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<center><h1>Darwin Core Namespace Policy</h1><center>
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<th>Title:</th>
<td>Darwin Core Namespace Policy</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Date Issued:</th>
<td>2009-02-12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Date Modified:</th>
<td>2014-11-08</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Abstract:</th>
<td>All terms in the Darwin Core must be assigned a unique
Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). For convenience, the term
URIs that are assigned and managed by the Darwin Core Task
Group are grouped into collections known as Darwin Core
namespaces. This document describes how term URIs are allocated
by the Darwin Core Task Group and the policies associated with
Darwin Core namespaces.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Contributors:</th>
<td>John Wieczorek (MVZ), Markus Döring (GBIF), Renato De
Giovanni (CRIA), Tim Robertson (GBIF), Dave Vieglais
(KUNHM)</td>
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<th>Part of TDWG Standard:</th>
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<a href=
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<th>Creator:</th>
<td>Darwin Core Task Group</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Identifier:</th>
<td>http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/2014-11-08/terms/namespace/</td>
</tr>
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<th>Latest Version:</th>
<td>
<a href=
"http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namespace/index.htm">http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/namespace/</a>
</td>
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<th>Replaces:</th>
<td>
<a href=
"http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/2013-09-23/terms/namespace/index.htm">
http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/2013-09-23/terms/namespace/</a>
</td>
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<th>Document Status:</th>
<td>Current Standard</td>
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</table><a id="introduction" name="introduction"></a>
<h2>1. Introduction</h2><b>Audience</b>: This document is targeted toward
those who want to make changes to the Darwin Core, either by refining terms
that already exist or by adding new terms to increase the capabilities of the
standard.
<p>This document and the policies contained herein are modeled on the
<i>Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Namespace Policy</i> [<a href=
"http://dublincore.org/documents/2007/07/02/dcmi-namespace/">DCMINAMESPACEPOLICY</a>].
All terms in the Darwin Core must be identified with a unique Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI). For convenience, the term URIs are grouped into
collections known as <i>Darwin Core namespaces</i>. This document describes
the policies associated with Darwin Core namespaces and how term URIs are
allocated by the <i>Darwin Core Task Group</i> [<a href=
"http://www.tdwg.org/activities/darwincore/">DWC-TASK</a>]. <a id=
"namespaceuris" name="namespaceuris"></a></p>
<h2>2. Namespace URIs</h2>
<p>The Darwin Core namespace URI for the collection of all Darwin Core
properties, classes, and encoding schemes is:</p>
<pre class="example">
http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/
</pre>
<p>The term identifier for the current (recommended) version of a term is a
URI based on the namespace and the term name without version information.
Some example Darwin Core term identifiers follow:</p>
<pre class="example">
http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/scientificName
</pre>
<p>is the Darwin Core term identifier for the <i>scientificName</i> property,
while</p>
<pre class="example">
http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/MachineObservation
</pre>
<p>is the Darwin Core term identifier for the <i>MachineObservation</i>
class.</p>
<p>All Darwin Core identifiers will dereference to a Darwin Core term
declaration for the identified term. <a id="classesofchanges" name=
"classesofchanges"></a></p>
<h2>3. Term Change Policy</h2>
<p>Changes to Darwin Core recommendations or term declarations will occur
from time to time for a variety of reasons. Changes have varying implications
for the decision making process and for versioning Darwin Core documents and
term URIs. The types of changes and appropriate processes are identified and
explained in the following sections.</p>
<p><b>Reporting issues</b>: In all cases the proposed change should be
reported to the <i>Technical Architecture Group</i> [<a href=
"mailto:tdwg-tag@lists.tdwg.org">TDWG-TAG</a>] and the outcome of the
proposal should be announced on the <i>Darwin Core mailing list</i> [<a href=
"http://lists.tdwg.org/mailman/listinfo/tdwg-content">TDWG-CONTENT</a>].</p>
<p><b>Decisions</b>: In cases where an Executive decision is required,the
<i>Technical Architecture Group</i> will conduct a minimum 30-day public
comment period on the <i>Darwin Core mailing list</i> [<a href=
"http://lists.tdwg.org/mailman/listinfo/tdwg-content">TDWG-CONTENT</a>],
during which the proposal can be refined based on discussion in an effort to
reach consensus (no dissenting opinion expressed publicly on the mailing list
for 30 days from the most recent iteration). If a consensus is reached, the
proposal will be presented by the <i>Technical Architecture Group</i> to the
Executive Committee for a decision [<a href=
"../history/decisions/index.htm">DECISIONS</a>] within 30 days.</p>
<p><b>Versions</b>: In cases where a decision requires a version change, the
attributes <i>Status</i> (recommended, superseded, or deprecated), <i>Date
Issued</i>, <i>Date Modified</i>, <i>Decision</i>, <i>Version</i>,
<i>Replaces</i>, and <i>Is Replaced By</i> will be modified in the affected
terms as appropriate.</p>
<h3>3.1. Minor editorial errata</h3>
<p>An error in spelling, punctuation, grammar, or other clerical mistake
discovered in a Darwin Core recommendation or term declaration may be
corrected without a public comment period or Executive Decision. Minor
editorial changes of this type do not require a version change for the
affected term and/or documents.</p>
<h3>3.2. Substantive editorial errata</h3>
<p>A substantive error is one that compromises the usefulness or accuracy of
systems based on Darwin Core. Those that are unequivocal (for example, an
incorrect URI or reference) may be treated as minor editorial errata (Section
3.1).</p>
<p>Otherwise, the <i>Technical Architecture Group</i> will conduct a public
comment period and seek an Executive decision to find a solution that
minimizes adverse effects on existing applications. Changes of this nature
require a version change for the affected term and/or documents.</p>
<h3>3.3. Semantic changes to Darwin Core terms</h3>
<p>Darwin Core terms may be changed based on public demand and consensus. A
request to the <i>Technical Architecture Group</i> for a term change should
consist of proposed values for the complete list of attributes given in the
term definitions section of the <i>Darwin Core Terms Complete History</i>
[<a href="../history/index.htm">HISTORY</a>] along with a statement of
justification for the change.</p>
<p>Term changes that are likely to have substantial functional impact on
human understanding or machine processing will posted for public commentary
and an Executive decision. Changes of this nature require a version change
for the affected term and/or documents.</p>
<h3>3.4. Addition of Darwin Core terms</h3>
<p>New terms may be added to the Darwin Core namespaces based on public
demand and consensus. A request to the <i>Technical Architecture Group</i>
[<a href="mailto:tdwg-tag@lists.tdwg.org">TDWG-TAG</a>] for a new term should
consist of proposed values for the complete list of attributes given in the
term definitions section of the <i>Darwin Core Terms Complete History</i>
[<a href="../history/index.htm">HISTORY</a>] along with a statement of
justification for the new term, including an explanation of why no existing
term will suffice.</p>
<p>New term proposals will be posted for public commentary and an Executive
decision. Changes of this nature require a version change for the affected
term and/or documents. <a id="persistence" name="persistence"></a></p>
<h2>4. Persistence Policy</h2>
<p>TDWG recognizes that people and applications depend on the persistence of
formal documents and machine processable schemas that have been made publicly
available. In particular, the stability of Darwin Core term URIs and Darwin
Core namespace URIs is critical to interoperability over time. Thus, the wide
promulgation of this set of URIs dictates that they be maintained to support
legacy applications that have adopted them.</p>
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