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ADR-0004: Activate the Foundation Documents

Status: Accepted

Date: 2026-08-03

Owner: Rafael da Silva Guerra

Context

The Constitution, Manifesto, Vision and Legacy contained the principles W7 already used, but each remained marked Draft. The ecosystem roadmap described the Foundation layer as complete, creating a mismatch between the authority attributed to these documents and their declared lifecycle state. Before activation, each document was reviewed against the Documentation Standard and completed with explicit Purpose and Context sections. The Manifesto was also clarified so its statement that W7 is more than a brand does not contradict the endorsed brand architecture used operationally.

Constitutional Assessment

  • Why should this exist? W7 needs an explicitly active source of authority for the principles inherited by every lower layer.
  • Who benefits? Current and future initiative leads, contributors and readers gain a clear distinction between governing principles and unfinished proposals.
  • Will it remain valuable over time? Yes. Explicit lifecycle state and recorded approval preserve the meaning and provenance of the Foundation layer as the ecosystem evolves.
  • Does it strengthen the W7 ecosystem? Yes. It removes ambiguity from the layer on which governance, frameworks and initiatives depend.

Decision

Activate version 1.1.0 of the Constitution, Manifesto, Vision and Legacy as the governing Foundation documents of W7. Their added Purpose and Context sections clarify intent but do not change the principles established in version 1.0.0. The Manifesto's description of W7 was clarified from absolute organizational and brand exclusions to the intended principle that W7 is not defined by any single company, product or brand expression. Future changes to their conclusions continue to require founder approval and an ADR under the Governance model.

Alternatives Considered

  • Keep the documents as Draft. Rejected because lower layers already rely on them and the roadmap already treats the Foundation as complete, leaving their authority ambiguous.
  • Activate only the Constitution. Rejected because the Constitution explicitly depends on the Manifesto, Vision and Legacy to explain its beliefs, direction and long-term measure of success.
  • Activate the documents without structural review. Rejected because active Foundation documents should meet the Documentation Standard they impose on the rest of the ecosystem.

Consequences

Every W7 initiative now inherits from an explicitly active Foundation layer. Changes to these documents carry the governance bar defined for Foundation decisions. The activation does not freeze wording forever, but future changes must preserve version history, document their reasoning and receive the required approval.