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Semantic Space

A governed knowledge environment with its own identity

An independently governed logical knowledge environment, with its own RID and RSN.

RSM ID Learning Center2 min read

A Semantic Space answers the question which knowledge and governance environment is responsible for this resource's authoritative record? It is a governed logical resource — the place where a resource's authoritative content, revisions, and relationships are kept — and like every resource it has a permanent RID and a registered name, its RSN.

The identity registry and a Semantic Space have different jobs. The registry keeps names and persistent identity records; the space keeps authoritative knowledge representations. People, cooperatives, companies, institutions, and communities may administer spaces of their own, provided they meet the identity and authority requirements.

Example

The Wellzai space is named rrn:451:451labs:us-ca:wellzai:space/root and identified by 451.SD27J6QHDVEF0DYY. It is authoritative for the Outcome Formation Model paper. If its software moved to a new host, its Identity Record would gain a new binding, and the space would remain the same space with the same RID.

A common misconception

“A Semantic Space is an application.” An application or a Locus node may serve a space today and another tomorrow. Administering a space is also not owning everything described in it: delegated administration and resource ownership are separate relationships.

A space is named by an RSN, may be operated by Locus, and joins others through federation. The federation Viewgraph follows a resource across three spaces.

In the specification

The question a space answers: Document 08 §2.6. Semantic Spaces: §4.5. Personal and organizational spaces: §4.6. Identity and knowledge separation: §7.3.