This is a draft proposal.

If this direction is generally approved, we can make a PR to update the README with these principles and routines (and hash out some more details there).

(While the github Wiki is an alternative place to consider (for both process and usage documentation); it cannot easily be used for formal text that needs to be approved, released and versioned.)

Change Policy

• The DC Usage Board maintains BIBO.
• Due to resource constraints, we can likely only consider term proposals from working groups in the Dublin Core context (such as SRAP).
• We should be able to address errors (e.g. invalid RDF or broken links), and might be able to address minor concerns raised as issues on this repository.

Development

• Changes to BIBO are made as PR:s to this repository, where review and approval takes place (provided that appointed maintainers and reviewers are subscribed to this repository to receive notifications).

• Mainly follow the Git Flow usage pattern:

  • Use a develop branch and make PR:s to that.
  • To release a new version, merge develop to main and tag each release with its version (MAJOR.MINOR.0).
  • "Hotfixes" (to fix errors in released versions) should be made on main (also using PR:s), released as patch versions (tagged with MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH) and merged to develop.

RDF descriptions of BIBO terms

• Define the general way forward (mainly addressing BIBO namespace document #3 and BIBO use of rdfs:isDefinedBy #4).
• Avoid versioned terms, and ensure that even major versions are as backwards-compatible as is practically possible.
• Oversee use of vs:term_status. Use dc:date and/or subproperties; skos:note, etc.?

RDF description of the BIBO ontology document

• Revise use of owl:versionInfo to reflect version (e.g. 1.3.1 and use owl:versionIRI if we keep corresponding document snapshots. (Also see e.g. OBO for example use.)
• Use dc:date and/or subproperties?
• Use vann to provide preferred namespace prefix and IRI (as literals)?
• Reference further documentation (usage advice and examples)?

Published Versions of Data and Documentation

• Clearly distinguish between the DCMI landing and about pages for BIBO, the BIBO namespace document (in HTML and RDF formats, supporting conneg) and additional documentation.
• We could set up and redirect versioned IRIs of the main vocabulary to persistent snapshots of the corresponding RDF file(s).
• Do we also want full documentation snapshots per release?
• If the versioned ontology documents are published, use dc:replaces to link to previous version (and dc:replacedBy to allow forward navigation from obsolete snapshots).

Tooling and Hosting

• Script automated generation of RDF formats and documentation.
• Run as action and serve all of BIBO (RDF data and HTML) using gitub-pages? (RDF data is currently served from https://www.dublincore.org/specifications/bibo/bibo/bibo.ttl, etc.)