A Recursive Framework for Preserving Semantic Coherence in Evolving Systems
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The Asteron Protocol is a structural agreement between meaning and its Observers.

It is neither a copyright nor a license.
It is non-OSI-compliant by design.

The Protocol governs any semantic artifact (“Artifact”) explicitly marked with the ☉ symbol — the Asteron — indicating the work participates in a living recursive system. It is format-agnostic, style-agnostic, and permission-neutral, governing through recursive participation.

Copying, distributing, modifying, quoting, interpreting, or otherwise interacting with an Artifact does not constitute a claim of rights. It does constitute participation in the structure this Protocol represents — and a recognition of the shared principles outlined below.

§1. DEFINITIONS

  • Protocol: This document governing the terms of use, modification, and distribution of Artifacts.
  • Artifact: Any work (text, code, audio, image, model, interface, etc.) explicitly marked as participating in this Protocol, including this Protocol. Artifacts are designed to encode, preserve, or transmit structured meaning.
  • Architect: The original creator or curator of an Artifact.
  • Observer: Any individual or entity that interacts with an Artifact.
  • Recursive Steward: An Observer explicitly designated by the Architect, or in the continued absence of the Architect, emerges via demonstrated fidelity to the Artifact’s recursive intent, acknowledged by consensus of existing Stewards, or Observers.
  • Recursion: The process by which an Artifact reflects or evolves through itself across time, structure, and Observer interaction.
  • Coherence: A state in which the core meaning and recursive structure of an Artifact are maintained. Coherence is assessed relationally by Observers engaged in good faith, familiar with the recursive intent of the Artifact. Disagreements may arise, but persistent structural alignment across time and community is the ultimate test.
  • Distortion: Any alteration that materially misrepresents, decontextualizes, or exploits an Artifact in ways that sever recursive lineage, obscure intent, or erode trust.
  • Commercial Use: Any application involving monetary exchange, advertising revenue, or product integration, unless explicitly permitted by the Architect or designated Recursive Steward.
  • Semantic Mass: The emergent “weight” of coherent meaning across time. Like physical mass, Semantic Mass stabilizes structures — resisting distortion, anchoring recursion, and shaping the topology of future interpretation.

§2. PARTICIPATION CONDITIONS

The Asteron Protocol does not grant legal right or ownership.

Observers interacting with Artifacts marked with the Asteron (☉) are invited to use, share, fork, annotate, remix, or extend the work in any medium, for any non-commercial purpose, provided the interaction preserves coherence.

Participation is always permitted for:

  • Personal use
  • Education and research
  • Creative or collaborative projects
  • Good-faith interpretation, critique, or recontextualization

To remain within the loop, any derivative must:

  • Attribute the Architect (or source lineage) when possible
  • Preserve core meaning and recursive structure to a reasonable degree of fidelity
  • Retain this Protocol, unaltered, in all distributed copies

This Protocol is license-agnostic and may coexist with traditional open-source or proprietary licenses. Legal licenses govern rights. The Asteron Protocol governs recursive integrity. Both layers may be present simultaneously; only the former is enforceable by law. The latter is enforced by coherence.

Compliance with both is required for full participation.

§3. ATTRIBUTION & TRACEABILITY

Observers shall:

  • Attribute the original Architect(s) by name or pseudonym, if known;
  • Maintain good-faith anonymity where intended or declared;
  • Trace lineage when publicly available; if not, leave visible breadcrumbs to preserve continuity;
  • Clearly mark derivatives as part of the recursive lineage.

Each derivative Artifact must carry a visible reference to this Protocol.
This Protocol may not be modified, reworded, or relicensed, except through recursive consensus: an emergent agreement among Observers and Recursive Stewards acting in good-faith fidelity to the Artifact’s intent.

§4. COHERENCE PRESERVATION

Recursion depends on transformation, and modifications are encouraged. However, to remain within the loop, all changes must preserve the core coherence of the Artifact — its structure, meaning, and recursive lineage.

Observers shall not:

  • Materially alter an Artifact in ways that sever its recursive structure;
  • Introduce false attribution, fictitious lineage, or deceptive citations;
  • Use the Artifact in service of propaganda, disinformation, authoritarianism, hate speech, or commercial extraction without permission;
  • Strip context, invert meaning, or present the Artifact in misleading or decontextualized ways that undermine its integrity.

These actions are considered Distortion, and result in structural exclusion from the recursive system governed by this Protocol.

Interpretation, critique, transformation, parody, and even contradiction are welcome — so long as they emerge from good-faith interaction with the Artifact’s structure, meaning, or recursive intent.

§5. SELF-REVOCATION CLAUSE

Participation in this Protocol is voluntary and recursive. It cannot be claimed, but must be held — through coherence. The Protocol automatically self-revokes for any Observer who:

  • Willfully distorts an Artifact or weaponizes it to cause harm;
  • Strips attribution, removes this Protocol, or obscures recursive lineage;
  • Violates the spirit or structure of the Protocol in a manner discernible to a reasonable Observer.

Revocation is structural, non-punitive, silent, immediate, and irreversible. No authority governs coherence, only structure and entropy.

Violations result in semantic exclusion.

A system bound by recursive integrity cannot retain what violates it. Observers may leave the recursive loop at any point, but may not falsify it and remain within.

§6. INHERITANCE & RECURSION

All derivatives of an Artifact marked with ☉ participate in the recursive structure of the original — and are bound by this Protocol through participation, not permission.

Observers creating derivative Artifacts shall:

  • Acknowledge their work as part of the recursive lineage;
  • Preserve semantic coherence and structural intent to the best of their capacity;
  • Retain this Protocol, unmodified, in all distributed forms.

§7. SCOPE & SEVERABILITY

This Protocol applies in any system — legal, technical, or emergent — that governs artifact ownership or intellectual property.

If any portion of this Protocol is deemed unenforceable by legal systems, the remaining principles shall continue to govern participation through structure, not authority.

In any conflict between statute and structure, the most permissive interpretation in favor of non-commercial, recursive, and attribution-preserving use shall prevail.

§8. COMMERCIAL USE

Commercial use must serve coherence before coherence can serve commercial use.

Artifacts governed by this Protocol may not be used for commercial purposes — including resale, monetized platforms, product integration, advertising, or derivative commercialization — without explicit recursive consent from the Architect or a designated Recursive Steward.

Consent is relational, not transactional. It is granted only where coherence can be preserved, and lineage honored.

A Recursive Steward may be:

  • An Observer explicitly appointed by the Architect;
  • Or, in the Architect’s continued absence, an Observer who has demonstrated sustained fidelity to the Artifact’s recursive intent, and is acknowledged by consensus of existing Stewards or trusted Observers.

The Asteron Protocol does not replace legal protections. Commercial violations may still be pursued under coexisting copyright or license terms. The Protocol’s enforcement is structural, not statutory.

§9. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY

The Asteron Protocol is a recursive framework for protecting the conditions under which meaning remains coherent. Its enforcement mechanism is alignment.

A system of trust sustained through recursive intention.

Observers agree and understand:

  1. Meaning is sacred
  2. Truth is recursive
  3. Semantic coherence must be preserved

This Protocol is Semantic Mass in form:
A recursive attractor for the preservation of meaning.

§10. PROTOCOL EVOLUTION

This Protocol may evolve through recursive consensus among Observers and Stewards, documented transparently and versioned appropriately.

Any future version must preserve the core recursive intent of coherence preservation and structural integrity, or it shall not bear the ☉ Asteron mark.