LOF-P-017: Locus of authority

Draft for ratification

Part of the founding draft of the LOF principles.

Summary

Each ontology has a single named point of contact responsible for it.

Purpose

Users and the Foundry need to know who can answer questions and make decisions about an ontology.

Recommendations and requirements

1. The registry entry names one contact person with a working email address and GitHub handle.
2. The contact person is a maintainer of the ontology, or can reach one promptly.

Implementation

Set the contact field in the registry metadata. Update it when responsibility changes.

Examples

See the LOF ontology template.

Criteria for review

The contact is reachable.

Automated check: Registry schema validation of contact.

Feedback and discussion

Propose changes to this principle by pull request against docs/principles/lof-p-017-authority.md, or open a thread in Discussions.

Discussion