Glossary

Key terms used in The Autonomous Stack.

A

Autonomy Level A scale (A0–A3) measuring operational independence from cloud and internet.

A0 – Cloud‑bound (requires constant internet and external accounts).
A1 – Online‑dependent (needs occasional external services).
A2 – Offline‑capable (works without internet but may lack full data export or recovery).
A3 – Fully autonomous (offline‑first, local data, full pause/exit/recoverability).

C

Closed‑mode architecture A system that removes pauses, makes exit costly, and depends on the user not seeing how it works. If someone inside it gains full visibility, the system is threatened — because its value depends on ignorance. Contrast with open‑mode architecture.

E

Exit The ability to leave a system with all your data, identity, and history — without disproportionate cost. One of the three structural criteria. If leaving is punished or impractical, exit does not exist regardless of whether a “delete account” button is present.

H

Hidden cost What a user pays for a service besides money. Time, attention, behavioural data, habits, cognitive load, dependency. One of the five diagnostic questions in the Infrastructure Audit. A service may be free in price and expensive in hidden cost.

I

Infrastructure Audit The core evaluation tool of TAS. Eight questions applied to any technology or stack: three structural (Pause, Exit, Recoverability) and five diagnostic (Personalisation, Urgency, Hidden cost, Transparency fragility, Trajectory). See Infrastructure Audit.

O

Open‑mode architecture A system that contains pauses, allows exit, and is recoverable. If someone inside it sees the full architecture, the system is not threatened — because its value does not depend on ignorance. Contrast with closed‑mode architecture.

P

Pause The ability to stop a system at any moment — a structural place where movement halts and the user can inspect, reflect, and decide whether to continue. One of the three structural criteria. Not the same as “turning it off” — pause implies the ability to resume without loss.

Personalisation (diagnostic) When a service collects behavioural data to shape the user’s experience — making a designed flow look like the user’s own choice. One of the five diagnostic questions. Not inherently harmful, but becomes a problem when it can’t be inspected or disabled.

R

Recoverability The ability to roll back to a previous state. If something breaks, if an update fails, if a mistake is made — can you undo it? One of the three structural criteria. Without recoverability, every action is a one‑way door.

T

Trajectory The direction a project is heading — toward openness (better export, community governance, permissive licensing) or toward closure (license restrictions, cloud dependencies, corporate control). One of the five diagnostic questions. Today’s A/T rating is a snapshot; trajectory tells you where you’ll be in two years.

Transparency fragility A diagnostic test: if the user could see everything about how a service works — every algorithm, every data flow, every business decision — would they still use it? A service that survives full transparency is built on genuine value. A service that breaks under transparency is built on ignorance. One of the five diagnostic questions.

Transparency Level A scale (T0–T2) measuring architectural openness.

T0 – Closed (no public documentation or source code).
T1 – Documented (architecture described publicly, source may be closed).
T2 – Open‑source (source code available under an OSI‑approved license; fully auditable).

U

Urgency (diagnostic) When a service creates artificial time pressure — forced updates, expiring trials, deprecation deadlines — that disables the user’s ability to evaluate. One of the five diagnostic questions. Legitimate urgency (security patches) exists; manufactured urgency serves the vendor.

V

Visibility The ability to inspect how a system works. Closely linked to Transparency Level. Full visibility means you can audit the source code, understand the data flows, and verify the claims.

W

whose.world The philosophical framework that underpins TAS. It asks: Whose flow are you in? and provides the structural criteria (Pause, Exit, Recoverability, Visibility) and the concepts of open‑mode and closed‑mode architecture. TAS translates this framework into infrastructure decisions.

This glossary expands as the project grows. Contributions welcome.