Identifier and preservation policy

Published 4 October 2026. Maintainer: Robert Hoehndorf, Bio-Ontology Research Group, KAUST. Report identifier or metadata problems through the project issue tracker.

Dataset identifiers and preservation

Cite KG 3.0.1 with its version DOI, 10.5281/zenodo.23134168. The concept DOI identifies the dataset across versions. Zenodo preserves the deposited files independently of this portal. Downloads at bio2vec.net/data are release mirrors. SHA-256 checksums in the release manifest identify the exact artifacts; the archived SHA256SUMS also lists website files outside the deposit.

Published release files are immutable. Corrections to those files require a new version; mutable portal discovery metadata may be updated to link a subsequently assigned DOI. Zenodo's preserved 3.0.1 metadata therefore predates DOI assignment. A KG DOI does not identify every later version of its ontology or the running web application.

Ontology and term identifiers

The canonical ontology IRI is https://rubalkhali.science/kb/. Existing RAK term IRIs remain under that namespace. They must not be reassigned to different meanings. Superseded terms should remain resolvable, carry deprecation information, and link to replacements where appropriate.

The original ontology 3.0.1 remains unchanged in the deposit. Metadata revision 3.0.1-metadata.1 adds header annotations only; it is separately versioned, is not included in the original Zenodo deposit, and does not change the asserted KG. Its timestamp records document generation, not the unknown original creation date of the ontology.

Service continuity

When hosting moves, maintain the canonical domain and redirect its identifiers to their new representations. When content is withdrawn, retain a metadata or tombstone page identifying the resource, reason for withdrawal and preserved versions. Retain previous ontology documents and release manifests. The maintainer is responsible for updating redirects and catalogue entries during a hosting or stewardship transfer.

A w3id.org redirect is being requested as an additional ontology entry point. It does not rename existing terms or replace the need to maintain the canonical domain. Registry submissions remain pending until their maintainers accept them. This policy describes project maintenance practice; it is not a guarantee of institutional funding or indefinite operation of the interactive portal.

Dataset, citation and downloads · Machine-readable dataset metadata