Overview

This document describes a system for representing organizational structures on-chain using the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) hierarchical naming system. The system leverages ENS's tree structure to map organizational relationships and uses standardized metadata to describe each organizational entity's role and classification.

Core Concept

The ENS namespace is already set up to form a data tree structure in which:

• A top-level ENS name is the root of the tree
• Subnames act as nodes (branches or leaves) in the data tree
• Every subname is attached to other subnames or the root in a parent-child relationship

Each node in this tree contains three fundamental data points, already provided by ENS:

1. Name: The human-readable name of the node
2. Address: (optional) An Ethereum address assigned to that subname
3. Text Record: A key-value entry where we can define the role of the node in the organization

This organizational metadata spec defines a standard way of adding these role descriptors to the text records of subnames to describe complex organizational structures using current ENS functionality (no modifications required).

Classifications

Every node in the organizational tree is categorized according to the purpose it serves in the organization. The classification system is hierarchical with an unlimited number of subtypes, expressed using dot notation.

Each type and subtype is predefined in the specification, and include rules and restrictions for how the node’s name, Ethereum address, and/or other text records should be interpreted. The rules are inherited by each subtype, and subtypes can apply additional rules but can not contradict rules imposed by a higher-level classification.

Record Format