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Documentation Governance & Stewardship

The Ethical & Secure Practices Alliance (ESPA) maintains its documentation as a long-lived, supporter-funded public resource.

This document explains how ESPA documentation is created, reviewed, published, and maintained, and how trust is preserved without reliance on user accounts, advertising, or data collection.

The Ethical & Secure Practices Alliance (ESPA) is constituted as a Swiss Association and operates in accordance with Swiss law.

The governance, stewardship, and publication of ESPA documentation are conducted under the legal and ethical framework applicable to Swiss associations. This includes principles of transparency, good faith, and responsible administration.

While ESPA documentation is accessible globally, its organizational governance and decision-making processes are rooted in Switzerland.

Purpose of the Documentation​

ESPA documentation exists to help individuals, home users, and organizations:

  • Understand ethical and secure practices
  • Build strong technical and behavioral foundations
  • Apply what they learn responsibly in real-world settings

The goal is not only education, but practical adoption. Readers should leave with knowledge they can act on thoughtfully and carefully.

Editorial Independence​

All documentation published by ESPA is written and maintained independently of financial influence.

Supporter funding is used exclusively to:

  • Maintain hosting and infrastructure
  • Cover administrative and accounting costs
  • Support long-term stewardship of the documentation

Financial contributions do not grant editorial control, priority, or influence over content decisions.

Supporter-Funded Model​

ESPA does not treat readers as products.

Documentation is made available without:

  • Advertising
  • Behavioral tracking
  • Data brokerage
  • Mandatory user accounts

Some extended or in-depth materials may be offered as paid editions. These editions exist to support the sustainability of the documentation and the association itself, not to restrict essential knowledge.

Supporters are not customers. They are participants in the mission.

Accounts and Privacy​

At this stage, ESPA intentionally avoids user accounts for documentation access.

This decision is based on:

  • Reducing technical and security attack surfaces
  • Minimizing the collection of personal data
  • Preserving reader privacy
  • Maintaining trust through simplicity

If accounts are introduced in the future, they will be limited in scope and designed with privacy, security, and necessity as primary considerations.

Review and Approval Process​

Documentation is not published casually.

ESPA aims to ensure that materials are:

  • Accurate
  • Clear
  • Ethical
  • Aligned with the mission of the association

Where appropriate, documentation may undergo review or approval by designated participants or stewards before publication. Revisions follow the same principle.

The intent of review is not bureaucracy, but shared responsibility and reliability.

Revisions and Longevity​

Documentation is treated as a living resource.

Updates may occur to:

  • Correct errors
  • Reflect improved practices
  • Respond to meaningful changes in technology or ethics

Historical context is respected. Changes are made carefully and deliberately to avoid unnecessary churn.

Governance Structure​

At present, ESPA operates with a limited board structure. Governance processes are designed to scale responsibly as participation grows.

Until broader stewardship structures are formally established, responsibility for documentation oversight rests with the association’s leadership, guided by transparency and accountability.

Statement of Trust​

ESPA documentation is offered in good faith.

Readers are encouraged to:

  • Think critically
  • Apply practices responsibly
  • Adapt guidance to their own contexts

Security and ethics are not checklists. They are ongoing practices that require care, judgment, and humility.

This documentation is one part of that effort.