{
  "vercy": "1.0-draft",
  "publication": {
    "status": "research-draft",
    "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed",
    "publishableCanonical": false,
    "generatedAt": "2026-09-13T19:53:27Z",
    "providers": [
      "Claude"
    ],
    "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify",
    "pass": 2,
    "wave": 4,
    "engine": "claude",
    "enrichment": {
      "pass": 3,
      "engine": "claude",
      "producedAt": "2026-10-06T10:00:00Z",
      "ingestedAt": "2026-10-06T07:35:06+00:00",
      "fields": [
        "agent_conduct",
        "ethics",
        "owners"
      ]
    },
    "gate": {
      "passed": true,
      "version": "1.0",
      "at": "2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00",
      "evidence": [
        "completeness 1.00",
        "sense: Wikidata description",
        "2 live sources",
        "review by codex: pass"
      ]
    }
  },
  "metaModel": {
    "id": "THING-Q37447",
    "registryId": "vr.tr.postal-code",
    "name": "postal code",
    "version": "0.2.0-wave.4",
    "entryKind": "thing",
    "family": "Thing Registry",
    "domain": [
      "INF.MED"
    ],
    "status": "research-draft"
  },
  "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q37447/",
  "model": {
    "registry_id": "vr.tr.postal-code",
    "name": "postal code",
    "purpose": "Let an agent explain postal codes, relay formats, histories and uses from postal operator and UPU sources, describe the national systems the registry aliases name, and distinguish postal codes from addresses, administrative area codes, telephone area codes and geocodes.",
    "definition": "A series of letters, digits or both appended to a postal address to aid mail sorting, used in most countries, such as the United States ZIP code introduced in 1963, United Kingdom postcodes rolled out from 1959 to 1974, the Brazilian Codigo de Enderecamento Postal or CEP, the five-digit French code postal, Swedish postal codes introduced in 1968 and Gibraltar s single postcode GX11 1AA; postal codes are widely reused for geography, statistics, pricing and service areas.",
    "what_it_is_for": "Sorting mail and locating addresses.",
    "affordances": [
      "explain formats",
      "relay national histories",
      "describe named systems",
      "distinguish related codes"
    ],
    "distinguishing_features": [
      "Sorting aid",
      "National formats",
      "Reused for geography",
      "Not administrative boundaries"
    ],
    "appearance": "Not a visible object; codes written in addresses.",
    "visual_identification": [
      "Code aiding mail sorting",
      "ZIP code, UK postcode, CEP, code postal, Swedish postal code, Gibraltar postcode",
      "Addresses identify places; administrative codes identify government areas; telephone area codes route calls; geocodes are coordinates"
    ],
    "physical_properties": [
      {
        "quantity": "US ZIP code",
        "typical_range": "1963",
        "unit": "year",
        "note": "5 digits, ZIP+4 from 1983"
      },
      {
        "quantity": "UK postcodes",
        "typical_range": "1959-1974",
        "unit": "years",
        "note": "alphanumeric"
      },
      {
        "quantity": "Brazil CEP",
        "typical_range": "1971",
        "unit": "year",
        "note": "8 digits since 1992"
      },
      {
        "quantity": "Gibraltar postcode",
        "typical_range": "GX11 1AA",
        "unit": "code",
        "note": "single code, 2012"
      }
    ],
    "families_and_kinds": [
      "numeric codes such as ZIP and code postal",
      "alphanumeric codes such as UK and Canadian postcodes",
      "single territory codes",
      "extended codes such as ZIP+4"
    ],
    "related_models": [
      {
        "relation": "is a kind of",
        "target": "administrative territorial entity identifier",
        "why": "in registry terms"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is part of",
        "target": "address",
        "why": ""
      },
      {
        "relation": "includes",
        "target": "ZIP Code",
        "why": ""
      },
      {
        "relation": "is contrasted with",
        "target": "telephone numbering plan",
        "why": ""
      }
    ],
    "identifiers": [],
    "standards_and_regulation": [
      "UPU postal addressing standards S42",
      "National postal operator rules"
    ],
    "failure_modes_and_hazards": [
      "Treating postal codes as administrative boundaries",
      "Postcode-based discrimination in pricing, as reported",
      "Stale code lists"
    ],
    "in_scope": [],
    "out_of_scope": [],
    "characteristics": [],
    "agent_conduct": {
      "may": [
        "Explain postal code formats and histories for different countries from postal operator sources.",
        "Validate or format a postal code against the official format of the country.",
        "Look up which area a postal code covers using an authorized dataset."
      ],
      "must_not": [
        "Use a postal code alone to judge a person's creditworthiness, character or risk.",
        "Combine a postal code with other data to identify a person without a lawful basis.",
        "Invent or guess a postal code and present it as correct.",
        "Copy proprietary postal code datasets in breach of their licence."
      ],
      "requires_human": [
        "Using postal codes to set prices, insurance or service levels that affect people."
      ]
    },
    "ethics": {
      "considerations": [
        "Postal codes can act as a proxy for income, ethnicity or class, enabling discrimination.",
        "Wrong codes delay mail, deliveries and emergency services."
      ],
      "affected_parties": [
        "Residents of disadvantaged areas",
        "Senders and recipients",
        "Emergency callers"
      ]
    },
    "owners": {
      "steward": "The national postal operator or designated authority that assigns codes.",
      "master_systems": [
        "National postal address files"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "wikidata",
      "title": "Wikidata item Q37447: postal code",
      "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37447",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api"
    },
    {
      "id": "wikipedia-en",
      "title": "Wikipedia: Postal code",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_code",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "general description of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink"
    }
  ],
  "structure": {
    "bundles": [
      {
        "id": "understand",
        "name": "Understand",
        "description": "What a postal code is.",
        "rationale": "Definition.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "definition",
            "name": "Definition",
            "description": "Definition.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "definition-finding",
                "name": "Definition",
                "description": "Definition.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What is a postal code, and how does it differ from addresses, administrative codes, phone area codes and geocodes?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Is the question about a specific country, looking up a code or data use?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "systems",
            "name": "Systems",
            "description": "Named national systems.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "systems-finding",
                "name": "Systems",
                "description": "Systems.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How do ZIP codes, UK postcodes, CEP, French codes postaux, Swedish codes and the Gibraltar postcode work?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits the specific system?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "history",
        "name": "History",
        "description": "History.",
        "rationale": "Sources.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "origins",
            "name": "Origins",
            "description": "Origins.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "origins-finding",
                "name": "Origins",
                "description": "Origins.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How did postal districts evolve into modern postal codes?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which references are standard?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "mechanisation",
            "name": "Mechanisation",
            "description": "Mechanisation.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "mechanisation-finding",
                "name": "Mechanisation",
                "description": "Mechanisation.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How did codes enable automated sorting?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which sources are cited?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "uses",
        "name": "Uses",
        "description": "Other uses.",
        "rationale": "Attribution.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "data",
            "name": "Data",
            "description": "Geographic data.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "data-finding",
                "name": "Data",
                "description": "Data.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How are postal codes used in statistics, insurance and geocoding?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits geocoding?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "concerns",
            "name": "Concerns",
            "description": "Concerns.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "concerns-finding",
                "name": "Concerns",
                "description": "Concerns.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What concerns about postcode lotteries and redlining have been raised, with sources attributed?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits redlining?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "context",
        "name": "Context",
        "description": "Addressing.",
        "rationale": "Context.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "addresses",
            "name": "Addresses",
            "description": "Addressing.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "addresses-finding",
                "name": "Addresses",
                "description": "Addresses.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How do postal codes fit into address formats worldwide?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits address?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "alternatives",
            "name": "Alternatives",
            "description": "Alternative systems.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "alternatives-finding",
                "name": "Alternatives",
                "description": "Alternatives.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How do systems such as Ireland s Eircode or grid-based codes differ?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits Eircode?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "openQuestions": [
    "Should each national system be a separate entry?",
    "How should postal operator sources be linked?",
    "The registry alias postal addresses in Gibraltar is broader than postal codes; should it be split off?"
  ],
  "statistics": {
    "bundles": 4,
    "layers": 8,
    "findings": 8,
    "questions": 16
  }
}