The root is an edited, signed zone.

The operator must not apply an approved change to an unexpected prior state. If the live zone has changed since authorization, the instruction is refused and returned for reconciliation. This prevents a valid patch from producing an unapproved result when applied to the wrong base.

An emergency change may proceed before ordinary notice where delay would cause significant technical failure or downtime. It still requires authenticated authority, an exact temporary state, and an applicable rollback. Extraordinary does not mean unrecorded.

The machine-readable delegation register is authoritative for the public classification recorded by this site. A missing historical decision reference means that no such reference has yet been established in the current public record. It does not invite us to invent one.

Every WCAAN-managed root publication is signed. A secure child delegation must provide DS material that matches a published child DNSKEY and the intended rollover state. The filing must state the key tag, algorithm, digest type, digest, publication window, observation method, and rollback condition.

A rollover is evaluated as a sequence, not merely as two sets of keys. The proposed timing must leave enough overlap for caches and validators. Removing the final DS record changes the delegation from secure to insecure and therefore requires an explicit statement that this is the intended policy result.

WCAAN validates the proposed chain before issuing an implementation instruction. Tan's Network validates the built zone before publication and reports the resulting serial or refusal. Neither check proves that every recursive resolver has refreshed. Evidence must state what was actually observed.