{ "model": { "rank": 4129, "code": "thing-q131026", "model_id": "vr.tr.philately", "name": "philately", "purpose": "Enable an agent to recognise a philatelic activity, assess its evidence and collection state, and choose justified next steps in studying, documenting, acquiring, preserving or presenting postal material.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Activities and processes", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "ACT", "domain": "ACT.ACT", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q131026/", "tier": 2, "score": 78, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "postage stamps and postal history by jurisdiction", "post office hopping", "postal history", "Antarctica on stamps", "pre-adhesive mail", "aerophilately", "St. Andrew's cross", "maximaphily", "topical stamp collecting" ], "aliasCount": 9, "merged": 9, "knownIn": 78, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": null, "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q131026", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131026", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-09T19:32:26Z", "providers": [ "Codex" ], "breadth": "recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read", "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "seconds": 26.8, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.4\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a087a7-32a6-7af3-acf2-9c0391d2a75c\n--------\nuser\nDescribe what is already known about one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: philately\nSense to describe: (none recorded)\nDomain code: ACT.ACT\nAlso known as: (none)\n\n\nContext for this batch of 695 things:\n# Batch 004: 1001 regist", "usd": 0, "recall": true }, "codex": { "seconds": 70.3, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.4\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a087a7-329c-7492-8cc8-16b2498a8d60\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: philately\nRegistry id: vr.tr.philately\nPlane / domain: ACT / ACT.ACT\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (none)\n\n\nCont" } } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q131026", "registryId": "vr.tr.philately", "name": "philately", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "ACT.ACT" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q131026/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.philately", "name": "philately", "purpose": "Enable an agent to recognise a philatelic activity, assess its evidence and collection state, and choose justified next steps in studying, documenting, acquiring, preserving or presenting postal material.", "definition": "Philately is the study of postage stamps, postal stationery and related postal material, including their production, use and historical context, often practised through collecting.", "scope_statement": "This model owns philately as the practice of studying and collecting postage stamps and related postal material, including identification, postal interpretation, collection development and communication of findings; it distinguishes the activity from its individual objects and supporting institutions.", "in_scope": [ "The collector's or researcher's philatelic scope, aims and inclusion criteria", "Identification and comparison of stamps, postal stationery, covers, markings and related material", "Interpretation of postal use, routes, rates and historical context", "Evidence supporting attribution, authenticity, condition and philatelic conclusions", "Collection development, handling, documentation and presentation" ], "out_of_scope": [ "Postal service operations and delivery management", "Stamp manufacture as an industrial process", "Individual stamps and covers as independently modelled physical objects", "General collecting psychology and leisure participation", "Dealer, auction house and philatelic society organisational models", "Investment portfolio management and guaranteed price prediction" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "The activity organises inquiry or collecting around stamps or related postal evidence, rather than merely accumulating small printed objects.", "A stamp image used in a scrapbook is not enough to establish philately; record whether issue identity, postal significance or a declared philatelic collecting aim informs its selection.", "Philatelic study can use borrowed material, archives and reproductions without ownership; possession is therefore not a required recognition test.", "A cover may be studied for its markings, rate or route even when its adhesive stamp is ordinary; the scope cannot be reduced to loose stamp identification.", "Postal operations become relevant as evidence explaining material, while the activity itself does not undertake mail delivery." ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Philatelic orientation", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Collecting; research; exhibiting; education; mixed; other declared orientation", "why_it_matters": "Determines what progress means and which actions serve the participant's purpose." }, { "name": "Collecting and research boundary", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Declared territories, periods, issuing authorities, material types, themes and exclusions; unresolved", "why_it_matters": "Makes inclusion decisions and claims of coverage interpretable." }, { "name": "Material focus", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Adhesive stamps; postal stationery; covers and cards; postal markings; mixed; explicitly justified adjacent material", "why_it_matters": "Changes the evidence needed for identification and the handling required." }, { "name": "Reference framework", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Named catalogues with editions, specialist literature, postal records and comparison holdings", "why_it_matters": "Makes identifiers and interpretations traceable rather than treating a catalogue number as universal." }, { "name": "Attribution status", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Unexamined; provisional; supported; disputed; unresolved, recorded per claim", "why_it_matters": "Prevents an uncertain issue, variety or postal-use attribution from becoming an assumed fact." }, { "name": "Coverage against a declared target", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Included target positions / total defined target positions, with reference edition and counting rules; undefined where no closed target exists", "why_it_matters": "Supports gap analysis without implying that every philatelic collection has a finite completion point." }, { "name": "Condition and intervention evidence", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Observed defects, gum state, repairs, alterations and assessment uncertainty", "why_it_matters": "Informs study, handling and acquisition while preserving distinctions between observation and judgement." }, { "name": "Postal-use interpretation", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Unassessed; supported ordinary use; supported collector-influenced use; disputed; indeterminate", "why_it_matters": "Qualifies what an item can demonstrate about historical postal practice." } ], "affordances": [ "Define a collecting or research programme with explicit material boundaries and evidence requirements.", "Compare candidate identifications against documented physical features and reference sources.", "Investigate a cover's franking, markings and route while retaining alternative interpretations.", "Identify collection gaps and prioritise examination, borrowing or acquisition.", "Recommend handling and storage actions that preserve philatelic evidence.", "Prepare an annotated display or research account that separates observations, interpretations and unresolved claims." ] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "philatelic-purpose-and-boundaries", "name": "Philatelic purpose and boundaries", "description": "Establishes what this instance of philately seeks to collect, understand or communicate.", "rationale": "A country collection, a thematic exhibit and a postal-history investigation require different inclusion rules and measures of progress.", "layers": [ { "id": "practice-orientation", "name": "Practice orientation", "description": "Records the participant's purpose and the role of ownership in pursuing it.", "findings": [ { "id": "declared-philatelic-aim", "name": "Declared philatelic aim", "description": "Record whether the activity centres on collecting, research, display or another stated philatelic purpose.", "questions": [ { "text": "What does the participant intend to understand, assemble or demonstrate through postal material?", "kind": "definition", "id": "declared-philatelic-aim-q01" }, { "text": "Can that aim be advanced through reference holdings or borrowed examples, or does it require acquiring specimens?", "kind": "action", "id": "declared-philatelic-aim-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "material-inclusion", "name": "Material inclusion", "description": "Defines the selected philatelic territory and its contested edges.", "findings": [ { "id": "inclusion-and-completion-rules", "name": "Inclusion and completion rules", "description": "Record explicit boundaries for issues, periods, uses and adjacent material without assuming universal agreement.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which issuing authorities, dates, postal uses, themes and material types qualify for inclusion?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "inclusion-and-completion-rules-q01" }, { "text": "How are revenue stamps, cinderellas, proofs, essays and reproductions included, excluded or treated as supporting evidence?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "inclusion-and-completion-rules-q02" }, { "text": "If completeness is claimed, which reference and counting rules define the target set?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "inclusion-and-completion-rules-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "issue-and-variety-identification", "name": "Issue and variety identification", "description": "Connects observed material features to candidate issues and varieties.", "rationale": "Small differences in postal material can change attribution, and visual resemblance alone may leave several candidates open.", "layers": [ { "id": "diagnostic-observations", "name": "Diagnostic observations", "description": "Records the features actually examined and the limits of examination.", "findings": [ { "id": "stamp-feature-comparison", "name": "Stamp feature comparison", "description": "Separate direct observations of design, denomination, perforation, paper, watermark and overprint from their interpretation.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which visible or measured features distinguish the candidate issue or variety from its closest alternatives?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "stamp-feature-comparison-q01" }, { "text": "Which features remain unexamined because the item is mounted, attached to a cover or available only as an image?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "stamp-feature-comparison-q02" }, { "text": "What examination could resolve the remaining difference without damaging the item?", "kind": "action", "id": "stamp-feature-comparison-q03" } ] } ] }, { "id": "reference-attribution", "name": "Reference attribution", "description": "Makes catalogue assignments and specialist identifications auditable.", "findings": [ { "id": "edition-qualified-identification", "name": "Edition-qualified identification", "description": "Tie each proposed identification to a named reference, its edition and supporting diagnostic evidence.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which catalogue edition, specialist publication or documented comparison specimen supports this identification?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "edition-qualified-identification-q01" }, { "text": "Do relevant references disagree about whether this difference constitutes a separate issue, variety or incidental variation?", "kind": "definition", "id": "edition-qualified-identification-q02" }, { "text": "What unresolved alternatives must remain attached to the attribution?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "edition-qualified-identification-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "postal-use-and-historical-interpretation", "name": "Postal use and historical interpretation", "description": "Examines material as evidence of postal handling and historical circumstances.", "rationale": "Philatelic meaning can depend on relationships among franking, dates, markings and routes that disappear when a stamp is considered alone.", "layers": [ { "id": "franking-and-treatment", "name": "Franking and treatment", "description": "Relates payment and markings to the postal service apparently used.", "findings": [ { "id": "rate-and-service-reconstruction", "name": "Rate and service reconstruction", "description": "Record a testable explanation of the franking and postal treatment, including missing inputs.", "questions": [ { "text": "What origin, destination, date, service and weight assumptions are needed to explain the franking?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "rate-and-service-reconstruction-q01" }, { "text": "Which contemporary rate notice or other consulted source supports the proposed charge and service?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "rate-and-service-reconstruction-q02" }, { "text": "Could missing enclosures, postage due, overpayment or incomplete markings account for an apparent mismatch?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "rate-and-service-reconstruction-q03" } ] } ] }, { "id": "route-and-use-context", "name": "Route and use context", "description": "Tests routing and use claims against the evidence preserved on the item.", "findings": [ { "id": "postal-journey-and-collector-influence", "name": "Postal journey and collector influence", "description": "Distinguish demonstrated postal handling from inferred routing and claims about why the item was created.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which cancellations, transit marks, arrival marks or endorsements support each proposed stage of the postal journey?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "postal-journey-and-collector-influence-q01" }, { "text": "What evidence supports ordinary correspondence, collector-influenced preparation or an indeterminate purpose?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "postal-journey-and-collector-influence-q02" }, { "text": "Which historical claims remain supportable if the item was prepared for a collector?", "kind": "definition", "id": "postal-journey-and-collector-influence-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "authenticity-condition-and-preservation", "name": "Authenticity, condition and preservation", "description": "Assesses confidence in material and protects the evidence it carries.", "rationale": "Altered components, repairs and handling choices can affect philatelic interpretation as well as an item's physical survival.", "layers": [ { "id": "component-level-authenticity", "name": "Component-level authenticity", "description": "Keeps authenticity judgements specific to the feature or relationship assessed.", "findings": [ { "id": "qualified-authenticity-claims", "name": "Qualified authenticity claims", "description": "Record separate assessments of the stamp, overprint, cancellation, gum and association with a cover where relevant.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which components have been assessed, and what evidence supports each authenticity judgement?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "qualified-authenticity-claims-q01" }, { "text": "Does an expert opinion identify this exact specimen, and what qualifications or exclusions does it contain?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "qualified-authenticity-claims-q02" }, { "text": "Which unresolved feature warrants specialist examination before acquisition or publication?", "kind": "action", "id": "qualified-authenticity-claims-q03" } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-preserving-care", "name": "Evidence-preserving care", "description": "Connects condition observations to handling and storage decisions.", "findings": [ { "id": "condition-and-context-retention", "name": "Condition and context retention", "description": "Document defects and interventions while considering evidence in gum, attachments, envelopes and associated correspondence.", "questions": [ { "text": "What tears, thinning, fading, staining, gum disturbance, repairs or other changes are observed, and how were they recorded?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "condition-and-context-retention-q01" }, { "text": "Would soaking, separating, cleaning or remounting remove markings, attachments or contextual evidence relevant to the study?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "condition-and-context-retention-q02" }, { "text": "What handling or storage adjustment is justified by the item's materials and observed condition?", "kind": "action", "id": "condition-and-context-retention-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "collection-development-and-communication", "name": "Collection development and communication", "description": "Turns philatelic aims and evidence into acquisition priorities and defensible presentations.", "rationale": "A useful philatelic practice must distinguish meaningful gaps from attractive purchases and make its interpretations reviewable by others.", "layers": [ { "id": "development-decisions", "name": "Development decisions", "description": "Evaluates additions, substitutions and access options against the declared programme.", "findings": [ { "id": "gap-and-comparison-value", "name": "Gap and comparison value", "description": "Assess what a candidate contributes, including whether an apparent duplicate supplies comparative evidence.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which defined gap or research question would this specimen address?", "kind": "action", "id": "gap-and-comparison-value-q01" }, { "text": "Does an apparent duplicate add a different cancellation, shade, plate feature, condition example or postal use?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "gap-and-comparison-value-q02" }, { "text": "What provenance, condition and comparable transaction evidence supports the proposed acquisition terms, separately from any catalogue valuation?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "gap-and-comparison-value-q03" } ] } ] }, { "id": "philatelic-argument-and-display", "name": "Philatelic argument and display", "description": "Organises material and references into a clear, qualified account.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-linked-presentation", "name": "Evidence-linked presentation", "description": "Connect captions and research conclusions to specimens, sources and acknowledged uncertainty.", "questions": [ { "text": "What philatelic claim does each displayed item support, and which visible feature or consulted source supports that claim?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "evidence-linked-presentation-q01" }, { "text": "Which statements are observations, interpretations or unresolved alternatives, and how will the presentation distinguish them?", "kind": "definition", "id": "evidence-linked-presentation-q02" }, { "text": "If the display enters an organised exhibition, which current class rules constrain selection and presentation?", "kind": "action", "id": "evidence-linked-presentation-q03" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-and-external-alignment", "name": "Evidence and external alignment", "description": "What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.", "rationale": "A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.", "layers": [ { "id": "reported-evidence", "name": "Reported evidence", "description": "Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-confidence-notes", "name": "Check these first", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Philately and stamp collecting overlap in ordinary usage; their distinction is useful but not universally enforced.", "The inclusion of revenue stamps and unofficial stamp-like material depends on the collecting or exhibition framework.", "Catalogue identifiers and exhibition rules are recalled here without source consultation; exact editions and current provisions require checking." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-confidence-notes-q01", "text": "Which of these check these first hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-kinds", "name": "Kinds and varieties", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Traditional philately", "Postal history", "Postal stationery", "Thematic philately", "Aerophilately", "Revenue philately" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-identifiers", "name": "Identifiers and schemes", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ { "scheme": "Scott catalogue numbers", "value_or_pattern": "Issuing entity plus catalogue number, sometimes with letter prefixes or suffixes", "note": "Identifies catalogue-listed issues or varieties; numbers are specific to this catalogue system." }, { "scheme": "Stanley Gibbons catalogue numbers", "value_or_pattern": "Issuing entity plus SG number, sometimes with a suffix", "note": "Catalogue edition and scope matter when identifying specialised varieties." }, { "scheme": "Michel catalogue numbers", "value_or_pattern": "Issuing entity plus catalogue number and applicable variety designation", "note": "This numbering system is independent of Scott and Stanley Gibbons." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation", "name": "Standards and regulation", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) issues General Regulations for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits at FIP Exhibitions (GREV).", "FIP issues Special Regulations for the Evaluation of Exhibits (SREV) for individual exhibition classes." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-real-world-use", "name": "Real-world use", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Building and documenting collections for recreation and specialist study.", "Reconstructing postal routes, rates and communication networks from surviving postal material.", "Identifying stamp issues, printing varieties, watermarks and postal markings.", "Preparing educational displays and competitive exhibits.", "Supporting authentication, cataloguing and valuation of postal collectibles." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-measurements", "name": "Typical measurements", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ { "quantity": "Perforation gauge", "typical_range": "Varies by issue; imperforate stamps have no perforation gauge.", "unit": "Perforations per 20 mm" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards", "name": "Failure modes and hazards", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Forgeries of stamps, overprints, cancellations or entire postal items can undermine attribution and value.", "Repairs, regumming, reperforation and altered colours may be concealed or misidentified.", "Humidity, light, pests and unsuitable storage materials can damage paper, ink and gum.", "Removing stamps from envelopes can destroy evidence of postal use and historical context.", "Catalogue prices can be mistaken for achievable sale prices despite differences in condition, authenticity and demand." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-regional-variation", "name": "Regional variation", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ "Scott is especially prominent in North America, Stanley Gibbons in Britain and Commonwealth collecting, and Michel in German-speaking markets.", "Stamp identification may follow historical postal administrations and issuing entities rather than present-day national borders.", "Collectors and exhibitions differ in their treatment of revenues, local posts and unofficial stamp-like material." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-neighbours", "name": "Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart", "description": "Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.", "evidence": [ { "name": "Stamp collecting", "difference": "Collecting centres on acquiring and organising stamps; philately includes systematic study and can be practised without owning a collection." }, { "name": "Postal history", "difference": "Postal history focuses on postal systems and the movement of mail; it overlaps philately and is also recognised as a philatelic specialism." }, { "name": "Numismatics", "difference": "Numismatics studies coins, currency and related monetary objects; philately centres on stamps and related postal or fiscal material." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of philately this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does an existing Vercy world model already cover philately, requiring this registry entry to link to that model?", "Which philatelic reference bodies and practitioner definitions should govern the treatment of revenue stamps, cinderellas and other material at the scope boundary?", "Which catalogue systems and specialist references are appropriate for the territories and material actually selected?", "What evidence thresholds should distinguish provisional identification, supported attribution and a claim requiring specialist certification?", "Should competitive exhibiting and commercial dealing remain optional extensions, and which current external rules should those extensions reference?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 11, "findings": 19, "questions": 38 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "abstract concept", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a philately, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Enable an agent to recognise a philatelic activity, assess its evidence and collection state, and choose justified next steps in studying, documenting, acquiring, preserving or presenting postal material.", "characteristics": { "substance": "activity", "origin": "conceptual", "agency": "inert" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: postage stamps and postal history by jurisdiction, post office hopping, postal history, Antarctica on stamps, pre-adhesive mail, aerophilately, St. Andrew's cross, maximaphily, topical stamp collecting.", "9 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 78 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a philately, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "something that happens over time", "physicalCharacter": [ "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "Nothing to see. What is recognised is an instance of it, and which instances count is exactly what is argued about." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "postage stamps and postal history by jurisdiction", "post office hopping", "postal history", "Antarctica on stamps", "pre-adhesive mail", "aerophilately", "St. Andrew's cross", "maximaphily", "topical stamp collecting" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 78 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 9 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one philately from another, and a philately from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a philately sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a philately from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a philately passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a philately between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a philately, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a philately is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "process-and-outcome", "name": "Process, inputs and outcome", "description": "How a philately proceeds, what it needs and what it leaves behind.", "rationale": "An activity is known by its steps and its results, and both have to be recordable while it is still running.", "layers": [ { "id": "steps-and-sequence", "name": "Steps and sequence", "description": "The steps of a philately, their order and what may run in parallel.", "findings": [ { "id": "steps-and-preconditions", "name": "Steps, preconditions and completion", "description": "What has to be true before each step of a philately and what marks it done.", "questions": [ { "id": "steps-and-preconditions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a step of a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "steps-and-preconditions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a step of a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "steps-and-preconditions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a step of a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "inputs-and-results", "name": "Inputs, resources and results", "description": "What a philately consumes and what it produces.", "findings": [ { "id": "inputs-and-outputs", "name": "Inputs, outputs and side effects", "description": "The resources a philately takes and the results it leaves, wanted or not.", "questions": [ { "id": "inputs-and-outputs-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the inputs and results of a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "inputs-and-outputs-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the inputs and results of a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "inputs-and-outputs-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the inputs and results of a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "definitions-in-contest", "name": "Definitions and who holds them", "description": "What philately is taken to mean, and by whom.", "rationale": "When a field disagrees about a concept, the disagreement is the content. A model that picks one definition silently destroys the information.", "layers": [ { "id": "competing-definitions", "name": "Competing definitions", "description": "The main readings and the traditions behind them.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-map", "name": "Definitions and their holders", "description": "Each definition with the school or body that holds it.", "questions": [ { "id": "definition-map-q01", "text": "Which definitions of philately are in use, and which tradition or body holds each?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "definition-map-q02", "text": "What turns on the difference between them in practice?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "operationalisation", "name": "Operationalisation", "description": "How it is measured or applied when it has to be.", "findings": [ { "id": "operational-record", "name": "Measures and proxies", "description": "Instruments and indicators used to stand in for it.", "questions": [ { "id": "operational-record-q01", "text": "How is philately operationalised or measured in practice, and by what instrument?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "operational-record-q02", "text": "What does that operationalisation leave out, and when does that matter?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "instances-and-use", "name": "Instances, use and consequence", "description": "What counts as an instance of philately and what follows from calling something that.", "rationale": "Applying a concept is an act with consequences, so a model must say what the label licenses and what it does not.", "layers": [ { "id": "instances", "name": "What counts as an instance", "description": "Clear cases, borderline cases and non-cases.", "findings": [ { "id": "instance-tests", "name": "Tests for an instance", "description": "What would settle whether something falls under it.", "questions": [ { "id": "instance-tests-q01", "text": "What would settle whether something is an instance of philately?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "instance-tests-q02", "text": "Which borderline cases are argued about, and on what grounds?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "consequence", "name": "Consequence of application", "description": "Rights, duties or decisions that follow from the label.", "findings": [ { "id": "consequence-record", "name": "What the label licenses", "description": "What an agent may do once something is classified this way.", "questions": [ { "id": "consequence-record-q01", "text": "What follows practically once something is treated as philately?", "kind": "action" }, { "id": "consequence-record-q02", "text": "What must an agent not infer from the label alone?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a philately came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a philately and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a philately is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a philately, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a philately, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a philately is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 12, "findings": 14, "questions": 38 } } } }