Near-term absorb

Until the world stops wiring on strings, Internet Reliability needs an absorb layer. These practices do not replace identity; they buy time and make renames searchable.

flowchart LR
  Old[Old public label]
  Alias[Alias / 301 / Antora page alias]
  New[New human path]
  Id[Stable id / xref hub]
  Old --> Alias --> New
  Alias -.-> Id
  New -.-> Id

Practices that earn their keep

Practice Why it helps

Cool URI discipline (W3C)

Prefer not to change public paths; treat published URLs as contracts

Redirects (301) and vanity hosts

Absorb inevitable moves without orphaning bookmarks and citations

Antora page aliases / unversioned component URLs

Keep /component/ and renamed pages resolving on docs hubs

CONSUMERS.md (or REVERSE_DEPENDENCIES.md)

Producer-owned inbound list: who hardcodes this path, URL, or slug

Hub xref: over raw foreign URLs

Cross-component links survive playbook moves better than pasted HTTPS

CONSUMERS.md shape (orientation)

Own the list on the producer. Record coupling type (package import vs URL vs Antora component). Prefer aliases over renames. Teach agents: read consumers → search those trees → open PRs.

Full rules and examples: HCI — Labels versus wires (Treatment section).

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