diff --git a/index.html b/index.html index 54e5b20c..3b40fa75 100644 --- a/index.html +++ b/index.html @@ -3765,6 +3765,38 @@
+Issuer instances are responsible for assigning one or more status entries to +the Verifiable Credentials they issue. Issuer software is expected to ensure +that it does not overallocate or misallocate status metadata (e.g., status +lists or list indexes), as this overallocated, misallocated, or unused +information can create privacy harms both to holders and issuers of Verifiable +Credentials. In architectures that are highly available, horizontally scalable, +or distributed, or any combination of these, this can can be especially +challenging unless status allocation state is appropriately shared, identified, +and referenced across disparate components. The `indexAllocator` field can be +used to identify and refer to shared state, allowing for better coordination +as well as atomic allocation and use of status metadata. +
+
+Status mechanisms associate each [=verifiable credential=] with a
+statusListIndex in a list (see, for example, the [[[VC-BITSTRING-STATUS-LIST]]] specification).
+Implementations that assign those indices usually track which values are in use so
+indices are not reused incorrectly and status updates modify the correct entry. When a
+status service supports more than one such tracker—such as separate allocators per
+tenant, deployment, or statusPurpose—the optional indexAllocator
+request field names which allocator context applies to this update. The same identifier
+would typically have been fixed or returned when the index was originally assigned at
+issuance (or when the list was provisioned), so issuance and status-update flows stay
+consistent even though list creation and credential issuance are separate API surfaces
+in this specification.
+
+Permitted indexAllocator strings are implementation-defined; this
+specification does not mandate particular values or a discovery mechanism for them.
+