- Status
- NEW RESEARCHED DESIGN; not deployed
- Reviewed
- 2026-09-12
- Nature
- library view of documented URL policy
- Priority
- P0
- Accountability
- R08, R09, R11
Question
Which URLs describe duplicate documents, and what canonical signals are observed?
Nodes
URL; Document version; Declared canonical; Observed engine canonical
Relationship sketch
- URL → declared canonical
- inspection observation → selected canonical
- document → duplicate candidate
Evidence inputs
Page headers/HTML, sitemaps, redirect signals, actual engine inspection when available.
Implementation
Store publisher-declared and engine-observed canonicals separately. Review cross-domain canonical proposals for real document duplication; do not canonicalize distinct services merely to connect brands.
Acceptance checks
- Each observation distinguishes intent from engine behavior
- Canonical targets are valid intended documents
- Conflicting page/header signals are reported
Do not infer
Canonicalizing a page does not merge people or organizations.
Publication boundary
Page canonical signals public; inspection records private.
Source basis
S17, S08. See Research/sources.json. Sources support the primitives or named technology. The organization, labels, actions, and acceptance contracts in this catalog are this library's design, not claimed provider requirements.
