Rendered from GOVERNANCE.md at build time without changing its status. The repository source controls if this presentation differs.
Verifier Standard (VSTD) governance#
Acronym: grounded decision certificate (GDC).
Current phase#
VSTD is maintainer-led project specification work. Publication makes the text and reference implementation inspectable; it does not manufacture multi-stakeholder consensus or standards-body recognition.
VSTD-3 is implemented for its typed model, strict schema/validator, reference emulator, offline adapters, provenance composition, and conformance suite. It is not a claim that accelerator vendors implemented the firmware contract or accepted the specification.
VSTD-4 ships grounded-certificate/kernel checks and separate availability, precommitment, challenge, degradation, and composition mechanisms. Its candidate-depth runtime computes only a structural candidate over caller-supplied references with conformance NOT_ESTABLISHED. The separate evidence-bound runtime rehashes and reruns exact VSTD-1/2/3 and fourteen-rung propositions before it may establish VSTD-4 conformance; its receipt rechecker reproduces that result offline with the supplied mechanism implementations. VSTD4-GDC-1 has no demonstrated independent implementation or external interoperability. VSTD-5 has a shipped evidence-bound reference procedure, but the repository claims no real external witness or second implementation.
Numbered-profile and release states#
- Implemented base: a numbered profile has a published specification, schema or typed model, executable reference path, and passing conformance tests for its declared surface.
- Experimental: the vocabulary and a bounded vertical slice exist, but independent implementations or broader interoperability evidence are still missing.
- Challenged: current evidence no longer supports a previously published claim.
- Superseded: an additive correction replaces a bounded document while historical release bytes and serialized receipt identifiers remain unchanged.
Numbered profiles use integer names; repository releases use semantic versions. Released artifacts are frozen. Corrections are additive and identify the affected numbered profile, release, claim, evidence, and downstream impact.
Change process#
- Open an issue stating the coordinate or seam being changed.
- Declare compatibility impact and falsification conditions.
- Add or update schemas, tests, and examples with the normative text.
- Preserve
UNKNOWN,CONFLICTED, unsupported structure, and horizons. - Obtain maintainer review before merging normative changes.
Normative changes require a versioned proposal. Editorial corrections that do not change meaning may be merged in an additive repository release and remain visible in history.
Decision rights#
Until a neutral standards venue and contributor agreement are adopted, TimeLordRaps is the editor and release maintainer. This is a disclosed centralization boundary. The intended next governance step is independent implementation feedback followed by a venue with explicit copyright and patent terms.
The repository's Apache License 2.0 governs the specification, documentation, and reference implementation at this source coordinate. Its contributor patent grant is a project license term, not a substitute for a neutral standards venue's intellectual-property policy or a separate contributor agreement.
Conformance and marks#
No organization is currently an accredited VSTD certifier. Implementers may state the exact VSTD profile, repository release, receipt type, tests, and evidence they support. They must not imply endorsement, comprehensive safety, or verification beyond that surface.