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Jimmy Debe
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---
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slug: 1
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title: 1/COSS
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name: Consensus-Oriented Specification System
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status: draft
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category: Best Current Practice
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editor: Oskar Thoren <oskarth@titanproxy.com>
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contributors:
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- Pieter Hintjens <ph@imatix.com>
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- André Rebentisch <andre@openstandards.de>
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- Alberto Barrionuevo <abarrio@opentia.es>
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- Chris Puttick <chris.puttick@thehumanjourney.net>
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- Yurii Rashkovskii <yrashk@gmail.com>
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- Daniel Kaiser <danielkaiser@status.im>
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---
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This document describes a consensus-oriented specification system (COSS) for building interoperable technical specifications.
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COSS is based on a lightweight editorial process that seeks to engage the widest possible range of interested parties and move rapidly to consensus through working code.
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This specification is based on [Unprotocols 2/COSS](https://github.com/unprotocols/rfc/blob/master/2/README.md), used by the [ZeromMQ](https://rfc.zeromq.org/) project.
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It is equivalent except for some areas:
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- recommending the use of a permissive licenses, such as CC0 (with the exception of this document);
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- miscellaneous metadata, editor, and format/link updates;
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- more inheritance from the [IETF Standards Process][https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2026.txt],
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e.g. using RFC categories: Standards Track, Informational, and Best Common Practice;
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- standards track specifications SHOULD follow a specific structure that both streamlines editing,
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and helps implementers to quickly comprehend the specification
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- specifications MUST feature a header providing specific meta information
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## License
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Copyright (c) 2008-22 the Editor and Contributors.
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This Specification is free software;
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you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
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either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
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This Specification is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY;
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without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
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See the GNU General Public License for more details.
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You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program;
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if not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses.
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## Change Process
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This document is governed by the [1/COSS](spec/1) (COSS).
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## Language
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The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
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[RFC 2119](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2119).
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## Goals
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The primary goal of COSS is to facilitate the process of writing, proving, and improving new technical specifications.
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A "technical specification" defines a protocol, a process, an API, a use of language, a methodology,
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or any other aspect of a technical environment that can usefully be documented for the purposes of technical or social interoperability.
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COSS is intended to above all be economical and rapid, so that it is useful to small teams with little time to spend on more formal processes.
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Principles:
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* We aim for rough consensus and running code; [inspired by the IETF Tao](https://www.ietf.org/about/participate/tao/).
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* Specifications are small pieces, made by small teams.
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* Specifications should have a clearly responsible editor.
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* The process should be visible, objective, and accessible to anyone.
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* The process should clearly separate experiments from solutions.
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* The process should allow deprecation of old specifications.
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Specifications should take minutes to explain, hours to design, days to write, weeks to prove, months to become mature, and years to replace.
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Specifications have no special status except that accorded by the community.
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## Architecture
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COSS is designed around fast, easy to use communications tools.
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Primarily, COSS uses a wiki model for editing and publishing specifications texts.
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* The *domain* is the conservancy for a set of specifications in a certain area.
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* Each domain is implemented as an Internet domain, hosting a wiki and optionally other communications tools.
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* Each specification is a set of wiki pages, together with comments, attached files, and other resources.
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* Important specifications may also exist as subdomains, i.e. child wikis.
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Individuals can become members of the domain by completing the necessary legal clearance.
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The copyright, patent, and trademark policies of the domain must be clarified in an Intellectual Property policy that applies to the domain.
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Specifications exist as multiple pages, one page per version of the specification (see "Branching and Merging", below), which may be assigned URIs that include an incremental number.
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Thus, we refer to a specification by specifying its domain, number, and short name.
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New versions of the same specification will have new numbers.
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The syntax for a specification reference is:
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<domain>/spec/<number>/<shortname>
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For example, this specification is **rfc.vac.dev/spec/1/COSS**.
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The short form **1/COSS** may be used when referring to the specification from other specifications in the same domain.
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Every specification (including branches) carries a different number.
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## COSS Lifecycle
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Every specification has an independent lifecycle that documents clearly its current status.
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A specification has six possible states that reflect its maturity and contractual weight:
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### Raw Specifications
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All new specifications are **raw** specifications.
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Changes to raw specifications can be unilateral and arbitrary.
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Those seeking to implement a raw specification should ask for it to be made a draft specification.
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Raw specifications have no contractual weight.
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### Draft Specifications
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When raw specifications can be demonstrated, they become **draft** specifications.
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Changes to draft specifications should be done in consultation with users.
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Draft specifications are contracts between the editors and implementers.
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### Stable Specifications
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When draft specifications are used by third parties, they become **stable** specifications.
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Changes to stable specifications should be restricted to cosmetic ones, errata and clarifications.
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Stable specifications are contracts between editors, implementers, and end-users.
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### Deprecated Specifications
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When stable specifications are replaced by newer draft specifications, they become **deprecated** specifications.
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Deprecated specifications should not be changed except to indicate their replacements, if any.
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Deprecated specifications are contracts between editors, implementers and end-users.
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### Retired Specifications
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When deprecated specifications are no longer used in products, they become **retired** specifications.
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Retired specifications are part of the historical record.
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They should not be changed except to indicate their replacements, if any.
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Retired specifications have no contractual weight.
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### Deleted Specifications
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Deleted specifications are those that have not reached maturity (stable) and were discarded.
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They should not be used and are only kept for their historical value.
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Only Raw and Draft specifications can be deleted.
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## Editorial control
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A specification MUST have a single responsible editor,
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the only person who SHALL change the status of the specification through the lifecycle stages.
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A specification MAY also have additional contributors who contribute changes to it.
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It is RECOMMENDED to use a process similar to [C4 process](https://github.com/unprotocols/rfc/blob/master/1/README.md)
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to maximize the scale and diversity of contributions.
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Unlike the original C4 process however, it is RECOMMENDED to use CC0 as a more permissive license alternative.
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We SHOULD NOT use GPL or GPL-like license.
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One exception is this specification, as this was the original license for this specification.
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The editor is responsible for accurately maintaining the state of specifications and for handling all comments on the specification.
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## Branching and Merging
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Any member of the domain MAY branch a specification at any point.
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This is done by copying the existing text, and creating a new specification with the same name and content, but a new number.
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The ability to branch a specification is necessary in these circumstances:
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* To change the responsible editor for a specification, with or without the cooperation of the current responsible editor.
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* To rejuvenate a specification that is stable but needs functional changes.
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This is the proper way to make a new version of a specification that is in stable or deprecated status.
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* To resolve disputes between different technical opinions.
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The responsible editor of a branched specification is the person who makes the branch.
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Branches, including added contributions, are derived works and thus licensed under the same terms as the original specification.
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This means that contributors are guaranteed the right to merge changes made in branches back into their original specifications.
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Technically speaking, a branch is a *different* specification, even if it carries the same name.
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Branches have no special status except that accorded by the community.
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## Conflict resolution
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COSS resolves natural conflicts between teams and vendors by allowing anyone to define a new specification.
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There is no editorial control process except that practised by the editor of a new specification.
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The administrators of a domain (moderators) may choose to interfere in editorial conflicts,
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and may suspend or ban individuals for behaviour they consider inappropriate.
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## Specification Structure
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### Meta Information
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Specifications MUST contain the following metadata.
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It is RECOMMENDED that specification metadata is specified as a YAML header (where possible).
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This will enable programmatic access to specification metadata.
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| Key | Value | Type | Example |
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|------------------|----------------------|--------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| **shortname** | short name | string | 1/COSS |
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| **title** | full name | string | Consensus-Oriented Specification System |
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| **status** | status | string | draft |
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| **category** | category | string | Best Current Practice |
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| **tags** | 0 or several tags | list | waku-application, waku-core-protocol |
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| **editor** | editor name/email | string | Oskar Thoren <oskarth@titanproxy.com> |
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| **contributors** | contributors | list | - Pieter Hintjens <ph@imatix.com><br> - André Rebentisch <andre@openstandards.de><br> - Alberto Barrionuevo <abarrio@opentia.es><br> - Chris Puttick <chris.puttick@thehumanjourney.net><br> - Yurii Rashkovskii <yrashk@gmail.com> |
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### Specification Template
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Standards Track specifications SHOULD be based on the [Vac RFC template](https://github.com/vacp2p/rfc/blob/master/content/docs/rfcs/template/README.md).
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## Conventions
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Where possible editors and contributors are encouraged to:
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* Refer to and build on existing work when possible, especially IETF specifications.
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* Contribute to existing specifications rather than reinvent their own.
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* Use collaborative branching and merging as a tool for experimentation.
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* Use Semantic Line Breaks: https://sembr.org/.
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## Appendix A. Color Coding
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It is RECOMMENDED to use color coding to indicate specification's status. Color coded specifications SHOULD use the following color scheme:
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* 
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* 
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* 
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* 
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* 
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* 
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