP: Review the Profiles of Plexors you’re following and see if some of them would find interesting the MicroPub you’re sharing.

Sharing: Inviting other Plexors to participate in one of your Private Portfolios is a great way to share your ideas with them.

o At the top of the left panel in Portfolio, click on the Share tab, fill in a name in the ‘Search for User’ search box, and click the magnifying glass icon.

o If you have already invited some people, their names will appear in the dropdown list. o For a new person to invite, enter their name. Below will appear an Invite button; click on it to

automatically have this Portfolio appear on their Portfolio Home Page. PRO TIP: Review the Profiles of Plexors you’re following and see if some of them share

either Expertise or Interest in the topic of your Portfolio, and then invite them. Messaging: When you click on the Message button on any Plexor’s Profile, this takes you directly to the

Messages section of the interface. o Here at the bottom on the right is a message field that captures the Plexor’s name. o Enter your message in the Start your message here field and click the Send button.

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o They will receive it in Messages and will be notified using the Envelope Icon in the upper-right of their screen.

PRO TIP: Messaging is a powerful tool to use in supporting the ideas of other Plexors. PRO TIP: When a Plexor receives a message, they can open it from the Messages

interface and reply. Over time this conversation thread can grow as you discuss anything with this Plexor as they respond.

INVITING OTHERS TO JOIN

We are working on a system within Polyplexus that will enable you to invite potential Plexors directly. In the meantime, we encourage you to use your personal Email or social media applications to send the Polyplexus URL to others.

TOS VIOLATIONS OUR TERMS OF SERVICE (TOS): To help us manage the professional and friendly nature of this platform, we request that our Plexors observe certain behaviors. While “We reserve the right to monitor Polyplexus, and your use of the Polyplexus means you agree to such monitoring.”, we prefer if our community serves as the filter through which objectional content is surfaced to us.

o What is Objectionable? Our TOS requirements state that:o Polyplexus is not intended to be a marketplace for any goods or services. o You may not use Polyplexus to break the law, violate an individual's privacy, or infringe any

person or entity’s intellectual property or any other proprietary rights. o You agree that you have the right to submit anything you post, and that your user content does

not violate the copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other personal or proprietary right of any other party.

o You may not use Polyplexus to conduct transactions for any illegal goods or services. o Be cool, act respectfully, behave professionally. o You agree not to introduce malicious code onto Polyplexus, make it difficult for anyone else to

use Polyplexus due to your actions, attempt to manipulate votes or Polyplexus’s systems, or assist anyone in misusing Polyplexus in any way.

o We retain the right to remove user content on Polyplexus that we deem to be infringing the copyright of others.

o There is a link to the full text of our Terms of Service and Privacy that can be found at the end of the POLYPEDIA.

REPORTING CONTENT THAT VIOLATES OUR TERMS OF SERVICE

COMMUNITY MONITORING: Although our Community Manager watches out for egregious TOS violations, Polyplexus primarily relies on our Plexors to tell us about content that you find concerning. When we say, “Be cool, act respectfully, behave professionally.”, we include in that statement not using profanity, slurring or attacking others, or engaging in discussions or debates involving race, gender, politics, or other controversies that lie outside of professional scientific topics and behaviors. There are two ways in which we support the reporting of this kind of activity in Polyplexus.

MICROPUB SUBMISSION: Since Polyplexus has requirements for our content, the peer review process for MicroPubs permits the rejection of material that is unsuitable for our community through a straight-forward Yes/Accept or No/Reject vote.

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INCUBATOR COMMENTS: Comments within Incubators are not subject to peer review, and so we’ve created a Report Icon so you can surface inappropriate content when it is directly submitted to an Incubator.

Report Icon: This appears as a Green Flag Icon next to each Incubator comment. It calls out material unsuitable for our community.

o If you click on this icon, a small pop-up panel appears, saying “Report an Offensive Comment” and then listing the comment itself.

o Now click in the Reason for Reporting text field to type in an explanation of why you think this content should be reported.

o Click on the SUBMIT button to send this report to us.o You can also click the CANCEL button if you clicked the Report Icon by mistake.o This report now goes to our Community Manager who will review it and if appropriate remove

the objectionable content. If rejected, comment removal will be accompanied by a direct message to the offending

Plexor, and if necessary, an Email. Polyplexus reserves the right to remove the account of repeat offenders.

THE PLEXOR LEVELING SYSTEMPURPOSE: The concept of Levels is familiar to those who have engaged in roleplaying games, both on paper and in electronic form. Polyplexus uses Levels both to signal the cumulative achievement of a Plexor and to provide an incentive to continue to achieve higher Levels.

o EARNING LEVELS: Initially for the first several Levels, each Plexor will level up for every 100 Sparks they earn, but then it will require increasingly more Sparks to move up to the next Level.

o PRO TIP: This scoring shorthand is also useful in finding and following Plexors who have also reached an advanced Level.

o SCORE BALANCING: Since Polyplexus is still in Alpha, we are constantly reviewing the pace at which Leveling occurs, along with our other scoring mechanisms. Once we have determined the best second-pass implementation of Spark awards, some of these values may change and your Level might also drop down.

SPARKS, THE PLATFORM CURRENCY

PURPOSE: Sparks are an incentive-based currency used to encourage the creation of published Evidence or Conjectures and they are also given to reward other site activities.

LEVELING: Sparks are used to determine the current Level of each Plexor. UNLOCKING: Ultimately these Sparks will be able to be spent to unlock unique features on the site.

EARNING SPARKS

Sparks are currently granted for the following activities.

LOGGING IN: You receive 100 Sparks for each time you log into the site, so do this frequently.o PRO TIP: Doing this will quickly add Sparks and also ensures the software has been updated.

LOG IN STREAK: You receive 10 Sparks each consecutive day that you’re on the site. o PRO TIP: Visiting Polyplexus daily is its own reward.

VIEWING MICROPUBS: You receive 1 Spark each time you view any published MicroPub. o PRO TIP: To expand your scientific diversity, you are rewarded for just reading MicroPubs!

REVIEWING: You receive 5 Sparks each time you review any unpublished MicroPub.

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o PRO TIP: This a vital activity to grow the Polyplexus library, so try to review 5 MicroPubs daily. SUBMITTING A PIECE OF EVIDENCE: 5 Sparks

o HAVING THAT EVIDENCE APPROVED: 10 additional Sparkso PRO TIP: Your submissions also help you further progress toward an Evidence Contributor

Badge. SUBMITTING A CONJECTURE: 5 Sparks

o HAVING THAT CONJECTURE APPROVED: 10 additional Sparkso PRO TIP: Your submissions also help you further progress toward a Conjecture Maker Badge.

HAVING YOUR MICROPUB USED IN ANOTHER’S PORTFOLIO: 5 Sparkso PRO TIP: Your Latest Spark Awards will inform you of who is using your MicroPubs.

CONTRIBUTING TO A SPONSOR INCUBATOR: 5 Sparkso PRO TIP: This is a great way for a Sponsor to get to know you. Be sure to have filled out your

Profile, so they also know your background! REVIEWING SPARK AWARDS: After you receive Sparks for all these activities on the site, you can see

which ones are scoring. o The latest of these Latest Spark Awards can be viewed on your Profile, on the left panel if you

scroll down.o PRO TIP: You can check the overall Spark score of any other Plexor’s Profile, to see how active

they are. This might influence your desire to contact them.o PRO TIP: You can also quickly see what other activities Plexors have performed recently by

viewing their Latest Spark Awards on their Profile.

EARNING BADGES FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPATIONSpecial Recognition: Badges are automatically given when Plexors reach a pre-defined outstanding performance threshold. Two types of badges have been awarded thus far. Founding Member Badges were given during program launch, and Winner’s Circle Badges are given to those who saw their proposal funded by a Sponsor.

Badge Display: The space on your Profile, under your Location, is where icons will appear indicating the performance Badges you’ve received through exceptional participation.

Each badge shown has hover text explaining what is was received for, and most have 3 versions: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.

PRO TIP: Visiting other Plexor Profiles and looking at their badges will quickly give you an idea of those who are performing at a very high level.

Badges and Performance Thresholds: Below are the badges that Polyplexus currently awards. We will add additional badges to the system over time. Once granted, a badge can never be revoked.

Founding Member: Early Plexors who worked hard to support the site at launch. There’s only 1 of these. Winner’s Circle: This is our recognition given to a Plexor whose proposal was accepted by a Sponsor.

o Bronze: Win 1 granto Silver: Win 2 grantso Gold: Win 3 grants

Verified Plexor: These badges are received for completing your Plexor Profile.o Bronze: Adding at least 2 areas of Expertise and 3 areas of Interest to your Profileo Silver: Also adding an image to your Profileo Gold: Also adding an affiliation or bio to your Profile

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Evidence Contributor: These badges are received for creating and submitting Evidence MicroPubs for review, even if they are not approved for publishing.

o Bronze: Create 10 Evidence µPubso Silver: Create 35 Evidence µPubso Gold: Create 50 Evidence µPubs

Conjecture Maker: These badges are received for creating and submitting Conjecture MicroPubs for review, even if they are not approved for publishing.

o Bronze: Create 5 Conjecture µPubso Silver: Create 20 Conjecture µPubso Gold: Create 50 Conjecture µPubs

Incubator Stimulator: These badges are received for providing input to a Sponsor Incubator. These badges focus on contributions to multiple Incubators over time.

o Bronze: Contribute at least 1 µPub, comment or question to 1 Incubatoro Silver: Contribute at least 1 µPub, comment or question to 5 Incubatorso Gold: Contribute at least 1 µPub, comment or question to 20 Incubators

µPub Reviewer: These badges are received for review of both Evidence or Conjecture MicroPubs.o Bronze: Review 10 µPubso Silver: Review 50 µPubso Gold: Review 100 µPubs

More Badges: Polyplexus will add additional badges over time. Bonus Sparks: As we balance the overall scoring system, Polyplexus will also later add bonus Sparks for

the winning of each badge.

LEADERBOARD TRENDINGPURPOSE: As discussed earlier, Polyplexus showcases the top MicroPubs on its home page on a regular basis. There are versions of these leaderboards for both Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs. In each headline box there are 3 buttons that let you filter all MicroPubs of each type according to different categories.

MOST RECENT: These are the most recent peer-reviewed Evidence publications.o PRO TIP: This is a great way to see what has just been added to the MicroPublication list.

MOST USED: These are the published Evidence most used in Conjectures, as well as both Evidence and Conjectures that have been added to Incubators.

o PRO TIP: This is another signal that this content is useful, either to other Plexors or to a Sponsor. MOST COMPLIMENTED: These are published Evidence that have received the most compliments with

the “Good Evidence!” button, or the Conjectures with the “Good Thinking!” button.o PRO TIP: These buttons let content that the community considers outstanding to be promoted

on these leaderboards.

ACHIEVE STATUS AND RECEIVE PEER RECOGNITIONWe’re currently adding multiple scoring systems that will display your point rewards and Badges for activity, reputation, and a Sparks and Coins currency you can use to show approval of good ideas. These scores will appear on your Profile and will help others identify you as an active member of their community who they can follow and message. If you want to build an online CV within Polyplexus or seek to connect with people in industries and universities you might want to work with, this is an excellent way to start your personal networking.

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Score: Your overall participation score (Sparks) is shown on the left panel, at the top of your Profile. Latest Spark Awards: Your most recent key activities display the Sparks achieved at the bottom of this

panel (scroll down). Followers and Friends: This is a way on your Profile to find out who is interested in you.

o PRO TIP: Check for those who are following you and follow them back if you want to create a tighter relationship.

Invitations: In the future some Sponsor Incubators might be created as Private Incubators. In this case you’ll receive an Invitation Notification from them the Sponsor if they desire your participation.

o PRO TIP: Such an invitation is a singular recognition and we encourage you to participate! Badges: These immediately tell others of key accomplishments.

o PRO TIP: Message Plexors who have won a Winner’s Circle badge if you need advice on the preparation of your abstract or proposal.

o PRO TIP: Message Plexors who have won an Evidence Contributor badge if you need advice on how to create effective Evidence MicroPubs.

o PRO TIP: Message Plexors who have won a Conjecture Maker badge if you need advice on how to create effective Conjecture MicroPubs.

o PRO TIP: Message Plexors who have won an Incubator Stimulator badge if you need advice on how to best interact with Sponsor Incubators.

o PRO TIP: Message Plexors who have won an µPub Reviewer badge if you need advice on how to effectively review MicroPubs.

o PRO TIP: Message Plexors who have won a Verified Plexor badge if you need help in filling out your Profile.

Levels: Examining a Plexor’s Level tells you at a glance how active they’ve been so you can follow them and message them. This is how you will build your social network on Polyplexus.

o PRO TIP: Follow Plexors who have reached a high level if you need help on the site. System Celebration: We also celebrate Plexor accomplishments with various notifications, Home Page

headlines, and sometimes in a Polyplexus Newsletter or email.o PRO TIP: If you have received a Sponsor’s research grant and generated papers that you have or

will publish, please Email us with it and we’ll include a headline link to it.

EMAIL NOTIFICATIONSPURPOSE: Polyplexus will occasionally reach out to our Plexors using the Email address they supplied when they signed in. These will include important notifications about new Sponsor Incubators, Ask Me Anything (AMA) Sponsor live chats, major platform enhancements, and key milestones our community has achieved.

Changing your Email: Click on your name in the upper right, then select Account Settings in the pop-up panel. This will take you to your Profile, where you have Update Email or Password options.

o Polyplexus Email Newsletter: You can also click on the update your preferences text at the bottom of a Polyplexus Email to redirect it to another Email account or unsubscribe.

Opting Out: The bottom of a Polyplexus Email also offers a text option to unsubscribe from this list, should you desire not to receive further Emails.

o PRO TIP: You can also go to your Account Settings when you click on your name in the upper right-hand corner of most screens. Then scroll all the way down to the Opt-Out of Polyplexus Emails section and click on the “Don’t send automated emails” checkbox.

Adding us to your address book: This option is also included at the bottom of a Polyplexus Email. Email Privacy: We do not surface the Email addresses of any Plexors on the system.

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o PRO TIP: You can, however, decide to use personal Messages to exchange your Emails with key individuals you are engaging with in various other ways, such as working together to develop a Proposal.

POLYPLEXUS STORE (TO COME)UNDER DEVELOPMENT: This feature is currently being designed and will be coming soon.

PURPOSE: As Plexors continue to earn Sparks through their activities, Polyplexus wants to let them use those points to unlock exciting new features that we’re developing.

A Plexor’s overall accumulated Sparks will determine their Level, but this pool is also separately tracked and can be spent without lowering their lifetime overall score or Level.

POLYPLEXUS SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDSPURPOSE: We use social media to further highlight new Incubators, Ask Me Anything (AMA) Sessions, and share interesting MicroPublications and other information. Our presence on key sites is growing and we encourage you to follow us and share interesting posts.

FIND THESE ON THE HOME PAGE: Simply scroll down and you’ll find a number of social media channels where Polyplexus is being discussed. These include:

Twitter Instagram Others will be added in the future

SHARE THESE POSTS WITH OTHERS: We encourage Plexors who follow us on these sites to retweet or forward these important messages to others who might want to participate further on Polyplexus.

o PRO TIP: We work hard to find relevant topics that we can surface on Twitter and Instagram, so we encourage you to check frequently as this is another way to be exposed to cutting-edge ideas.

TABLET AND SMARTPHONE SUPPORTOver time Polyplexus will continue to evolve our support for all devices. Currently over 98% of our Plexors use their office computer or laptop, so the system is currently optimized for those devices. But we intend to make all devices more robust over time.

Personal Computers: Both PC and Apple personal computers are fully supported. We recommend the following browsers:

o Chrome (recommended)o Safario Firefoxo Others to come

Tablets: Many of our features are currently in an Alpha stage. Smartphones: Given screen size, the same features as tablets are available but more difficult to use until

an app version of Polyplexus is developed.

ACCOUNTS, TERMS OF SERVICE, LANGUAGE SUPPORT When you Sign In at Polyplexus, you create a persistent account with no financial obligation. You will remain signed in, unless you Sign Out by clicking on your name in the upper right and selecting this option. In that case you’ll have to sign back in, so be sure to write your password down!

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Managing Your Accounts: Use the Account Settings option from your Profile. Forgot Your Password: When you SIGN IN, there is an option that permits you to create a new

password. No Multiple Accounts: Polyplexus permits one account per email address. Terms of Service: A link to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are found at the end of the Polypedia

entries. Language Support: Currently Polyplexus supports only the English language.

COMMUNITY MANAGER SUPPORTOur Community Manager is here to help you. We understand that Polyplexus is a complex system and introduces new interactive conventions that haven’t been applied before. We actively respond to any input from our Plexor community, so don’t hesitate to contact us in one of the following ways:

Direct Message: Monica Meyers is our Community Manager. You can search for her name and send her a Message with any questions or concerns.

Email: You can also email Monica directly at monica@polyplexus.com or use the generic email, which she also checks, at info@polyplexus.com and she’ll be happy to answer any and all questions you have.

Suggestions: We also encourage the Polyplexus community to send Monica suggestions about features and interface improvements you’d like to see on the site. We take this user input very seriously!

o Pop Up Suggestion Boxes: Since Polyplexus is still in Alpha, we will sometimes ask you for your suggestions using these boxes. Your replies will be sent to Monica, our Community Manager.

GLOSSARYMany of the terms above that appear in bold are defined here.

A

Abstract: This is a short paper submitted to a Sponsor as the result of their Incubator research.

Active Public Incubators: These are Incubators that are still open to the addition of MicroPubs, and related comments, along with discussion comments.

Add Button: This mechanism adds a MicroPub to a Private Portfolio or Sponsor Incubator.

Aixxia: The not-for-profit consortium of cross-disciplinary experts who have developed Polyplexus.

Alpha: This is a software term that indicates that the system is still in an incomplete stage of development.

AMA: These are ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) discussion sessions with the Sponsor, both live and over time.

AWARDS: These are summaries of research proposals funded by a Sponsor.

B

Back Arrow: Your browser’s back arrow will always take you back to the previous screen.

Badges: Special awards are given for outstanding performance. Founding Member badges were given during beta, and Winner’s Circle badges are given for a funded proposal.

Beta: This is a software term that indicates that the system is feature-complete but still needs polishing.

C

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Citation: This is a formatted summary of the underlying paper used by an Evidence MicroPub.

Closed Public Incubators: These are Sponsor Incubators who have expired and accept no new MicroPubs.

Comment: This is text that a Plexor optionally appends to a MicroPub they have Added to an Incubator.

Community Activities: Included are familiar social and gaming systems that facilitate Plexor interaction.

Community Manager: This is the Polyplexus individual who monitors activity and answers questions.

COMMUNITY Tab: This tab in the upper purple bar takes you to your Profile and when followed, those of others.

Compliments: You can give compliments to any published MicroPub by clicking on the button in the upper right-hand corner of each.

Conjecture Maker: These Bronze, Silver, and Gold badges are awarded when a Plexor has submitted a defined number of Conjecture MicroPubs.

Conjecture MicroPublications (µPubs): Individual hypothesis questions or statements linking 2 pieces of Evidence in a new and promising way.

Creator: The Plexor who has created and submitted any MicroPub.

Cross-Disciplinary Incubator: This is a public Incubator that does not involve proposal funding but might lead to future Sponsor solicitations.

D

Deep Search: Actions taken by the Search Box to find specific words contained in MicroPubs.

Discussion Tab: This is an Incubator tab where a Plexor can ask questions of the Sponsor and discuss the topic.

E

End of Suggestion Period: At this point in time no more content can be added to a Sponsor Incubator.

Evidence MicroPublications (µPubs): Individual summaries of a key fact, with a citation and other data.

Evidence Contributor: These Bronze, Silver, and Gold badges are awarded when a Plexor has submitted a defined number of Evidence MicroPubs.

Evidence URL: This permits Plexors to view a cited paper directly, if it is available.

Expertise: This is a Profile selection by Plexors, to indicate 2+ fields they are expert in.

Export Icons: These icons permit the exporting of a Proposal Outline in two formats: DOCX or TXT.

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Favorites: These are sub-folders where you can organize and access your Favorites for later use.

Favorites Star: These are on published MicroPubs and permit you to flag them on your Favorites tab.

Filters: These search functions limit the MicroPublication List according to type and scientific field.

Tags: These are Favorites that when Starred, let you create sub-folders where you can gather MicroPubs.

Followers: These are other Plexors that are following you.

Following: These are other Plexors that you are following.

Founding Member Badge: Early Plexors who worked hard to support the site at launch received this badge.

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Friends: This is the relationship when both you and another Plexor are following each other.

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Graph View: This is an Incubator display showing all of MicroPubs that have been accepted for that Incubator.

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Hamburger Icon: The three-line icon in the upper left-hand corner of screens that opens the main menu.

Home Page: After you sign into Polyplexus, this is the page you always go to. The Polyplexus logo at the top also takes you back to this page.

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Incubator Home Page: This is a page that lists all active Incubators, with a timeline showing its progression.

Incubator Stimulator: These Bronze, Silver, and Gold badges are awarded when a Plexor has submitted a MicroPub or comment to a Sponsor Incubator.

Interests: This is a Profile selection by Plexors, to indicate 3+ fields they are interested in.

Invite: After searching for a user, when a name is selected this button appears. When clicked, they immediately have access to this Private Portfolio of yours.

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Keywords: Individual words entered during Evidence authoring that can be searches across all fields.

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Large Blue Tab: This tab folds and unfolds the left panel on the MicroPublication List and Create Conjecture screens.

Levels/Leveling: Plexor Sparks determine their current Level, shown on their Profile and elsewhere.

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Magnifying Glass Icon: Clicking this activates a search action on any text in the Search Box.

Messages: These are private direct messages from another Plexor, along with System Notifications.

Messages Page: Accessed by the Messages option on the hamburger menu, this contains all Polyplexus System and private Plexor messages and notifications

MicroPub: Short for MicroPublications that are short published summaries of Evidence or Conjectures.

MicroPublication List: This is the full listing of all Evidence and Conjectures published on Polyplexus.

MicroPublication Portfolios: Private individual workspaces where Plexors gather MicroPubs and ideas.

µPubs: This is another term used for any MicroPublication.

µPubs Reviewer: These Bronze, Silver, and Gold badges are awarded when a Plexor has performed a defined number of MicroPub Reviews.

µPubs Tab: This is an Incubator tab where Plexors can add MicroPubs that the Sponsor might publish.

µPubs To Review: Submitted MicroPubs from other Plexors that you can review.

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Notes Field: Portfolios permit the adding of long notes, or even rough draft copy, also by all invited.

Notifications: These are messages from the Polyplexus System, appearing in your Messages section.

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OVERVIEW Tab: This is an Incubator tab where a Sponsor lays out the objectives of their solicitation.

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Plexor: A participant in Polyplexus who has created an account.

PolyFacts Starburst: This is a Profile display that shows which Topic Tags you’ve added to Evidence.

Polypedia: This is a place where videos and text explain in more detail how Polyplexus works.

POLYPEDIA (FAQ): This top option of Frequently Asked Questions takes you to answers in our Polypedia.

Polyplexus System Notifications: These are Messages generated by the system when your MicroPub is accepted or rejected, or for other important notifications pertaining to you.

Portfolio Home Page: This page shows all of your Private Portfolios and those others you’re invited to.

Private Portfolio: This is a private workspace where you can develop a Proposal Outline for an abstract.

Profile: Each Plexor has a unique page devoted to them, summarizing their background and activities.

Proposal: This is a full proposal for funding submitted by a Plexor based on an Incubator solicitation.

Proposal Outline: This is the structuring activity that turns a Portfolio into an exportable text outline.

Propulsion Loop: This is a home page diagram that visualizes how Polyplexus accelerates innovation.

Published µPubs: All MicroPubs that have been reviewed and accepted and are now published.

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Rejected Evidence: These are MicroPubs that have not passed peer review and won’t be published.

Rejected Conjectures: These are MicroPubs that have not passed peer review and won’t be published.

Report: A mechanism to inform our Community Manager of objectionable or false content.

Report Card: This is a pop-up panel where you can indicate why you’re reporting objectionable content.

Reviews: Both Evidence and Conjecture MicroPubs need to be reviewed and approved by peers to be published.

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Search Box: This text field on the MicroPublication List’s left panel permits content searches by word.

Search for User Field: This Search Box on your Portfolio, under the Share tab, lets you find Plexors to Invite to your Portfolio.

Send: This button takes the action of sending a private Message to another Plexor.

Sequencing: This is the action of moving MicroPubs, Notes, and Synthesis Questions in a Portfolio.

Share: This option from your Portfolio permits you to share it with other Plexors.

Sign In: The act of entering your username and password to enter Polyplexus.

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Sign Out: The act of logging out of Polyplexus to refresh the code. You’ll have to Sign In the next time you visit.

Spark Awards: Your latest point rewards can be viewed on your Profile, on the left panel if you scroll down.

Sparks: These are a upvoting currency used to reward Evidence or Conjecture creation and other activities.

Sponsor: These are funding partners who solicit abstracts and proposals in their Incubators.

Sponsor Incubators: These Sponsor-led Portfolios offer funding opportunities which you can help shape.

Sponsor Upvotes: A Sponsor upvotes MicroPubs in an Incubator by elevating them to More Like This status.

Starbursts: These are visual displays of key activities that each Plexor performs on the platform.

Submit: This action is taken when a MicroPub has been authored and is submitted for peer Review.

Synthesis: This Portfolio tab lets you add 5 key questions to help organize your Proposal Outline.

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3-dot icon (…): An icon in the upper right-hand corner of MicroPubs that permits easy copying to another location and other options such as Report.

Topic Tags: These are scientific fields that are ‘tagged’ to an Evidence MicroPub for search and filtering.

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Unfollow: This action removes a Plexor from your Following list on your Profile.

Upvote: Upvoting is another term for giving a compliment to a MicroPub.

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Verified Plexor: These Bronze, Silver, and Gold badges are awarded when a Plexor performs a defined set of activities.

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Winner’s Circle: This is our recognition given to a Plexor whose proposal was accepted by a Sponsor.

Winner’s Circle Badge: These Bronze, Silver, and Gold badges are awarded when a Plexor has had one or more proposals accepted by a Sponsor.

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X Icon: This appears when you have permission to delete a particular piece of content.

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Your µPubs Awaiting Review: Only your MicroPubs you’ve submitted and are under review.

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