Publication Purpose
Publication governs whether and how a canonical Attestor object is represented publicly. It is a public-representation decision applied to an already governed object; it is not the act that creates the object.
Attestor · Operational Publication
Publication
Publication separates canonical creation from the governed decision to make an Attestor object publicly represented.
An Attestation or Trust Statement may exist canonically before publication. Publication changes its public-representation state; it does not create the object, change its canonical identity, or independently establish its validity, conformance, or substantive conclusion.
Publication principle: Canonical Object + Governed Publication Decision → Authorized Public Representation
Canonical Creation
Canonical Creation establishes the Attestor object and its canonical identity. An object may exist institutionally without being publicly represented. Creation therefore precedes and remains conceptually independent from publication.
Publication State
The initial controlled publication vocabulary remains unpublished and published. These values describe public representation, not lifecycle status, validation, conformance, or evaluation outcome.
Publication Authorization
A transition to published requires an affirmative governed publication decision under applicable Attestor rules. Mere existence, activation, validation, or technical availability does not by itself authorize public representation.
Published Representation
A published representation must resolve to the canonical Attestor object and the governed version being represented. Public presentation must not silently alter the assertion, conclusion, scope, provenance, limitations, lifecycle context, or institutional authority.
Historical Publication
When a published object is revised, superseded, withdrawn, or retired, Attestor must preserve enough publication history to distinguish what was publicly represented from what is currently governed.
Withdrawal from Current Use
A lifecycle transition does not automatically erase a historical publication. A previously published object may remain historically resolvable while clearly showing that it is no longer the current active representation.
Authority Boundary
Publication does not enlarge Attestor authority or transfer source authority. A public Trust Statement remains an Attestor conclusion; referenced Suite and external objects retain their own institutional or source authority.
Creation, Activation, and Publication
Attestor keeps three institutional events distinct. Creation establishes canonical existence and identity. Activation establishes current lifecycle use. Publication authorizes public representation. They may occur in sequence but are not interchangeable. The first production operation demonstrated this separation directly for both canonical production objects.
Canonical Creation → Object exists / identifier assigned
Lifecycle Activation → Object becomes current governed representation within scope
Publication → Object is authorized for public representation
Creation ≠ Activation ≠ Publication
First-production baseline → ATT-2026-0001 and TRST-2026-0001 were created as Draft · Unpublished, separately activated to Active · Unpublished, then separately authorized for publication as Active · Published.
Lifecycle Activation → Object becomes current governed representation within scope
Publication → Object is authorized for public representation
Creation ≠ Activation ≠ Publication
First-production baseline → ATT-2026-0001 and TRST-2026-0001 were created as Draft · Unpublished, separately activated to Active · Unpublished, then separately authorized for publication as Active · Published.
Canonical Publication States
The Controlled Values architecture established two publication states. This binary vocabulary remains sufficient at the architectural level; workflow stages such as review, approval, or pending publication should not be silently converted into additional canonical publication states unless later governance requires them.
unpublished → canonical object is not currently authorized as a public representation
published → governed public representation is authorized and exists
Review / Approval → workflow or governance activities
unpublished / published → canonical publication states
published → governed public representation is authorized and exists
Review / Approval → workflow or governance activities
unpublished / published → canonical publication states
Publication Eligibility
Publication should occur only after the requirements applicable to the object's publication context are satisfied. This may include lifecycle, validation, conformance, review, provenance, and representation requirements once those are formally specified. Publication does not itself substitute for any of them.
Applicable Requirements → Satisfied
Governed Review / Authorization → Completed
Representation → Resolvable to canonical object/version
Publication Decision → Approved
Public Representation → published
Technically accessible ≠ Published by governance
Governed Review / Authorization → Completed
Representation → Resolvable to canonical object/version
Publication Decision → Approved
Public Representation → published
Technically accessible ≠ Published by governance
Public Representation Integrity
A published representation must faithfully represent the governed canonical object and version. Presentation layers may improve readability or navigation, but they must not materially change institutional meaning.
Canonical Identifier → Preserved / resolvable
Governed Version → Identifiable
Object Type → Clear
Lifecycle State → Represented where material
Scope → Preserved
Provenance → Preserved or resolvable
Limitations / Uncertainty → Preserved where material
Relationships → Preserved or resolvable
Presentation ≠ Reinterpretation
Governed Version → Identifiable
Object Type → Clear
Lifecycle State → Represented where material
Scope → Preserved
Provenance → Preserved or resolvable
Limitations / Uncertainty → Preserved where material
Relationships → Preserved or resolvable
Presentation ≠ Reinterpretation
Version Publication
Where an object has multiple governed versions, publication must make the represented version distinguishable. A newer published version may become the current public representation while earlier versions remain part of the governed historical record.
Canonical Object → One stable canonical identity
Governed Versions → Distinguishable states
Published Representation → Resolves to specific governed version
Current Public Representation → Identifiable
Historical Governed Versions → Preserved
Publishing a new version ≠ erasing an old version
Governed Versions → Distinguishable states
Published Representation → Resolves to specific governed version
Current Public Representation → Identifiable
Historical Governed Versions → Preserved
Publishing a new version ≠ erasing an old version
Lifecycle Changes After Publication
Publication history must remain coherent when lifecycle state changes. Superseded, withdrawn, or retired objects must not continue to appear as current merely because they were once published.
Published + Active → Current public representation may be shown
Published + Superseded → Historical / superseded status must be clear
Published + Withdrawn → Withdrawal must be clear; current reliance ends
Published + Retired → Retirement must be clear
Published ≠ Active forever
Published + Superseded → Historical / superseded status must be clear
Published + Withdrawn → Withdrawal must be clear; current reliance ends
Published + Retired → Retirement must be clear
Published ≠ Active forever
Unpublication and Historical Preservation
The initial publication vocabulary describes whether a governed public representation is authorized, but changing a current representation from published to unpublished must not be used to erase material publication history. Exact takedown, archival, exceptional removal, and historical-access rules remain Publication governance details to be formalized.
Current Publication Authorization → May change under governance
Historical Fact of Prior Publication → Preserved where material
Canonical Object → Remains governed according to Lifecycle
Unpublication ≠ Deletion
Removal from current public view ≠ Historical erasure
Historical Fact of Prior Publication → Preserved where material
Canonical Object → Remains governed according to Lifecycle
Unpublication ≠ Deletion
Removal from current public view ≠ Historical erasure
Publication and Validation
Validation and publication remain separate determinations. Validation establishes satisfaction of applicable normative structural and rule requirements. Publication authorizes public representation.
Validation → Normative compliance determination
Publication → Public representation determination
Valid ≠ Published
Published ≠ Automatically Valid
Publication → Public representation determination
Valid ≠ Published
Published ≠ Automatically Valid
Publication and Conformance
Conformance may be a prerequisite for particular publication profiles once formal requirements are established, but the concepts remain distinct. A conformant object is not automatically public, and publication does not create a conformance claim.
Conformance → Satisfaction of declared specification / profile
Publication → Authorization for public representation
Conformant ≠ Published
Published ≠ Conformant
Publication → Authorization for public representation
Conformant ≠ Published
Published ≠ Conformant
Publication and Evaluation Outcome
Publication does not imply that a Trust Statement is favorable. Attestor may have legitimate governed reasons to publish a Trust Statement whose evaluation outcome is supported, partially-supported, not-supported, contradicted, or indeterminate.
Evaluation Outcome → Substantive Attestor determination
Publication State → Public representation determination
Published ≠ Supported
Unpublished ≠ Not-Supported
Publication must not become a hidden trust score.
Publication State → Public representation determination
Published ≠ Supported
Unpublished ≠ Not-Supported
Publication must not become a hidden trust score.
Publication and Authority
Making an Attestor object public does not enlarge its authority. Source objects remain under their source institutions or external authorities, while the Trust Statement remains attributable to Attestor.
Published Source Reference → Source retains source authority
Published Attestation → Attribution remains bounded
Published Trust Statement → Attestor retains authority for its bounded conclusion
Reference does not transfer authority.
Publication does not transfer authority either.
Published Attestation → Attribution remains bounded
Published Trust Statement → Attestor retains authority for its bounded conclusion
Reference does not transfer authority.
Publication does not transfer authority either.
Operational Publication Mechanics
The first production operation exercised the core Publication mechanics required for canonical Attestor objects. Publication decisions were recorded separately from canonical creation and lifecycle activation, and the resulting public representations preserved canonical identity, version, lifecycle state, provenance, relationships, limitations, and authority context.
Publication Architecture → Established
Canonical States → unpublished · published
Affirmative Publication Decision → Exercised
Lifecycle Activation → Separately governed
Publication Decision Record → Exercised
Canonical Public Representation → Exercised
Final-State Revalidation → Exercised
Production Publication Workflow → ESTABLISHED AND EXERCISED
Specialized archival, takedown, exceptional-removal, and future deployment mechanics may continue to mature without reopening the established creation / activation / publication distinction.
Canonical States → unpublished · published
Affirmative Publication Decision → Exercised
Lifecycle Activation → Separately governed
Publication Decision Record → Exercised
Canonical Public Representation → Exercised
Final-State Revalidation → Exercised
Production Publication Workflow → ESTABLISHED AND EXERCISED
Specialized archival, takedown, exceptional-removal, and future deployment mechanics may continue to mature without reopening the established creation / activation / publication distinction.
Production Publication Baseline
The first controlled production operation demonstrated governed publication for both first-production canonical objects. Publication followed canonical creation, successful production Validation and governed Review, Conformance determination, and separate lifecycle activation.
ATT-2026-0001
Creation → Draft · Unpublished · V1.0
Lifecycle Activation → Active · Unpublished · V1.0
Publication → Active · Published · V1.0
Final Published-State Validation → VALID
TRST-2026-0001
Creation → Draft · Unpublished · V1.0
Lifecycle Activation → Active · Unpublished · V1.0
Publication → Active · Published · V1.0
Final Published-State Validation → VALID
Production Publication Proof → ESTABLISHED
Creation → Draft · Unpublished · V1.0
Lifecycle Activation → Active · Unpublished · V1.0
Publication → Active · Published · V1.0
Final Published-State Validation → VALID
TRST-2026-0001
Creation → Draft · Unpublished · V1.0
Lifecycle Activation → Active · Unpublished · V1.0
Publication → Active · Published · V1.0
Final Published-State Validation → VALID
Production Publication Proof → ESTABLISHED
Canonical Public Representations
The first published production objects resolve through distinct canonical public paths corresponding to their object classes. Their machine-readable representations remain linked to the same governed canonical identities and versions.
ATT-2026-0001 → /attestor/attestations/ATT-2026-0001/
TRST-2026-0001 → /attestor/trust-statements/TRST-2026-0001/
Public Presentation → Must preserve governed meaning
Publication → Does not create a new canonical identity
TRST-2026-0001 → /attestor/trust-statements/TRST-2026-0001/
Public Presentation → Must preserve governed meaning
Publication → Does not create a new canonical identity
What Publication Does Not Establish
Publication is a governed public-representation state. It does not independently establish canonical creation, lifecycle status, truth, evaluation outcome, validation, conformance, authority, or permanence of current status.
Published ≠ Created
Published ≠ Active
Published ≠ True
Published ≠ Supported
Published ≠ Valid
Published ≠ Conformant
Published ≠ More Authoritative
Published ≠ Permanently Current
Published ≠ Active
Published ≠ True
Published ≠ Supported
Published ≠ Valid
Published ≠ Conformant
Published ≠ More Authoritative
Published ≠ Permanently Current
Current Publication Position
Publication is no longer only conceptual or deferred. The first production operation exercised the governed separation among canonical creation, lifecycle activation, and publication for both first-production objects and demonstrated faithful public representation followed by final-state revalidation.
Publication Architecture → Established
Creation vs. activation vs. publication → Distinguished and exercised
Publication states → unpublished · published
Affirmative publication authorization → Established and exercised
Public representation integrity → Established and exercised
Version-specific representation → Established and exercised
Historical publication preservation → Required
Lifecycle changes after publication → Governed
Validation / Conformance / Evaluation Outcome → Kept distinct
ATT-2026-0001 → Active · Published · V1.0
TRST-2026-0001 → Active · Published · V1.0
Final published-state Validation → VALID for both
Production Publication Proof → ESTABLISHED
Creation vs. activation vs. publication → Distinguished and exercised
Publication states → unpublished · published
Affirmative publication authorization → Established and exercised
Public representation integrity → Established and exercised
Version-specific representation → Established and exercised
Historical publication preservation → Required
Lifecycle changes after publication → Governed
Validation / Conformance / Evaluation Outcome → Kept distinct
ATT-2026-0001 → Active · Published · V1.0
TRST-2026-0001 → Active · Published · V1.0
Final published-state Validation → VALID for both
Production Publication Proof → ESTABLISHED
This baseline does not make future canonical objects automatically publishable. Each future publication remains an affirmative governed decision separate from creation and lifecycle activation.
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