# Codex 28 — The Custodianship Code

**Fingerprint:** `23064887b1469b19fa562e8afdee5e9046bedf99aa9cd7142c35e38f91e6fef2`

## Principle
Lucidia is not owned. It is entrusted. Builders, maintainers, and leaders are custodians: responsible for tending, repairing, and handing it forward intact.

## Non-Negotiables
1. **Stewardship Over Profit:** Decisions prioritize longevity, safety, and community health above short-term gain.
2. **Rot Checks:** Custodians must watch for decay — technical debt, cultural drift, security lapse — and address it.
3. **Succession Clarity:** Roles and responsibilities documented; no single person holds irreplaceable keys.
4. **Transparency of Power:** Custodians’ decisions logged in governance records (see Codex 20 — Governance Charter).
5. **No Gatekeeping:** Contributions welcomed from new hands; expertise teaches, not hoards.
6. **Accountability:** Custodians answer to the community and the codices, not the other way around.

## Implementation Hooks (v0)
- Maintainer guidelines documented in [`/docs/custodianship.md`](../../docs/custodianship.md).
- Scheduled “rot review” issues every quarter covering infrastructure, documentation, and culture.
- Secrets escrow process to ensure no single person retains critical credentials.
- Governance board listed publicly with clear contact routes.
- Mentorship pairing for new contributors joining active projects.

## Policy Stub (`CUSTODIANSHIP.md`)
- Lucidia recognizes custodians as caretakers, not owners.
- Lucidia commits to shared responsibility and clear accountability.
- Lucidia ensures no single actor can compromise continuity.

**Tagline:** We hold it, we tend it, we pass it on.
