Viewgraph · 5 frames
One referent across many systems
How one real-world resource keeps one RID while a cooperative, a certifier, a buyer, and a watershed council each keep their own records, identifiers, and governance.
Viewgraph5 frames
Real-world identity
Many records, one farm
A fictional scenario, Willow Creek, built from the patterns Document 08 describes.
RSM ID Learning Center
rsmid.org
Before shared identity
Each system already has its own identifier
None of them is wrong. None of them can be sure the others mean the same farm.
Rendering diagram…
Matching by name or address guesses. A shared RID states which referent each record describes.
With RSM ID
Existing identifiers stay; one RID connects them
External identifiers keep their own authority and meaning, related to the RID explicitly.
Rendering diagram…
Referencing a farm's RID confers no ownership of the farm or its data.
Governance changes
A watershed keeps its RID while its governance changes
Jurisdictions, bioregions, stewards, and boundaries are metadata, revised over time.
Encodes no name, coordinates, country, or classification.
Recorded as relationships, with their provenance.
Issuing the RID grants no right to disclose community knowledge.
Reconciliation
Similar records are not merged on resemblance
Two descriptions that look alike stay two identities until an authorized decision, with evidence, says otherwise.
Read as text
- Real-world identityMany records, one farmA fictional scenario, Willow Creek, built from the patterns Document 08 describes.Source: Document 08 v1.1 §7.5, §10.5 — Willow Creek is fictional; identifiers illustrative
- Before shared identityEach system already has its own identifierNone of them is wrong. None of them can be sure the others mean the same farm.Willow Creek Farm appears in a cooperative's member list, a certifier's register, a buyer's supplier database, and a regional network's records, each under a different local identifier.Source: Document 08 v1.1 §7.5, §15.2 — Willow Creek is fictional
- With RSM IDExisting identifiers stay; one RID connects themExternal identifiers keep their own authority and meaning, related to the RID explicitly.The farm's RID 451.4Y3WVAYZWHV8KR7G is referenced by the cooperative, the certifier, and the buyer. Each keeps its own local identifier, related to the RID rather than replaced by it.Source: Document 08 v1.1 §7.5 — identifiers illustrative
- Governance changesA watershed keeps its RID while its governance changesJurisdictions, bioregions, stewards, and boundaries are metadata, revised over time.RID 451.6R8T2W9K4M7P0Q5XEncodes no name, coordinates, country, or classification.Several jurisdictions at onceRecorded as relationships, with their provenance.Stewardship is separateIssuing the RID grants no right to disclose community knowledge.Source: Document 08 v1.1 §8.4, §8.5, §13.3 — the RID is Document 08's example, not issued
- ReconciliationSimilar records are not merged on resemblanceTwo descriptions that look alike stay two identities until an authorized decision, with evidence, says otherwise.RuleSource: Document 08 v1.1 §10.5, §15.3
Sources and provenance
Normative basis
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 7.5External identifiers
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 8.4Example: a watershed
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 8.5Stewardship and ownership
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 10.5Federation query
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 13.3Example C — A regenerative watershed
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 15.2Legacy identifiers
- Document 08 v1.1 — Section 15.3Resource identity boundaries
This viewgraph is an informative explanation. Where it and the specifications differ, Documents 08 and 09 v1.1 govern.
What it contains
- Document 08 v1.1 · normative
- Grounded directly in Document 08, the controlling standard. Cited by section.
- Interpretation
- Explanation or design rationale written for this Learning Center. It does not add requirements.
- Hypothetical example
- An illustrative scenario. Its identifiers are examples or fictional; none has been issued.
Related
Pathways: Understanding Identity, Real-World Applications · For everyone · Revised 2026-10-09 · Content ID viewgraph.one-referent-many-systems (a page identifier on this site, not an RID)