Boundaries and Reading Guide

Version: v1.0 (Draft) Status: Draft Authoritative: Yes

Purpose

This document defines the editorial boundary between SCP and SCS.

Use it to decide:

1. where a topic belongs
2. how to read the canonical set
3. how to keep future edits from mixing protocol and implementation concerns

The Core Rule

Use this test for every paragraph:

1. if it answers "what must the protocol mean, govern, or guarantee," it belongs to SCP
2. if it answers "how does the system realize and preserve that meaning," it belongs to SCS

If a paragraph tries to do both, split it.

What Belongs in SCP

SCP covers:

1. protocol scope and lifecycle meaning
2. actor duties, economics constraints, and governance semantics
3. semantic namespace, domain, and canonical attribute rules
4. epoch-window, settlement, reward, and replay semantics
5. protocol object meaning and contract obligations

SCP does not cover:

1. service decomposition
2. HTTP route shape
3. database tables and indexes
4. queue or workflow implementation detail
5. downstream signer infrastructure or operational runbooks

What Belongs in SCS

SCS covers:

1. runtime modules and realization boundaries
2. machine-readable packaging of protocol-facing artifacts
3. persistence and audit domains
4. implementation profiles for downstream payout or treasury integration
5. deployment, migration, conformance, and operations

SCS must not redefine:

1. protocol object meaning
2. protocol state transitions
3. protocol settlement truth
4. protocol reward eligibility semantics
5. semantic-governance meaning defined by SCP

Topic Placement Guide

API

• SCP: required protocol capabilities and object boundaries
• SCS: route shape, serialization, auth middleware, idempotency handling, queue handoff

Storage

• SCP: which context is replay-critical and what the records mean
• SCS: how semantic, execution, verification, settlement, and accounting records are stored and reconstructed

Semantic Namespace

• SCP: domain hierarchy, canonical attribute lifecycle, candidate promotion rules
• SCS: registry services, persistence models, aggregation jobs, audit records

Epoch and Accounting

• SCP: what epoch means and how settlement or reward windows behave
• SCS: how epoch schedulers, aggregators, and accounting jobs realize those windows

Blockchain or Treasury Integration

• SCP: payout obligation and finalized-accounting relationship
• SCS: downstream integration profiles, signer handling, retries, and reconciliation

Security

• SCP: slashable behavior, actor duties, and trust assumptions
• SCS: key isolation, service authentication, monitoring, and incident procedures

Recommended Reading Paths

Protocol-first reader

1. SCP Protocol Overview
2. SCP Core Spec
3. SCP Economics and Governance

Implementation-first reader

1. SCS System Architecture
2. SCS Data and Integration
3. SCS Delivery and Operations

Full reader

1. Overview
2. SCP Protocol Overview
3. SCP Core Spec
4. SCP Economics and Governance
5. SCS System Architecture
6. SCS Data and Integration
7. SCS Delivery and Operations