Definition

msp:reviewer declares review responsibility for a resource or metadata declaration. A reviewer may be a person, organization, or system that evaluated content, metadata structure, revision context, technical accuracy, editorial clarity, or another declared review scope.

The reviewer term is distinct from msp:author. Authors create or originate a resource; reviewers assess, audit, evaluate, or approve some aspect of it. Broader origin and lineage should be described with msp:provenance.

Usage

The canonical MSP-1 form uses type to distinguish a person, organization, or system reviewer.

{
  "msp:reviewer": {
    "name": "Jane Smith",
    "type": "Person",
    "id": "jane-smith",
    "role": "editor"
  }
}

System reviewers may be declared when a tool or automated process performed a review function.

{
  "msp:reviewer": {
    "name": "MSP-1 Validator",
    "type": "System",
    "id": "msp-1-validator",
    "role": "metadata-validator",
    "scope": "metadata structure"
  }
}

A review date may be included when the review event needs temporal context.

{
  "msp:reviewer": {
    "name": "Dr. Alan Roberts",
    "type": "Person",
    "id": "alan-roberts",
    "role": "subject-expert",
    "scope": "technical accuracy",
    "reviewDate": "2025-11-03"
  }
}

Compatibility note

The preferred MSP-1 field is type. The JSON-LD field @type may appear in compatibility contexts, but canonical MSP-1 reviewer declarations should use type.

{
  "msp:reviewer": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Quality Assurance Reviewer"
  }
}

Guidance

• The reviewer should be declared as an object.
• The object should include name and type.
• A stable id is strongly recommended for durable review attribution.
• The scope field should clarify what was reviewed when review responsibility is limited or specific.
• Reviewer metadata should not be treated as a trust guarantee, ranking signal, or proof of authority by itself.

Deprecated compatibility note

The deprecated compliance term should not be emitted in new MSP-1 v1.0.1 declarations. Older reviewer labels or notes that refer to compliance should be treated as compatibility-era language and interpreted through graceful degradation.

Related Terms