Secretary Suite

A Unified Identity–Object–Container Standard for Constraint-Preserving Knowledge Systems;

By

Integrating ORCID, DOI, ISSN, and Future Identifiers into a Coherent Ownership Model

A Secretary Suite Project — Architecture and Standards Paper

DOI:

John Swygert 

January 22, 2026

Abstract

Modern knowledge systems rely on multiple identifier schemes—author identifiers, object identifiers, and container identifiers—each created to solve a narrow problem. While individually successful, these systems were never unified under a single conceptual architecture. As a result, authorship, ownership, provenance, and continuity of knowledge are fragmented across platforms, institutions, and time. This paper proposes a simple, constraint-preserving identity–object–container model that explains how existing identifiers such as ORCID, DOI, and ISSN were intended to function together, why they currently fail to do so coherently, and how they may be aligned without replacing or competing with existing standards. The goal is not to introduce a new authority, but to restore intelligibility, ownership clarity, and long-term continuity to global knowledge indexing.

1. The Problem Is Not Lack of Identifiers

The modern research ecosystem is saturated with identifiers:

  • Researchers have identifiers.
  • Papers have identifiers.
  • Journals have identifiers.
  • Institutions have identifiers.
  • Datasets increasingly have identifiers.

Despite this abundance, knowledge remains poorly indexed, poorly attributed, and poorly preserved.

The failure is not technical.
The failure is architectural.

Each identifier system was created in isolation, optimized for local utility rather than global coherence. No single model explains how these identifiers relate to one another in a way that preserves authorship, intent, ownership, and continuity across time and platforms.

As a result:

  • Authorship is diluted.
  • Institutional containers overshadow creators.
  • Knowledge fragments lose context.
  • Indexing favors visibility over meaning.

2. The Three Roles Every Knowledge System Must Distinguish

Every durable knowledge system implicitly contains three distinct roles, whether acknowledged or not:

  1. Identity – Who created this?
  2. Object – What was created?
  3. Container – Where does it live right now?

Problems arise when these roles are blurred, collapsed, or inverted.

2.1 Identity (The Human Source)

Identity refers to the persistent human agent responsible for origination, intent, and accountability.

  • Identity must survive platform changes.
  • Identity must not be owned by publishers.
  • Identity must remain stable across outputs.

This is the role ORCID was created to serve.

2.2 Object (The Knowledge Artifact)

The object is the specific intellectual artifact:

  • a paper
  • a dataset
  • a preprint
  • a revision
  • a derivative work

Objects may move, be copied, or be mirrored, but their identity must remain intact.

This is the role DOI was created to serve.

2.3 Container (The Hosting Context)

The container is the contextual host:

  • a journal
  • a proceedings series
  • a repository
  • a platform

Containers change more frequently than identities or objects.

This is the role ISSN (and related systems) was created to serve.

3. Why the Current System Feels Broken

The current ecosystem technically supports these three layers—but mentally collapses them.

Common failures include:

  • Treating journals as primary owners of knowledge
  • Treating DOIs as proof of legitimacy rather than locators
  • Treating identity as optional metadata rather than a foundational layer

This inversion leads to:

  • Gatekeeping by container
  • Credit fragmentation
  • Loss of unfinished or unpublished work
  • Institutional capture of individual output

None of this is required by the standards themselves.
It emerges from missing architecture, not malice.

4. The Unified Identity–Object–Container Model

The proposed model is intentionally simple:

Identity creates Objects. Objects reside in Containers. Containers never own Identity.

4.1 Properties of the Model

  • Identity is primary and persists independently.
  • Objects are immutable in identity, even when revised.
  • Containers are contextual, not authoritative.

Each identifier retains its existing function but gains clear relational meaning.

No new identifier is required.

5. Explaining the Identifiers (Plain Language)

This model allows non-publishers to understand the system without jargon.

ORCID

What it is: A persistent identifier for a human creator.
What it should mean:

“This person exists as an author regardless of platform or publisher.”

DOI

What it is: A persistent identifier for a specific intellectual object.
What it should mean:

“This exact thing exists, even if it moves.”

ISSN

What it is: An identifier for a serial container.
What it should mean:

“This is one place where objects may appear.”

Key Clarification

None of these identifiers were meant to replace the others.
They were meant to stack.

6. Other Relevant Identifiers (Briefly)

While ORCID, DOI, and ISSN cover most scholarly output, other identifiers exist:

  • ISBN – for monographic containers
  • ISNI – for public identity resolution
  • ROR – for institutional identities
  • ARK / Handle – alternative object locators

These fit naturally into the same architecture:

  • People remain identities
  • Works remain objects
  • Platforms remain containers

No conflict arises when roles are respected.

7. Why This Is Not a Power Grab

This proposal:

  • Names no gatekeepers
  • Attacks no institutions
  • Claims no monopoly
  • Introduces no new authority

It merely restores the conceptual model that was implied but never stated.

Any platform can adopt it. Any index can implement it. Any researcher can benefit from it immediately.

8. Implications for Global Knowledge Indexing

If adopted broadly, this model enables:

  • Indexing of all knowledge, not just published knowledge
  • Attribution of unfinished and posthumous work
  • Clear separation between legitimacy and visibility
  • Search systems that prioritize meaning and continuity

A system like this would allow any future index—public or private—to map the entire landscape of human knowledge without rewriting history or erasing contributors.

9. Conclusion

The global knowledge ecosystem does not need more identifiers.
It needs clarity.

ORCID, DOI, ISSN, and related systems already contain the necessary components. What has been missing is a simple, explicit architecture explaining how they fit together.

By restoring the identity–object–container distinction, we preserve ownership, accountability, and continuity without disrupting existing infrastructure.

The pie was never too small.
It was simply cut wrong.

References

Swygert, J. The Swygert Theory of Everything AO. Ivory Tower Journal.
Floridi, L. The Ethics of Information. Oxford University Press.
Lessig, L. Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace. Basic Books.
Chomsky, N. Syntactic Structures. Mouton.