The GOLD Community process specifies how documents are developed and promulgated, for it is through documents that GOLD Community defines itself and the practices that it promotes. The documents published by the GOLD Community are of three types: standards, recommendations, and notes (for a more detailed explanation, see the GOLD Community Process document.
A standard describes procedures that providers must follow when participating in the activities of the community or specifications they must follow when developing a resource, tool, or service.
A recommendation describes the GOLD Community's consensus on the best current practice regarding ways of using the GOLD ontology. Providers of resources, tools, and services are encouraged, but not required, to follow these recommendations. The public review of resources, tools, and services may include an assessment of degree of conformance to recommended practices.
A note is any document published by the GOLD Community that is neither a standard nor a recommendation. One purpose of notes is to ensure that standards and recommendations stay focused on rules and principles. Extended discussion or details of implementations should be treated separately in supporting notes. Another purpose for notes is to provide a venue for perspectives that are not widely held. For instance, a note could be:
A note could propose a new or different approach that is not mature enough to be put forward as a standard or a recommendation but that has enough merit to put forward within the community for peer review.
A note could give helpful information related to some aspect of a standard or recommendation, such as a description of historical background, an elaboration, a rationale, a non-normative explanation, or even an alternative viewpoint.
A note could give a description of a particular approach to implementing a standard or recommendation.