Method plate / schema v2

Shape is necessary. It is not truth.

The validator answers whether one JSON object follows https://2b9t.org/schemas/observation/v2. Source review and factual verification remain separate work; a green result never upgrades a claim into an observation.

CLASSIFICATION

Keep evidence classes apart

Each field keeps its origin visible wherever a record is described:

Direct observationA dated result from a documented method with an attributable trace.

Control assertionA narrow, expiring claim linked to an evidence source.

Third-party factA statement attributed to its named external source.

InterpretationReasoning labeled as interpretation, never as measurement.

VALIDATION ORDER

The fail-closed pass

JSON parseExact keysField formatsSource traceClaim evidence

A failure at any stage returns a stable issue code, exact JSON path, and plain-language message. Unexpected keys are errors rather than silently accepted annotations. The validator never repairs or rewrites input.

SCHEMA RULES

What v2 enforces

Record IDs and source IDs are lowercase, hyphenated, and carry an explicit positive version suffix.
sources contains at least one attributable HTTPS source with a stable ID and access date.
subject.edition is exactly one probeable protocol family: minecraft-java or minecraft-bedrock.
A published record requires a UTC observation time; example and draft states remain outside the cohort.
An ownership assertion references an owner-evidence source and expires after its assertion date.
Unknown and unavailable remain explicit states; neither is converted into reachability or activity.
The result object has a fixed shape so the interface can validate it before revealing output.

EDITION RULE

Edition is the protocol spoken

An observation’s edition names the status-protocol family its method used — the Java status protocol or the Bedrock status protocol — so the value is fixed by the method, never copied from a listing, banner, or owner statement.
A reachable result shows the endpoint answered that protocol family at that time. It does not show admission, playability, or anything about the other edition.
Crossplay is a conclusion, not a field: it requires one published record of each edition for the same server. No single record can assert it.
Unknown means no published record of that edition exists. Unknown is the default for every server and every edition, and it is displayed rather than filled in.

SCHEMA CHANGES

Versioned, dated, public

v1 · 2026-07-18: Initial contract: strict keys, attributable sources, evidence-linked control claims; subject.edition accepted minecraft-java only.
v2 · 2026-08-11: subject.edition widened to the two probeable status-protocol families, minecraft-java and minecraft-bedrock. Crossplay remains excluded as a record value. The cohort held zero records under v1, so no record required migration.

COLLECTION BOUNDARYStatic tool · no collector connected

Pasted endpoints stay text

This release makes no DNS lookup, status ping, source fetch, or background request from the validator. It stores nothing and publishes nothing. The documented schema has 9 required root fields; it is a contract for records, not a live feed.