# RFC-0001 — Scope: CEL is a language

**Status:** Accepted for CEL v0
**Spec:** 0.1.0

## One sentence

CEL is a language that humans can speak and machines can validate:
incident words (`disaster.fire.wildland`) and response words
(`response.isolate_load`).

## Why not “just use HIP / CAP”

Those systems are real and CEL **profiles** them. They are not the language.

| Standard | Human-readable as a site language? | CEL relationship |
|---|---|---|
| CAP 1.2 alert | Partially (event text), but the contract is a message envelope | Ingest via Sentinel; crosswalk into CEL words. Do not fork CAP. |
| UNDRR HIP `EN0205` | No. Scientific identifier, 281-hazard encyclopedia | Profile on the CEL leaf. Do not make HIP the identifier crews use. |
| GDACS `EQ` / GLIDE | Short, but foreign to edge products | Crosswalk source. |
| NIMS / ICS | Human doctrine, not a state machine | Buyer docs only. |
| OIDF | Yes, but for commissioning evidence | Sibling format. Do not merge. |

The gap CEL fills is a **readable incident layer** plus a **readable
response layer** for automated edge systems.

## OpenLexicon vs EnoTech

| Layer | What | Sold? |
|---|---|---|
| **OpenLexicon** | Open format and language projects (OIDF, CEL) | No. Stewarded transparently; anyone may implement. |
| **EnoTech** | Products and buyer programs (Keel, Sunwave, VITO, Sentinel) | Yes, as products/programs. |

Do not treat CEL as an EnoTech product. It may be linked from the company site
as an open language project, while its canonical source and governance live
under OpenLexicon after the repository transfer.

## Sibling formats (do not collapse)

| Format | Repo | Question |
|---|---|---|
| OIDF | `Tylereno/oidf` | Can this **asset** advance commissioning because the **evidence** is valid? |
| CEL | `OpenLexicon/cel` (transfer pending) | What **incident** is this, and what **response state** may automated systems enter? |

Forbidden in this repository:

- SAT gates, evidence catalogs, handoff ledgers, CDO, energization sequences
- Feed polling, correlation runtime, dashboards
- A rebuilt 281-row HIP encyclopedia copied into git
- A forked CAP / EDXL schema
- Hardware BOMs and sourcing

See [RFC-0004](./RFC-0004-ingest-vs-decision.md) for Sentinel vs VITO.

## Response vs commissioning state

An OIDF equipment machine (Procured → Energized) and a CEL response machine
(`monitor` → `isolate_load`) are different state spaces. A site may be
OIDF-energized and CEL-`response.shelter` at the same time.

## Consumers

| Product | Allowed use of CEL | Must not do |
|---|---|---|
| Sentinel | Map observations to CEL incident words via `crosswalks/` and `feeds/` | Mint new CEL words; decide or suggest actions |
| VITO | Apply local policy that fires named CEL transitions; suggest next posture | Redefine the taxonomy or scrape feeds as if it were Sentinel |
| Keel / OIDF | Ignore CEL, or read it only as unrelated site context | Import CEL states into SAT / ledger semantics |