ILDG VO Policy
Version 2.0
ILDG Middleware Working Group
30 September 2023
The International Lattice Data Grid (ILDG) is an initiative with the purpose of enabling and coordinating the sharing of research data within the research community in Lattice Field Theories. ILDG forms a Virtual Organisation (VO) with a VO membership registration service available at https://iam-ildg.cloud.cnaf.infn.it/. Other services and resources (in particular, storage resources) are mainly provided by autonomous Regional Grids.
The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which Members of the VO ILDG need to accept during registration of their VO membership, defines the rules and conditions that govern the access to and use of the VO membership registration service. ILDG’s AUP requires and includes acceptance of the ILDG VO Policy, i.e. this document. It defines rules and conditions for the sharing of data (e.g., gauge configurations) by Members of the VO ILDG.
The Resources and Services Providers may have their AUPs and other policy documents, which need to be accepted by any Member of the VO ILDG to use these. In the event of conflicts, the most restrictive policy takes precedence. In the event of policy ambiguities, the AUPs and other policy documents of the providers of services and resources take precedence.
A Member of the VO ILDG is an individual who can be identified through a virtual identity provided by an accepted Identity Provider and who has been registered through the registration service of the Virtual Organization ILDG.
A Virtual Organisation (VO) is a set of individuals that agree on a policy for sharing data as well as resources and services that have been made available to the VO.
A Resources and Services Provider is an organisation that agreed to make resources like storage and/or services like metadata catalogues available for use by Members of the VO ILDG.
ILDG Resources are resources that have been made available for use in the context of ILDG.
A VO Administrator is a VO member who is appointed by the ILDG Board and authorised to approve or reject membership registration requests. VO Administrators are also the contact persons for Members concerning any other administrative matters related to the corresponding regional grid (e.g. allocation of storage resources for uploading data).
Membership of the VO is available on request to anyone who is considered involved in research on Lattice Field Theories. The membership needs to be requested through the VO membership registration service, which requires acceptance of the ILDG’s AUPs and this VO Policy. A VO Administrator will accept or reject the request based on policies and procedures approved by the ILDG Board. The ILDG board may overrule any of the decisions of the VO administrators.
Members may have to acknowledge the AUP and VO Policy (based on the version that is in place at the given time) on a regular basis. If Members fail to acknowledge the AUP their Membership may be suspended after a reasonable period of time.
The following rules apply to Members who intend to provide data for sharing within ILDG:
The metadata will be publicly accessible also to non-Members. For the data, it is recommended (or may even be mandatory) to define a licence, e.g. a Creative Commons licence.[1] Furthermore, the Member who provides data needs to define usage policies like
A Member who downloads data that is shared within ILDG must respect the licence defined
by the provider of this data as well as any access restrictions that have been imposed.
A Member must use ILDG Resources and services only in line with the purpose of ILDG. The Member must follow AUPs and other relevant policy documents of the relevant Resources and Services Providers.
ILDG does not take any responsibility and liability for the availability and sustainability of the resources and services available in the context of ILDG.
The ILDG VO Policy does not govern the allocation of ILDG Resources. No right to consume ILDG Resources can be derived from being a Member.