RFC-038: Domain of Concern Registry — AIGP Dialects as First-Class Artifacts — 17. Design Principles
AIGP Specification › RFC-038: Domain of Concern Registry — AIGP Dialects as First-Class Artifacts › 17. Design Principles
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17. Design Principles
17.1 A dialect is an observation apparatus, not a compliance checklist
Compliance asks: “did you check the box?” A dialect asks: “can you measure the construct, validly, reproducibly, under declared conditions?” The distinction is epistemic, not bureaucratic.
17.2 Immutability enables trust
A version that can silently change is a version that cannot be trusted. Immutability is not rigidity — it is the precondition for meaningful versioning. Evolution happens through new versions, not mutations.
17.3 Monotonic safety prevents a race to the bottom
If Local Profiles could relax dialect requirements, organizations would compete on who can governance-wash most cheaply. The tighten-only constraint ensures that subscribing to a dialect is a genuine floor commitment.
17.4 The registry does not verdict
The registry validates structure. It does not render verdicts on artifacts. It ensures the observation apparatus is complete and internally consistent. Whether an artifact passes or fails is determined by the evaluation loop (RFC-032), not the registry.
17.5 Dialects are falsifiable
An observation apparatus that never produces signal is a failed apparatus. Dialects must be empirically evaluable — not just structurally valid but actually informative. Longitudinal verdict data is the falsification mechanism.
17.6 Single inheritance prevents ambiguity
A dialect that inherits from two parents with conflicting thresholds produces an ambiguous observation apparatus. Single inheritance with multi-subscription is simpler, more predictable, and avoids the diamond problem.
17.7 Grace periods respect operational reality
Organizations cannot migrate overnight. Deprecation with generous grace periods respects the operational cost of change while maintaining forward pressure toward improved observation apparatus.
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