RCOS-Core v0.1 · §11 Normative Draft

Versioning & Governance of the Standard

This chapter defines how RCOS itself evolves as a standard.

11.1 Standard Stewardship

11.1.1
RCOS MUST have an identifiable stewarding body or process.
11.1.2
The steward’s responsibilities MUST include:
- Maintaining the canonical specification
- Managing version releases
- Curating reference materials and learning
- Protecting Layer 0 of the standard itself
11.1.3
The steward MUST NOT act as an enforcement authority over communities.
11.1.4
RCOS MUST prioritize clarity, stability, and real-world learnings over ideological purity.

11.2.1
Changes to RCOS-Core MUST follow a defined change process.
11.2.2
The change process MUST include:
- Proposal submission
- Public review and feedback period
- Decision mechanism and authority
- Versioning and publication
11.2.3
Backward compatibility SHOULD be preserved where possible.
11.2.4
Breaking changes MUST be clearly marked and justified.
11.2.5
Superseded versions of RCOS MUST remain publicly accessible.
11.2.6
RCOS itself MUST model the same principles it requires of communities: explicitness, bounded authority, reversibility, and learning.

How to cite

RCOS-Core v0.1, §11 “Versioning & Governance of the Standard”. EcoHubs, 2026. CC BY 4.0.