Governance
APP follows a phased governance model, starting with rapid iteration and evolving toward community stewardship.
Current phase: Bootstrap
The specification is being developed by its originators with the goal of shipping a stable v1.0 as quickly as possible. Decisions are made rapidly to enable progress.
During this phase:
- The specification is open for community feedback
- Pull requests are reviewed and merged by maintainers
- Major design decisions are documented in GitHub Issues and Discussions
Phase 2: Steering Committee
Once three or more independent implementations exist, governance will transition to a steering committee:
- Size: 3–5 members from different organisations
- Role: Guide the specification’s evolution, approve major changes, resolve disputes
- Selection: Members invited based on demonstrated implementation experience and community contribution
- Terms: 12-month terms, renewable
Phase 3: Standards body
If APP gains sufficient traction, the specification will be submitted to a formal standards body:
| Target | Rationale |
|---|---|
| IETF (primary) | Strong fit for a protocol/format specification (RFC track) |
| W3C (alternative) | If web integration becomes the dominant use case |
| C2PA liaison | Ensure interoperability with Content Credentials |
Principles
- Openness: All specification work happens in public on GitHub
- Simplicity: Resist complexity. The core spec should stay minimal.
- Interoperability: Design for the ecosystem, not for a single implementation
- Pragmatism: Ship working solutions, then iterate based on real-world feedback
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