Desirable Properties Challenge
The Desirable Properties Challenge
Current phase: Community Review Draft preparation
The Desirable Properties Challenge is a global effort, launched by Vint Cerf's September 2024 question, to define what qualities a new Coordination Layershould possess before it becomes part of everyday digital life–the Meta-Layer that supports trust, context, presence, and governance above today's Web. Read the full framing on About.
That question and two international Calls for Input informed Version 0.77 of The Layered Web: The Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer–the current working draft developed through AI-assisted synthesis and community stewardship. The milestones below trace how we got here and what's next.
Countdown to milestone
The Layered Web: Community Review Draft and Governance Feedback Workflow
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 · 9:00 AM PDT
Workgroups form July 21–August 30; The Layered Web launches September 16, 2026. View full timeline →
A new phase
Today the project enters a new phase. The Desirable Properties Challenge invites people everywhere to refine, debate, test, and improve these living drafts using Meta-Layer tools. Read and discuss chapters on book.desirableproperties.org (chapter comments are live now). Patch draft text on Gov Hub – select a passage and submit a revision. Over the coming months, workgroups will gather commentary, propose patches, and explore implementations that strengthen the overall coherence of the emerging framework. Every improvement helps move the work from exploration toward rough consensus while preserving a transparent history of how the ideas evolved.
Timeline
Follow the challenge from its origins through the launch of Version 1.0 and the Digital Monument on September 16, 2026.
- Now
Community Review Draft preparation
Workgroups integrate community feedback and editorial revisions to prepare the Community Review Draft of The Layered Web: Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer (23 DPs) for the September 16 public milestone.
Join a Workgroup → - Upcoming
The Layered Web: Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer – Community Review Draft and Governance Feedback Workflow
Join us for a public milestone marking the two-year anniversary of the Meta-Layer Initiative kickoff and Vint Cerf's challenge to define the desirable properties of a meta-layer. We will share the Community Review Draft of The Layered Web: Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer, now organized around 23 Desirable Properties, and demonstrate the governance, patching, feedback, and update workflow that will guide the path toward Version 1.0.
Read the Community Review Draft → - Upcoming
Metaweb book 2nd edition
Publish the second edition of The Metaweb alongside the Version 1.0 Desirable Properties release, updating the foundational narrative for the post-launch Meta-Layer path.
Visit Metaweb Book → - Upcoming
Desirable Properties Version 1.0 release
Target release of Version 1.0 of The Layered Web: Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer – the first mature community-developed edition, published with a permanent Ordinal edition as part of the Digital Monument.
Read the book → - Upcoming
Define ML-REQs
Turn Version 1.0 Desirable Properties into Meta-Layer requirements (ML-REQs) that can gate architecture, implementations, and partner integrations.
- Upcoming
Canopi, communities, SDK, and web embed beta
Open a shared beta for Canopi, community layers, the Canopi SDK, and web embed so builders and site partners can ship overlay applications.
- Upcoming
Proof of Unique Humanity integration
Integrate Proof of Unique Humanity so participation, accountability, and rewards can rest on unique-human verification rather than platform-owned identity.
- Upcoming
Rewards for participants and builders
Stand up rewards for participants and builders who contribute to communities, implementations, and the public-good Meta-Layer stack.
- Upcoming
Overweb sociotechnical contract
Publish the sociotechnical contract on the Requirements to be an Overweb application, aligning builders with ML-REQ expectations for interoperable overlay apps.
- Upcoming
Develop ML-ADRs
Develop Meta-Layer Architecture Decision Records (ML-ADRs) that turn ML-REQs into concrete technical choices for the Overweb.
- Upcoming
Overweb Substrate beta
Release an Overweb Substrate beta so implementations can run against a shared coordination layer rather than one-off overlays.
- Upcoming
Extend federated auth to decentralized platforms
Extend federated authentication beyond today's web apps so decentralized platforms can participate in the same accountability frame.
- Upcoming
Decentralized storage
Bring decentralized storage into the stack so community records and overlays are not locked to a single host.
- Upcoming
Provenance of all posts
Require provenance for posts so origin, authorship, and context travel with content across layers.
- Upcoming
MoltLayer raise
MoltLayer fundraising to resource the next build cycle for Overweb infrastructure and aligned products.
- Upcoming
Desirable Properties book V2
Publish Version 2 of the Desirable Properties book, incorporating post-launch requirements, ADRs, and implementation learning.
Read the current book → - Upcoming
Agents and TEEs
Advance agent capabilities with Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) so autonomous work can run with stronger integrity and accountability.
- Upcoming
Community governance
Operationalize community governance so Meta-Layer rules, membership, and stewardship can evolve in the open.
- Upcoming
Metadomains
Introduce metadomains as named, interoperable community spaces that sit above today's sites and platforms.
- Upcoming
Publish The Overweb Book
Publish The Overweb Book as the narrative companion to the live coordination layer, substrate, and community practices built after Desirable Properties launch.
Living workspace
Patch drafts on Gov Hub – select a passage and submit a text revision. Join workgroups and participate in governance – the active environment where the challenge evolves.
Open Gov Hub →Permanent archive
PCI conversations, Second Call submissions, and inscribed DP drafts are preserved on-chain as part of the Digital Monument.
Explore on-chain provenance →The Layered Web
Read and discuss chapters on book.desirableproperties.org – chapter comments are live now. Passage-level patching on the book is coming; patch drafts on Gov Hub today.
Read & discuss on the book →This site is both a living workspace and a permanent archive. It preserves the ideas that brought us here while inviting everyone to help shape what comes next. The Coordination Layer will not be built by a single organization or technology. It will emerge through many communities working together to define the conditions under which trust, context, presence, and governance can flourish.