Press release · For immediate release
Community-written book defines what a trustworthy layer above the web must do
The Layered Web: The Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer, Version 1.0, is released after an open review in which every proposal, decision and contributor is on the record.
13 November 2026. The Meta-Layer Initiative today released Version 1.0 of The Layered Web: The Desirable Properties of a Meta-Layer, an open book that sets out 24 properties a shared coordination layer above websites and applications needs in order to support trust, context, presence and governance on the internet.
The work began at the Meta-Layer Initiative kickoff on 16 September 2024 with a simple question: what should a Meta-Layer be like? Two public Calls for Input followed, in 2024 and 2025, and then the Desirable Properties Challenge, in which anyone could propose changes to any chapter on the project's Gov Hub. Co-editors reviewed the chapters, and since the 9 November freeze the Version 1.0 Steering Committee has decided every open item in four stages: a review of each proposal, a check of every change against the whole book, a style pass, and a final read of every chapter, repeated until a reading found nothing left to fix. Each document was then signed off on its exact text.
The 24 properties range from federated authentication and accountability, data sovereignty and decentralized namespaces to safe and ethical AI, community governance of AI, trust and transparency, community ownership, and cross-layer resilience. Each chapter states what the property protects, the threats it answers, the mechanisms that deliver it, and the minimum a system must do to claim alignment.
The text is published under CC BY 4.0, and most chapters are inscribed on Bitcoin as enduring digital artifacts. Version 1.1 is now open for proposals, with chapter glossaries and steering-decided purpose statements planned; Version 1.2 will add reviewed images.
“This book was written the way we want the next layer of the internet to work: in the open, with every proposal recorded, every decision explained, and every contributor named. Version 1.0 gives builders a shared reference for what a trustworthy Meta-Layer has to get right. Version 1.1 opens today, and anyone can propose the next change.”
“The Layered Web book represents a meaningful collaborative effort, bringing together ideas from a wide community with the support of AI-assisted tools. We see it as an evolving body of work, with an opportunity to build on what has been established and strengthen future editions together.”
“Working with the Metaweb and the Desirable Properties has transformed how I see the relationship between knowledge, education, and the future we are creating. I have come to realise that the greatest opportunity of the internet is not simply to give everyone access to information, but to empower everyone to shape it. Serving as Co-editor of DP10 – Education has strengthened my conviction that we must move beyond designing education for the next generation and start building it with them.”
Fast facts
- Released
- 13 November 2026, at the Version 1.0 launch event
- Scope
- 24 Desirable Properties, plus an Introduction, About, Acknowledgements and Cover
- Proposals reviewed
- 355 in the open review, 237 of them from 57 community contributors, plus 1,280 editorial repairs by the steering committee after the freeze
- Contributors named
- 69, from two public Calls for Input (2024 and 2025) and the Desirable Properties Challenge
- Review
- Four steering stages: proposal review, cross-chapter check, style pass, and a final read repeated until it found nothing
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Preservation
- Most chapters are inscribed on Bitcoin
Read and take part
Read Version 1.0 online at book.desirableproperties.org or download the PDF from the Version 1.0 page. The full record of the review, stage by stage, is on the steering Ledger.
About the Meta-Layer Initiative. The Meta-Layer Initiative is a Bridgit DAO project working toward a shared coordination layer above the web, built in the open with its community.
Press contact: Daveed Benjamin, [email protected]