How verification works
Verification is a committee review of a project against five criteria. It is optional, and it is run by reviewers who are not the project's owner.
01What it means
A verified mark says that a committee reviewer looked at the project at the time of the review and found it met the five criteria below. It helps people find work that is real, documented, openly licensed, relevant to Botswana and maintained.
It is a quality check, not an endorsement. It is not a security audit, a guarantee that the work is correct or fit for a purpose, or an endorsement by Open Source Community Botswana.
Reviewers work in two tracks. The technical track reviews software and hardware. The policy track reviews research and datasets. Nobody reviews their own project.
02Before you ask
A verification request is accepted when the project is live, has no request already open, and passes four automatic checks, which you see before you submit:
- The source link can be reached.
- A licence is declared.
- A description is present.
- There has been recent activity, within the window for the project's type.
| Type | Activity within the last |
|---|---|
| Software | 6 months |
| Research | 2 years |
| Dataset | 12 months |
| Hardware/Design | 12 months |
Changing the source link or the type of a verified project drops it back to unverified, because the review no longer describes what is listed. The change is recorded in an audit log.
03The five criteria
Approval needs every criterion to pass, or to be marked not applicable with a written reason. Anything else is returned with written feedback. This is what reviewers look for in each type of work.
Software
- SubstanceThe repository holds working source code that does what the description claims. A placeholder repository, an unmodified fork or a list of links does not count.
- DocumentationA README says what the project is, who it is for and how to install or run it. Someone new to the project could get started from it.
- LicenceAn open source licence approved by the Open Source Initiative is declared, and the licence text is in the repository.
- RelevanceThe work is made for Botswana, made by people in Botswana, or clearly useful to its communities, institutions or sectors, and the description says how.
- ActivityThe repository has had real activity (commits, releases or maintained issues) within the last 6 months.
Research
- SubstanceThe work is a real research output (a paper, report, thesis or study) with identifiable authors, and the link leads to the full text or an official record of it.
- DocumentationThe abstract and publication details are complete and accurate, and the methods are described well enough to follow.
- LicenceThe work is openly accessible, either published open access or under an open licence, and says which.
- RelevanceThe work is made for Botswana, made by people in Botswana, or clearly useful to its communities, institutions or sectors, and the description says how.
- ActivityThe work was published or last revised within the last 2 years.
Dataset
- SubstanceThe data is real, usable and matches its description. The link leads to the data itself, or to a catalogue entry that does.
- DocumentationThe format, fields and collection method are described, so someone else can understand and reuse the data.
- LicenceAn open data licence is declared. Personal data is not exposed, and where the data concerns people there is a note on consent and anonymisation.
- RelevanceThe work is made for Botswana, made by people in Botswana, or clearly useful to its communities, institutions or sectors, and the description says how.
- ActivityThe dataset was published or last updated within the last 12 months.
Hardware/Design
- SubstanceThe design is real and can be built from what is published: design files, not only photos or a description.
- DocumentationThere is documentation to build, assemble or reproduce it, and a bill of materials where parts are needed.
- LicenceAn open hardware licence is declared for the design files, for example CERN-OHL or a Creative Commons licence.
- RelevanceThe work is made for Botswana, made by people in Botswana, or clearly useful to its communities, institutions or sectors, and the description says how.
- ActivityThe design files or documentation were updated within the last 12 months.
04Timing and outcomes
Reviewers aim to decide within 10 working days of a request. Requests past that point are flagged in the review queue.
- Approved: the project shows the verified mark and can use the verification badge.
- Needs changes: the reviewer's written feedback appears on your project page. Fix what is listed and ask again whenever you are ready.
05Inactive projects
Verification does not expire. A verified project that goes 12 months without activity shows an Inactive state instead, and the owner can ask for it to be reviewed again.
06The badge
The owner of a verified project can copy a badge for the project's README. It reads Verified, Inactive or Not verified.
- Verified: the project is verified and has had activity in the last 12 months.
- Inactive: the project is verified but has been quiet for 12 months or more.
- Not verified: anything else, including a project whose verification was removed.
The badge is read from the project's live status every time it loads, so a copied snippet cannot say Verified for a project that is not verified. Browsers and image proxies may keep a copy for up to 5 minutes, so a change can take that long to show.
The badge proves less than the project page does. Anyone can point a badge snippet at another project's address. The badge links to the project page, which shows the verified source link, and that page is the source of truth. Check that the source link there is the work you are looking at.
The same status is available as a Shields endpoint at /badge/your-project.json, for people who prefer Shields styling.