standard: id: GCL-TCS-00 title: Technical Communication Charter and Conformance Model version: 0.1.0 status: candidate date: 2026-07-27 authority: Grand Challenge Labs language: en-CA baseline_reference: id: ASD-STE100 issue: "9" date: 2025-01 role: baseline_language_reference normative_keywords: MUST: mandatory requirement MUST_NOT: prohibition SHOULD: strong default; deviation requires a reason SHOULD_NOT: practice that normally creates unacceptable risk MAY: permitted choice principles: - id: PR-01 name: correctness_before_style non_waivable: true - id: PR-02 name: claim_boundaries_before_persuasion non_waivable: true - id: PR-03 name: evidence_before_promotion non_waivable: true - id: PR-04 name: reproducibility_before_authority non_waivable: false - id: PR-05 name: stable_terminology_before_variation non_waivable: false - id: PR-06 name: explicit_uncertainty_before_apparent_completeness non_waivable: true - id: PR-07 name: fail_closed_governance non_waivable: true hierarchy: - level: H0 name: external_obligations includes: - law - contract - safety_rule - security_rule - licence - source_locked_specification - authoritative_external_standard - level: H1 name: charter includes: [GCL-TCS-00] - level: H2 name: core_modules - level: H3 name: conformance_profiles - level: H4 name: project_annexes - level: H5 name: artifact_declarations conflict_order: - truthful_nonmisleading_and_safe_meaning - applicable_external_obligations - source_locked_meaning_and_formal_semantics - GCL-TCS-00 - core_modules_and_profiles - project_annex - local_style conformance_dimensions: L: language T: terminology_and_notation S: structure_and_accessibility C: claims E: evidence R: reproducibility P: provenance V: verification_and_review G: governance assessment_states: - UNASSESSED - DECLARED - CHECKED - ASSURED - FAILED - EXCEPTED authority_statuses: - candidate - admitted - authoritative - superseded - withdrawn promotion_statuses: - working_draft - registered - review_ready - in_review - verified - promoted - published - superseded - withdrawn impact_classes: IC-0: name: ephemeral examples: [private_notes, temporary_working_material] IC-1: name: routine examples: [internal_technical_note, ordinary_maintenance_documentation, low_consequence_example] IC-2: name: consequential examples: [research_conclusion, public_technical_claim, reusable_software_guarantee, benchmark_result, governance_decision] IC-3: name: critical examples: [safety_instruction, security_instruction, legal_instruction, major_commercial_claim, open_problem_resolution_claim] required_rules: - independent_G5_review - independent_G6_review - independent_referee - exact_release_revision_verification profiles: GCL-TCS-P01: name: operational_and_procedural version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [L, T, S, C, E, P, V, G] conditional_dimensions: R: repeatable_or_testable_procedure emphasis: - direct_imperative_steps - one_primary_action_per_step - explicit_prerequisites - warnings_before_hazardous_action - named_responsibilities - tested_step_order - recovery_instructions GCL-TCS-P02: name: research_communication version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [L, T, S, C, E, R, P, V, G] allowed_not_applicable: R: fully_noncomputational_with_explicit_reason emphasis: - canonical_question_and_scope - source_and_normalization_locks - explicit_assumptions_and_exclusions - claim_ledger - evidence_and_counterevidence - limitations_and_falsifiers GCL-TCS-P03: name: mathematical_and_formal version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [T, S, C, E, P, V, G] conditional_dimensions: L: explanatory_prose R: computation_mechanized_proof_or_executable_checking emphasis: - ambient_objects_and_domains - quantifier_order - normalization_and_sign_conventions - dependency_structure - proof_obligations - unresolved_proof_debt - formalized_informal_boundary GCL-TCS-P04: name: experimental_and_computational version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [L, T, S, C, E, R, P, V, G] emphasis: - hypothesis_and_alternatives - target_observable - interventions_and_controls - exact_versions_and_seeds - stopping_and_exclusion_rules - uncertainty_and_sensitivity - negative_and_null_results - exact_execution_path - plot_provenance GCL-TCS-P05: name: software_api_and_notebook version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [L, T, S, C, E, R, P, V, G] emphasis: - input_output_contracts - types_shapes_units_ranges - preconditions_postconditions - deterministic_and_nondeterministic_behaviour - failure_and_error_semantics - security_and_trust_boundaries - executable_examples - tests_linked_to_guarantees GCL-TCS-P06: name: public_technical_exposition version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [L, T, S, C, E, P, V, G] inherited_dimensions: R: promoted_authoritative_source emphasis: - audience_appropriate_explanation - preserved_claim_status - authoritative_source_links - no_claim_inflation - accessible_figures_and_equations GCL-TCS-P07: name: governance_and_documentary_records version: 0.1.0 mandatory_dimensions: [L, T, S, C, E, P, V, G] conditional_dimensions: R: executable_validation emphasis: - machine_readable_status - explicit_authority_and_ownership - fail_closed_discovery - stable_identifiers - complete_supersession - no_orphans - atomic_admission mandatory_metadata: core: - schema_version - standard - artifact_id - title - artifact_type - version - date - owner - authority_status - promotion_status - primary_profile - secondary_profiles - impact_class - audience - scope - out_of_scope - source_location - source_revision - dependencies - terminology_registry - notation_registry - claim_register - evidence_register - review_register - exceptions - conformance_dimensions - supersedes - superseded_by - licence_and_access - generated_content omission_policy: explicit_empty_or_not_applicable_required claim_types: - definition - assumption - observation - hypothesis - conjecture - lemma - proposition - theorem - empirical_result - engineering_result - interpretation - recommendation - speculation claim_statuses: - proposed - illustrative - tested - replicated - independently_reproduced - conditionally_established - formally_verified - falsified - superseded - withdrawn exception_model: types: - profile_allowance - artifact_exception acceptable_grounds: - preserve_technical_meaning - preserve_mathematical_or_formal_scope - satisfy_external_authority - preserve_safety_or_operational_correctness - faithful_source_quotation - machine_syntax_or_interoperability - net_accessibility_improvement - disproportionate_burden_without_material_risk_reduction insufficient_grounds: - convenience - preference - schedule_pressure - rhetorical_effect non_waivable: - truthful_nonmisleading_communication - claim_type_status_and_material_limitations - provenance_for_consequential_evidence - known_safety_hazard_disclosure - external_obligations - exception_registration - machine_readable_promotion_and_authority_status - independent_review_for_IC2_and_IC3 - fail_closed_missing_record_behaviour - no_fabricated_evidence_reviews_or_authority statuses: - requested - approved - rejected - expired - revoked - superseded gates: G0: name: registration_and_identity required_evidence: [stable_artifact_id, owner, source_location, source_revision, authority_status, central_discovery] G1: name: scope_profile_and_authority_lock required_evidence: [profile_declaration, impact_class_justification, scope_and_out_of_scope, dependency_and_source_lock, candidate_authority_distinction, exact_standard_versions] G2: name: structural_and_metadata_completeness required_evidence: [mandatory_metadata, discoverable_ledgers_and_registries, navigation, identified_figures_tables_equations_code, supersession_and_licence, schema_validation] G3: name: language_terminology_and_notation required_evidence: [stable_terms_and_symbols, profile_appropriate_prose, material_agent_clarity, complexity_justification, units_dimensions_identifiers, applicable_accessibility] G4: name: claim_and_evidence_integrity required_evidence: [complete_claim_ledger, claim_types_and_statuses, assumptions_scope_limitations, supporting_and_counterevidence, evidence_claim_alignment, unresolved_debt] G5: name: domain_verification required_evidence: [domain_appropriate_checks, reviewed_scope, unchecked_scope] G6: name: adversarial_and_falsification_review required_evidence: [counterexamples_and_boundaries, alternative_explanations, omitted_assumption_search, framing_review, negative_evidence, falsifiers_or_failure_conditions] G7: name: reproducibility_and_provenance required_evidence: [fixed_versions, executable_workflow, hashes_or_immutable_revisions, plot_traceability, clean_or_independent_run_or_accepted_limitation, no_orphans] G8: name: referee_promotion_decision required_evidence: [all_prior_mandatory_gates_pass, no_blocking_findings, valid_exceptions, established_and_not_established_statement, authorized_downstream_use, fixed_promoted_revision] G9: name: release_and_atomic_admission required_evidence: [artifact_manifest, related_record_admission, public_private_boundary, orphan_detection, final_release_hashes, authority_before_publication, rollback_and_supersession] gate_decisions: [PASS, FAIL, DEFERRED, NOT_APPLICABLE] gate_matrix: G0: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G1: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G2: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G3: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G4: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G5: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: I, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G6: {GCL-TCS-P01: C, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: C, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G7: {GCL-TCS-P01: C, GCL-TCS-P02: C, GCL-TCS-P03: C, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: I, GCL-TCS-P07: C} G8: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} G9: {GCL-TCS-P01: M, GCL-TCS-P02: M, GCL-TCS-P03: M, GCL-TCS-P04: M, GCL-TCS-P05: M, GCL-TCS-P06: M, GCL-TCS-P07: M} fail_closed_conditions: - missing_claim_ledger - missing_or_revision_mismatched_review - missing_authority_status - unadmitted_candidate_used_as_authority - missing_expired_or_revoked_exception - missing_mandatory_metadata - public_claim_without_authoritative_source - incomplete_artifact_manifest - orphan_required_artifact - machine_status_display_conflict - hash_or_revision_mismatch planned_modules: - {id: GCL-TCS-01, title: Controlled Technical Language} - {id: GCL-TCS-02, title: Terminology Notation and Ontology} - {id: GCL-TCS-03, title: Claims and Epistemic Status} - {id: GCL-TCS-04, title: Mathematical Exposition and Proof Records} - {id: GCL-TCS-05, title: Experimental and Computational Reporting} - {id: GCL-TCS-06, title: Software API and Notebook Documentation} - {id: GCL-TCS-07, title: Artifact Provenance and Manifest Integrity} - {id: GCL-TCS-08, title: Review Promotion and Referee Practice} - {id: GCL-TCS-09, title: Audience and Publication Profiles} # Candidate machine-contract reconciliation added by GCL-TCS-CANDIDATE-HARDENING-004. # The seven ordered normative source parts control meaning. These fields are derivative # machine representations of existing GCL-TCS-00/0.1.0 obligations and do not promote # the standard or create authority. normative_source_contract: transport: ordered_markdown_parts source_parts: - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/00-frontmatter-purpose-principles.md - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/01-hierarchy-conformance-impact.md - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/02-conformance-profiles.md - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/03-metadata-language-structure.md - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/04-exceptions-promotion-gates.md - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/05-review-roles-controls-change.md - council_submissions/GCL-TCS-00/parts/06-adoption-acceptance-appendices.md assembled_sha256: ea750b9b80b53c7d6ed755978fa4bdf59413fad93cec1db81eb3238372ce61c9 source_controls_meaning: true machine_surfaces_are_derivative: true scratch_boundary: registered_governed_material_only_for_promotion: true unregistered_scratch_cannot_be_sole_authority: true agreement_matrix: governance/gcl_tcs_normative_agreement_matrix.json normative_obligations: correctness_preservation: writing_rules_must_not_change_technical_meaning structural_solution_before_exception: required_before_complexity_exception_when_clarity_and_precision_conflict claim_boundary_distinction: established_results_distinct_from_hypothesis_interpretation_recommendation_speculation no_presentation_promotion: presentation_quality_must_not_raise_claim_status public_source_claim_preservation: [claim_status, scope, assumptions, important_limitations] no_public_claim_inflation: true evidence_sufficiency: evidence_sufficient_for_claim_type_and_impact_class reproducibility_information: empirical_or_computational_result_repeat_information_required reproducibility_limitation_substitute: reason_and_strongest_available_substitute_required_when_full_reproduction_impossible canonical_term_identification: required_when_synonyms_used explicit_uncertainty: [material_uncertainty, unresolved_proof_debt, missing_controls, unsupported_assumptions, known_failure_cases] no_silence_as_resolution: true fail_closed_promotion: true fail_closed_is_blocking: warning_is_insufficient machine_status_controls_display: true machine_declaration_not_replaceable: human_front_matter_cannot_replace_machine_declaration conformance_rules: lower_layer_must_not_weaken: true conflict_resolution_required: true unresolved_conflict_blocks_promotion: true unresolved_conflict_record_required: true normative_informative_identification: required_for_each_standard_and_annex exact_version_locks_required: [charter, selected_profiles, project_annexes] unspecified_latest_forbidden: true promotion_dependency_authority_states: [admitted, authoritative] assured_requires_linked_review: true highest_applicable_impact_class: true annex_cannot_lower_impact_class: true open_problem_minimum_impact_class: IC-3 profile_union_and_stricter_rule: true conformance_does_not_establish_truth: true claim_status_and_verification_recorded_separately: true record_contracts: claim: consequential_requires_record: true required_fields: [claim_id, statement_or_immutable_pointer, claim_type, claim_status, scope, assumptions, dependencies, supporting_evidence, counterevidence, falsifiers, limitations, owner, last_reviewed] approved_types: [definition, assumption, observation, hypothesis, conjecture, lemma, proposition, theorem, empirical_result, engineering_result, interpretation, recommendation, speculation] approved_statuses: [proposed, illustrative, tested, replicated, independently_reproduced, conditionally_established, formally_verified, falsified, superseded, withdrawn] annex_status_relation_required: true evidence: required_fields: [evidence_id, evidence_type, location, version_or_hash, method, result_summary, scope, limitations, created_by, created_at] review: required_fields: [review_id, gate_id, reviewer, review_role, independence_statement, date, decision, findings, required_actions, resolved_actions, evidence, reviewed_revision] exception: required_fields: [exception_id, rule_id, artifact_scope, affected_content, justification, risk_assessment, compensating_controls, requested_by, approved_by, issued_date, status] timing_fields: [review_date, expiry_date] at_least_one_timing_field_required: true gate: required_fields: [gate_id, artifact_id, reviewed_revision, decision, review_record_ref, evidence] not_applicable_reason_required: true conformance_statement: required_fields: [primary_profile, secondary_profiles, impact_class, target_state, dimensions, active_exceptions, promotion_status, date, standard_versions] release: required_fields: [change_log, migration_note, compatibility_statement, previous_standard_identifier, new_standard_identifier, review_record, promotion_record] language_structure_contract: term_consistency: same_term_for_same_object_unless_explicit_alias define_terms_before_use: true no_cross_surface_term_drift: [prose, equations, code, figures, metadata] passive_voice_must_preserve_correctness: true responsible_actor_required: when_responsibility_is_not_readers one_primary_action_per_step: true sequence_context_before_need: [prerequisites, warnings, expected_results, recovery_steps] visual_context_required: [what_it_shows, why_it_matters] plot_context_fields: [quantity, population_or_sample, aggregation, uncertainty_representation, filtering, exploratory_or_confirmatory_status] public_visual_accessibility: alt_text_or_equivalent_description_for_material_visual_content exception_contract: unrecorded_deviation_is_not_implicit_exception: true narrow_scope_required: true approved_requires_review_or_expiry_unless_profile_permanent: true permanent_exception_requires_major_version_review: true promotion_fails_for_missing_expired_or_revoked_required_exception: true gate_contracts: G0: additional_required_evidence: [no_identifier_collision] G1: additional_required_evidence: [] G2: additional_required_evidence: [cited_figures_tables_equations_code_identified] G3: additional_required_evidence: [] G4: additional_required_evidence: [public_summary_no_claim_inflation] G5: additional_required_evidence: [checked_scope_and_unchecked_scope_explicit] G6: additional_required_evidence: [] G7: additional_required_evidence: [derived_document_authoritative_source_trace] G8: additional_required_evidence: [] G9: additional_required_evidence: [required_ledgers_sources_assets_schemas_reviews_included_or_linked] promotion_contract: not_applicable: reason_required: true reviewer_approval_required: true cannot_weaken_non_waivable: true deferred_does_not_satisfy_gate: true exact_revision_gate_binding: true material_change_invalidates_affected_gate: true conditional_gate_activation: relevant_material_makes_conditional_gate_mandatory ic3_g6_g7_required: true review_control: role_name_does_not_confer_authority: true ic2_ic3_role_overlap_recorded: true ic2_ic3_owner_not_sole_referee: true ic3_separation_of_duties: author_not_sole_G5_reviewer: true authoring_team_not_only_G6_review: true owner_not_sole_referee: true release_steward_exact_revision_verification: true automation_cannot_impersonate_authority: true automated_and_judgment_checks_separate: true change_control: semantic_versioning: true patch_correction_can_fix_unambiguous_defect_without_normative_meaning_change: true active_exception_review_after_major: true superseded_not_default: true modules_conform_and_cannot_remove_nonwaivable: true strong_defaults: canonical_name: one_canonical_project_name_per_technical_object cross_surface_registry_mapping: terminology_or_notation_registry_maps_prose_notation_code_and_schema_where_practical examples_informative: true machine_requirements_normative: [requirements, schemas, enumerations, gate_criteria] atomic_formal_statement: keep_logically_atomic_definition_or_theorem_intact_when_split_obscures_scope definition_scope: state_scope_and_distinguish_nearby_concepts one_principal_assertion: sentence_default split_independent_content: [independent_claims, hidden_conditions, multiple_procedural_actions] sentence_length_diagnostic: 25 active_voice_when_agent_known: true one_topic_per_paragraph: true topic_sentence_when_needed: true paragraph_length_diagnostic: 6 vertical_complex_list: true module_adoption_order: [GCL-TCS-00, GCL-TCS-01, GCL-TCS-02, GCL-TCS-03, GCL-TCS-04, GCL-TCS-05, GCL-TCS-06, GCL-TCS-07, GCL-TCS-08, GCL-TCS-09] exception_decision_test: Appendix_B g8_decision_structure: Appendix_C machine_contracts: revision: 0.1.0-r1 conformance_schema: docs/council/submissions/GCL-TCS-00/schemas/gcl-tcs-conformance.schema.json record_contract_schema: docs/council/submissions/GCL-TCS-00/schemas/gcl-tcs-record-contracts.schema.json templates: - docs/council/submissions/GCL-TCS-00/templates/GCL-TCS-00.conformance.template.yaml - docs/council/submissions/GCL-TCS-00/templates/GCL-TCS-00.records.template.yaml migration_note: docs/council/submissions/GCL-TCS-00/MACHINE_CONTRACT_MIGRATION_0.1.0-R1.md validator: ci/gcl_tcs_normative_agreement.py tests: tests/test_gcl_tcs_normative_agreement.py