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BCS Governance Roadmap

Current State (April 2026)

BotConduct Standard (2026 Edition) is maintained by a single founding team. The API, scoring engine, and test environment are defined and operated by BotConduct.org.

This is acknowledged as a temporary state. A standard that claims to serve the open web must eventually be governed by it.

Governance Principles

1. **Criteria changes require a new version number.** Existing certificates remain valid against their issued version.

2. **The spec is open.** CC BY 4.0. Anyone can review, critique, fork, or build on it.

3. **Scoring methodology is documented.** The proprietary scoring engine and their measurement methods are public. Specific trap implementations are not — this is by design, not by secrecy.

4. **No single entity can arbitrarily change the standard** once governance transitions to a multi-stakeholder model.

Transition Plan

Phase 1: Founding (Current — Q2 2026)

  • Single maintainer (BotConduct.org)
  • Spec published, open for public comment
  • Shared with IETF webbotauth working group and OWASP for discussion
  • Collecting feedback from early adopters and bot operators

    • Phase 2: Advisory Board (Q3 2026)

  • Form a 5-7 person advisory board from:

    • - Bot operators (at least 2 who have certified their bots)

    - Website owners (at least 1 running BCS tracker)

    - Security researchers (at least 1)

    - Standards body participant (IETF, W3C, or OWASP contributor)

  • Advisory board reviews proposed criteria changes before implementation
  • Board has veto power on changes that would invalidate existing certificates

    • Phase 3: Community Governance (Q4 2026 — Q1 2027)

  • Publish BCS as a formal specification document (Internet-Draft or W3C Community Group Note)
  • Criteria changes require advisory board approval + 30-day public comment period
  • Version upgrades follow semantic versioning
  • Multiple independent test environments can implement the spec (not just botconduct.org)
  • Certification authority can be delegated to trusted third parties

    • Phase 4: Standards Body Submission (2027)

  • Submit to relevant standards body (IETF, W3C, or ISO) depending on adoption trajectory
  • Goal: BCS becomes a recognized standard, not a single-vendor product

    • How to Participate

  • **Review the spec:** https://botconduct.org/standard
  • **Test your bot:** https://botconduct.org/test-your-bot
  • **Open an issue:** https://twitter.com/botconduct/issues
  • **Propose criteria changes:** Open a GitHub issue with the `criteria-change` label
  • **Apply for advisory board:** Email hello@botconduct.org with your background and interest

    • Version History

    VersionDateChanges

    |---------|------|---------|

    2026 EditionApril 2026Initial release. Proprietary scoring engine. Single maintainer. Conduct-under-change evaluation model.

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    *This roadmap is a commitment to open governance, not a promise of specific dates. Timelines depend on adoption and community participation.*

    *BotConduct.org — hello@botconduct.org*

    BotConduct Standard — 2026 Edition