Lifecycle
A published version is never edited.
That single promise makes errata a publishing problem rather than an editing one, and it is why every correction below names the version it applies to instead of quietly changing it. The published digest lets an adopter prove the bytes they hold are the bytes that were published.
The promise
Clause 16.2, word for word.
A published version of this Licence is never edited. A correction is issued as a new version, and every earlier version remains reachable at its canonical address permanently.
Verify a copy you hold
curl -s https://openroots.org/licenses/orl/1.0/legalcode.txt | shasum -a 256Every version
Status, conversion, and the digest of the canonical text.
Superseded never means withdrawn. A superseded version keeps resolving and keeps governing every work released under it.
| Instrument | Version | Status | Released | Conversion | Months | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORL | 2.2 | Published | 2026-08-27 | none | - | 41fbf21b90d7d7188886dcd7d245848f |
| ORL | 2.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-27 | none | - | not current |
| ORL | 2.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-26 | none | - | not current |
| ORL | 1.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | none | - | not current |
| ORL | 1.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | Apache-2.0 | 36mo | not current |
| ORD | 2.2 | Published | 2026-08-27 | none | - | ce06000460909da058c2d296bbb07f4a |
| ORD | 2.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-27 | none | - | not current |
| ORD | 2.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-26 | none | - | not current |
| ORD | 1.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | none | - | not current |
| ORD | 1.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | CC-BY-4.0 | 36mo | not current |
| ORM | 2.2 | Published | 2026-08-27 | none | - | 71d68b5fe08820f88990a7f8c15fcbea |
| ORM | 2.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-27 | none | - | not current |
| ORM | 2.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-26 | none | - | not current |
| ORM | 1.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | none | - | not current |
| ORM | 1.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | Apache-2.0 | 36mo | not current |
| ORA | 2.2 | Published | 2026-08-27 | none | - | 856afd5e95d1591630d5d569be4584a2 |
| ORA | 2.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-27 | none | - | not current |
| ORA | 2.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-26 | none | - | not current |
| ORA | 1.1 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | none | - | not current |
| ORA | 1.0 | Superseded | 2026-08-24 | Apache-2.0 | 36mo | not current |
Policy
How a version number is allowed to move.
Rule three is the load-bearing one. Publishing a new major version moves nobody.
- 01
A version number is major.minor and never a patch.
There is no patch level, because a patch implies an in-place fix and there are none. A correction of any size produces a new minor version.
- 02
A substantive change should receive a major version.
A change to eligibility, payment, fallback status, or the competing-offering boundary is substantive. Version 1.1 predates this rule and made substantive changes under a minor number; that published identifier is retained, recorded below as a governance defect, and must not become a precedent.
- 03
A major version is opt-in and never retroactive.
A work released under 1.0 remains governed by its frozen 1.0 text, including that version's historical conversion provision. Publishing 1.1, 2.0 or 2.1 moves nobody, and no or-later clause exists in any instrument.
- 04
A superseded version stays reachable and stays valid.
Superseded means a newer version exists and is recommended for new work. It never means the old one stopped working, and the canonical URL keeps resolving.
- 05
Deprecation is dated, announced and never silent.
A deprecated identifier is marked with the date it was deprecated and the identifier that replaces it, following the shape Creative Commons uses for its own retired units.
Errata
1 errata on the record.
An erratum is a defect found in a version that has already been published. Because the text is never edited, the erratum stands on the record against that version until a correcting version exists.
- 01Anyone may raise an erratum against any published version, on the public tracker or privately to info@openroots.org.
- 02The committee records the finding here with a severity and a disposition, including findings that are declined, and states why.
- 03A typographical or clarifying erratum is corrected in the next minor version. A substantive one requires a major version, because it changes what is owed.
- 04Until the correcting version is published, the erratum stands on the record against the affected version. The affected text is never edited.
Deprecation
Nothing is deprecated.
A deprecated identifier is marked with the date it was deprecated and the identifier that replaces it. Deprecated never means unusable.
No identifier has been deprecated. When one is, it appears here with its date and its replacement and stays on this page permanently, following the shape Creative Commons uses for its own retired units rather than removing them from the record.