Common Guidelines for Schemas (Proposed)

This document proposes a number of guidelines for schemas managed by the Schema Board. If adopted, over time all schema will be updated to meet these guidelines.

1. Each Schema will be assigned a git repository in the REFEDS GitHub account.
2. Each Schema will maintain three documents in AsciiDoc format at the top level of the repository:
   1. The Schema document, which is organized into the following sections:
      1. Metadata
         
         1. DOI
         2. License
         3. URL to Supporting Material on REFEDS wiki
            
      2. Introduction
      3. Narrative
      4. Technical Specification
      5. Examples
      6. References
      7. Version History
   2. A README document, which includes
      1. A link to the most current version of the Schema document
      2. Links to product-specific schema and ldif files
      3. High-level version history
   3. A LICENSE document, pointing to whatever license is currently required by the REFEDS Participant's Agreement
3. Product-specific schema and LDIF files will be placed in product-specific sub-directories under the schema directory. e.g., REPO/ldif/openldap, REPO/ldif/389-ds, etc.
4. If there are protocol-specific supporting documents, they can be in the same subdirectory at the top level of the repository.
5. Schemas shall be versioned, with corresponding product-specific files. Versions will be denoted via git tags as well as a version label in each relevant file.
6. The issue tracker for each repository shall be open to the public, and members of the public may submit pull requests against each repository. However, all submissions are subject to the REFEDS Participant's Agreement and Board review.