The governance of the Verified Source Protocol is designed to preserve two properties above all others: stability and independence. A protocol that changes without discipline is not a governance layer. A protocol governed by parties with commercial interests in its content is not independent. Both properties are structural requirements, not aspirational goals.
Versioning
The Verified Source Protocol is versioned. Each version is published as a separately numbered, permanently immutable document. Once a version is published, it is not edited. Corrections, clarifications, and extensions are published as new versions under new version numbers.
This versioning model mirrors the practice of major internet standards bodies and ensures that implementations built against a specific version remain valid indefinitely. An implementation conformant with VSP Version 1.0 will remain conformant with VSP Version 1.0 regardless of future revisions to the protocol.
The initial publication of the Verified Source Protocol. Defines five axioms, five constraints, conformance requirements across three levels, seven baseline implementation rules, and the framework for kinetic claims governance. Intellectual foundations formally attributed to the Islamic Golden Age tradition of information science.
Future versions will be listed here as they are published. Each will occupy its own permanent URL under /specifications/vsp/.
Revision Model
Future revisions of the Verified Source Protocol will be published as separately versioned specifications. The revision process follows three governing principles.
Immutability of published versions
Once a version is published at its canonical URL, that document is fixed. No corrections, clarifications, or additions are made to a published version. All changes are published as new versions.
Backwards compatibility as a design obligation
Revisions to the protocol must not invalidate conformant implementations built against prior versions. An implementation conformant with an earlier version must remain structurally valid under its version's requirements, regardless of what subsequent versions introduce.
Independent, transparent revision process
Revisions to the protocol will be developed through an open process with published rationale. Changes to normative requirements will be accompanied by documented justification. The revision process will not be controlled by any single implementation, commercial entity, or national jurisdiction.
Stewardship
The VSP Foundation is responsible for the stewardship of the Verified Source Protocol. Stewardship encompasses the publication and maintenance of the normative specification, the management of versioning and the canonical URL structure, and the integrity of the protocol over time.
The VSP Foundation does not
- Certify implementations or issue conformance marks
- Operate registries or maintain entity databases
- Endorse vendors, products, or services
- Promote adoption of the protocol commercially
- Control how the protocol is implemented by any party
These explicit limitations are not operational constraints. They are structural features of the Foundation's governance model. A standards body that certifies implementations is a gatekeeper. A standards body that operates registries is a central authority. The VSP Foundation is neither. Its governance function is limited to maintaining the integrity of the specification itself.
Relationship to the Search Sciences™ Research Programme
The intellectual foundations of the Verified Source Protocol were developed through the Search Sciences™ Research Programme, conducted by Younis Group. The VSP Foundation maintains the protocol as an independent standards body. The Search Sciences™ Research Programme provides the research grounding that justifies the protocol's requirements.
The relationship is analogous to the relationship between a standards body and the research institution whose work gave rise to the standard. Neither controls the other. The Foundation governs the specification. The Research Programme continues to develop the intellectual and empirical case for its requirements.