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Terms Community

Summary​

A terms-community is a community that maintains a terminology for the purpose of its members to avoid misunderstandings in their collaborations. They do so by:

  • defining a set of terms that are specific to them, and that are relevant for its members to interact as they seek to realize their individual objectives.
  • determining which terms they will be using within their community in the meaning as defined by others.

Note that a terms-community (whose objectives are limited to maintaining a terminology) would typically be a part of a larger community with other (additional) objectives, and the terminology that is being maintained might well be devised to serve the realization of these objectives.

A terms-community would typically create and (automatically) publish a glossary that contains all terms that it curates, i.e. both defined by themselves as by others. Such a document then serves as the authoritative register for terminology within the scope of the (larger) community as it seeks to realize its community-objectives. Also, this glossary is useful for non-members, as they will be enabled to understand what is being communicated within, or from that community.

The terminology pattern provides an overview of how this concept fits in with related concepts.

Purpose​

The purpose of establishing and maintaining a terminology, and hence for having a terms-community, is to ensure that any communications between its members is understood in the same meaning as it was said/written, which is prerequisite for reasoning, arguing, and making collective decisions. After all, as Confucius said: "The whole end o f speech is to be understood."

Criterion​

a community that maintains a terminology for the purpose of its members to avoid misunderstandings in their collaborations.

Example​

Notes​

  • The set of parties that form one terms-community can also form a different terms-community for the realization of other objectives. For example, the members of the ToIP CTWG have one set of objectives related to the definition and curation of terminology-related terms, procedures for creating good definitions etc. That same group of parties might also serve the purposes of identifying terms that are commonly used throughout ToIP, and ensuring that these terms are properly defined and curated. This set of parties will thus form multiple terms-communities.