{
  "vercy": "1.0-draft",
  "publication": {
    "status": "research-draft",
    "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed",
    "publishableCanonical": false,
    "generatedAt": "2026-09-11T21:52:35Z",
    "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": 2,
    "engine": "claude",
    "enrichment": {
      "pass": 3,
      "engine": "claude",
      "producedAt": "2026-10-05T23:50:00Z",
      "ingestedAt": "2026-10-05T20:44:25+00:00",
      "fields": [
        "agent_conduct",
        "ethics",
        "owners"
      ]
    },
    "gate": {
      "passed": true,
      "version": "1.0",
      "at": "2026-10-06T19:52:01+00:00",
      "evidence": [
        "completeness 1.00",
        "sense: Wikidata description",
        "2 live sources",
        "review by codex: pass"
      ]
    }
  },
  "metaModel": {
    "id": "THING-Q6545185",
    "registryId": "vr.tr.unique-identifier",
    "name": "unique identifier",
    "version": "0.2.0-wave.2",
    "entryKind": "thing",
    "family": "Thing Registry",
    "domain": [
      "INF.MED"
    ],
    "status": "research-draft"
  },
  "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q6545185/",
  "model": {
    "registry_id": "vr.tr.unique-identifier",
    "name": "unique identifier",
    "purpose": "Let an agent explain unique identifiers and their design, help choose or resolve identifiers, describe persistence and governance, and address privacy issues.",
    "definition": "A code or string assigned to one entity so that it can be distinguished from all others within a system, such as tracking numbers, database identifiers such as Wikibase entity IDs, media database IDs, user IDs, colour codes and product codes, often designed to be persistent, unambiguous and resolvable; unique identifiers underpin data integration, provenance and interoperability.",
    "what_it_is_for": "Distinguishing entities in systems.",
    "affordances": [
      "explain identifier types and design",
      "resolve or look up identifiers",
      "describe persistence and governance",
      "address privacy and misuse"
    ],
    "distinguishing_features": [
      "Uniqueness in scope",
      "Persistence",
      "Resolvability",
      "Governed"
    ],
    "appearance": "Not physical; codes, numbers and strings.",
    "visual_identification": [
      "One-to-one with an entity within a scope",
      "Persistent and unambiguous ideally",
      "A name may be shared by many entities"
    ],
    "physical_properties": [],
    "families_and_kinds": [
      "database and entity identifiers",
      "persistent identifiers such as DOIs and ORCIDs",
      "tracking and product numbers",
      "user and account identifiers",
      "colour and classification codes"
    ],
    "related_models": [
      {
        "relation": "is a kind of",
        "target": "persistent identifier",
        "why": "category"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is related to",
        "target": "data set",
        "why": "identified records"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is related to",
        "target": "ordered pair",
        "why": "key-value pairs"
      },
      {
        "relation": "is related to",
        "target": "dependency",
        "why": "identifier resolution chains"
      }
    ],
    "identifiers": [],
    "standards_and_regulation": [
      "Identifier standards such as ISO 26324 for DOIs and UUID specifications",
      "Data protection rules on personal identifiers",
      "Registry governance policies"
    ],
    "failure_modes_and_hazards": [
      "Collisions and reuse",
      "Broken resolution",
      "Tracking and privacy harms"
    ],
    "in_scope": [],
    "out_of_scope": [],
    "characteristics": [],
    "agent_conduct": {
      "may": [
        "Issue identifiers within a system it is authorized to manage, following that system's rules.",
        "Resolve an identifier to its entity in the register that issued it.",
        "Detect and report duplicate or conflicting identifiers."
      ],
      "must_not": [
        "Reuse or reassign an identifier that already belongs to another entity.",
        "Link identifiers across systems to profile a person without consent or legal basis.",
        "Forge or alter identifiers to pass one entity off as another.",
        "Publish personal identifiers such as user IDs beyond their intended audience."
      ],
      "requires_human": [
        "Merging or retiring identifiers that other systems depend on."
      ]
    },
    "ethics": {
      "considerations": [
        "Persistent identifiers can turn scattered records into a profile of a person.",
        "A broken or reassigned identifier can attach one person's records to another."
      ],
      "affected_parties": [
        "People identified by them",
        "Users of linked systems",
        "Register maintainers"
      ]
    },
    "owners": {
      "steward": "The issuing authority or system operator for each identifier scheme.",
      "master_systems": [
        "The register of the scheme that issues the identifier"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "wikidata",
      "title": "Wikidata item Q6545185: unique identifier",
      "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6545185",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "identity and sense of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api"
    },
    {
      "id": "wikipedia-en",
      "title": "Wikipedia: Unique identifier",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_identifier",
      "url_status": "live",
      "what_it_supports": "general description of the item",
      "checked_by": "wikidata-api sitelink"
    }
  ],
  "structure": {
    "bundles": [
      {
        "id": "understand",
        "name": "Understand",
        "description": "What identifiers do.",
        "rationale": "Concepts.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "concept",
            "name": "Concept",
            "description": "Uniqueness and scope.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "concept-finding",
                "name": "Concept",
                "description": "Concept.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What makes an identifier unique, and within what scope?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "How do names, identifiers and keys differ?",
                    "kind": "definition"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "scheme",
            "name": "Scheme",
            "description": "A specific scheme.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "scheme-finding",
                "name": "Scheme",
                "description": "Specific scheme.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "What is this identifier scheme, who governs it, and how is it structured?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which entry fits it?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "use",
        "name": "Use",
        "description": "Resolving and assigning.",
        "rationale": "Practice.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "resolve",
            "name": "Resolve",
            "description": "Looking up identifiers.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "resolve-finding",
                "name": "Resolve",
                "description": "Resolution.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How can this identifier be resolved to its entity, and which service provides that?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Is the identifier valid, judging by its format and check digits?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "assign",
            "name": "Assign",
            "description": "Designing identifiers.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "assign-finding",
                "name": "Assign",
                "description": "Design.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How should identifiers be designed for this system, considering uniqueness, opacity, persistence and format?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "When should UUIDs, sequential IDs or registered identifiers be used?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "govern",
        "name": "Govern",
        "description": "Persistence and privacy.",
        "rationale": "Governance.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "persist",
            "name": "Persist",
            "description": "Persistence.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "persist-finding",
                "name": "Persist",
                "description": "Persistence.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How are persistent identifiers kept resolvable over time, and who is responsible?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "What happens when entities merge or split?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "privacy",
            "name": "Privacy",
            "description": "Privacy.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "privacy-finding",
                "name": "Privacy",
                "description": "Privacy.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "Which privacy rules apply to personal identifiers, and how can tracking harms be reduced?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "When should identifiers be pseudonymised?",
                    "kind": "boundary"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "id": "learn",
        "name": "Learn",
        "description": "Context.",
        "rationale": "Education.",
        "layers": [
          {
            "id": "history",
            "name": "History",
            "description": "History of identifiers.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "history-finding",
                "name": "History",
                "description": "History.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How did unique identifiers develop, from serial numbers to persistent web identifiers?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which schemes are widely adopted?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          {
            "id": "teach",
            "name": "Teach",
            "description": "Teaching.",
            "findings": [
              {
                "id": "teach-finding",
                "name": "Teach",
                "description": "Teaching.",
                "questions": [
                  {
                    "text": "How can identifier design be taught in data management courses?",
                    "kind": "action"
                  },
                  {
                    "text": "Which misconceptions arise?",
                    "kind": "provenance"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "openQuestions": [
    "Should each identifier scheme be a separate entry?",
    "How should registries be linked?",
    "How should privacy rules be linked?"
  ],
  "statistics": {
    "bundles": 4,
    "layers": 8,
    "findings": 8,
    "questions": 16
  }
}