# ASL/DOMAIN-MODEL/1 -- Domain Topology and Publication Semantics

Status: Draft
Owner: Architecture
Version: 0.1.0
SoT: No
Last Updated: 2025-01-17
Tags: [domains, authority, publication, federation]

**Document ID:** `ASL/DOMAIN-MODEL/1`
**Layer:** L2 -- Domain topology and delegation semantics (no transport)

**Depends on (normative):**

* `ASL/DAM/1`
* `ASL/DAP/1`
* `ASL/POLICY-HASH/1`
* `ASL/FEDERATION/1`
* `ASL/LOG/1`

**Informative references:**

* `ASL/OCS/1` -- offline certificate system
* `ASL/OFFLINE-ROOT-TRUST/1`
* `ASL/SYSTEM/1` -- unified system view

---

## 0. Conventions

The key words **MUST**, **MUST NOT**, **REQUIRED**, **SHOULD**, and **MAY** are to be interpreted as in RFC 2119.

ASL/DOMAIN-MODEL/1 defines domain topology and publication semantics. It does not define transport, storage layout, or encoding.

---

## 1. Purpose

This document defines how domains relate, how authority is delegated, and how publication is made safe and explicit.
It provides a stable mental model for personal, group, and shared domains without introducing implicit trust.

---

## 2. First Principles (Normative)

1. **No implicit inheritance.** Domains are not hierarchical by default; trust is explicit.
2. **Authority is explicit.** Authority is defined by DAM + certificates; it is never implied by naming or topology.
3. **Publication is explicit.** Visibility is controlled by index metadata and policy, not by storage or naming.
4. **Determinism is preserved.** All cross-domain visibility MUST be replayable from snapshots and logs.

---

## 3. Domain Roles (Common, Personal, Working)

These roles are semantic patterns; a deployment MAY create many instances.

### 3.1 Common Domain

A shared, conservative domain for stable artifacts and schemas.

Properties:

* High trust threshold
* Read-mostly, slow-changing
* Publishes broadly

### 3.2 Personal Domain

A domain anchored to a single personal identity and authority.

Properties:

* Root of local agency
* Owns offline roots and DAM
* Decides what to publish and to whom

### 3.3 Working / Ephemeral Domains

Task-focused domains created under delegated authority.

Properties:

* Narrow policy and scope
* Often short-lived
* Results MAY be promoted to personal or common domains

---

## 4. Delegation and Authority (Normative)

Delegation is explicit and certificate-based.

Rules:

* A domain MAY delegate authority to a new domain by issuing a `domain_root` certificate (ASL/OCS/1).
* Delegation MUST be recorded in the receiving domain's DAM and policy hash.
* Delegation does not create inheritance: the delegating domain does not gain automatic visibility into the new domain.

---

## 5. Publication and Visibility (Normative)

Publication is a visibility decision, not a storage action.

Rules:

* Only published artifacts are eligible for cross-domain visibility.
* Publication state MUST be encoded in index metadata (ENC-ASL-CORE-INDEX).
* Blocks and storage layouts MUST NOT be treated as publication units.
* Publication of snapshots (or snapshot hashes) is allowed but MUST NOT imply data publication.

---

## 6. Cross-Domain Trust and Admission (Normative)

Trust is established by explicit admission and policy compatibility.

Rules:

* A receiving domain MUST admit an external domain (ASL/DAP/1) before including its state.
* Policy hash compatibility MUST be checked before accepting published artifacts.
* A domain MAY pin a trusted foreign domain without reciprocal trust.

---

## 7. Safe Publication Patterns (Informative)

### 7.1 Personal to Personal Archive

```
personal/rescue -> personal/archive
```

* Publish explicitly from the working domain to an archival domain.
* Only published artifacts are visible across the boundary.

### 7.2 Personal to Group Domain

```
personal/project -> group/shared
```

* Requires admission by the group domain and policy compatibility.
* No unilateral publishing into the group domain.

### 7.3 Personal to Public Domain

```
personal/public -> common/public
```

* One-way trust is permitted.
* Public domain pins the personal domain; the personal domain need not pin the public domain.

---

## 8. Non-Goals

ASL/DOMAIN-MODEL/1 does not define:

* Transport or replication protocols
* Encoding formats
* Storage layouts or filesystem assumptions
* Governance workflows beyond admission and policy compatibility