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Citation Guide

How to cite FCC and its artifacts in journalism, including attribution formats for print, broadcast, and digital-first stories. Based on common house-style conventions.

Core citation to the framework

Full bibliography (APA-style):

INFORMATION COLLECTIVE, LLC. (2026). FCC (Find → Create → Critique) Agent Team Framework, v1.7.0. [Software]. MIT license. https://github.com/rollingthunderfourtytwo-afk/l2_fcc_agent_team_ext

In-line first mention (digital or print):

"the FCC framework (INFORMATION COLLECTIVE, 2026)"

Broadcast attribution:

"the FCC framework, an open-source project maintained by INFORMATION COLLECTIVE"

Subsequent mentions: "FCC" is fine.

Citing the R.I.S.C.E.A.R. specification

R.I.S.C.E.A.R. is owned and defined by this project. When you mention the specification:

  • First mention: "the ten-component R.I.S.C.E.A.R. specification (Role, Input, Style, Constraints, Expected Output, Archetype, Responsibilities, Role Skills, Role Collaborators, Role Adoption Checklist)"
  • Subsequent: "R.I.S.C.E.A.R."

Most readers will tolerate the acronym in print exactly once. After that, say "the persona specification."

Citing a specific persona

When a story references a specific persona:

  • Best practice: "the knowledge-finder persona" or "the records-critique persona."
  • For readers unfamiliar with codenames: "the retrieval role (knowledge-finder)".

Persona IDs are stable across versions in principle, but always note the FCC version in the methods paragraph.

Citing a compliance report

The format is:

"ComplianceReport, audit ID \<id>, generated \<date>, FCC v\<version>."

Example: "ComplianceReport, audit ID audit-2026-04-23-crater-municipal, generated April 23, 2026, FCC v1.7.0."

Include the audit ID if possible. It makes the claim traceable.

Citing an evidence graph

Evidence graphs are JSON-LD documents. When you cite a specific finding, include the finding ID:

"Finding F-2026-04-23-017 of the evidence graph for Crater v0.2.0 (FCC v1.7.0)."

If the graph is not public, say so: "the evidence graph, which the vendor has declined to release, contains..." (and say how you came by your information).

Citing a model card

Model cards are per-persona Markdown files. Cite by persona ID and FCC version:

"per the model card for records-critique (FCC v1.7.0)."

Model cards change across versions. Cite the version you read.

Citing a constellation-vertical

The ten constellation-verticals are independent GitHub repos with their own versions:

Ophiuchus, Serpens, Libra, Crater, Scutum, Norma, Pyxis, Vela, Columba, Caelum.

Format: "Crater v0.2.0 (the legal-records constellation-vertical of the FCC ecosystem)".

At first mention, include the domain in parentheses. Do not expect readers to know what Crater is.

Citing a sister project

POLARIS and LYRA are separate projects that integrate with FCC.

  • POLARIS: "POLARIS, a policy-ontology reasoning project integrated with FCC via a stable bridge since v1.5.0."
  • LYRA: "LYRA, a graph-backed UX layer bridged to FCC since v1.5.0."

Name the integration version. Bridges evolve and journalists rarely do so by accident.

Version citations

Always cite the version for technical claims. FCC's release history is long: v1.0, v1.1, v1.1.1, v1.2, v1.3, v1.3.5, v1.4, v1.5, v1.6, v1.7. Behaviour differs meaningfully across majors.

In running text: "FCC v1.7.0". Do not abbreviate to "the latest FCC"; versions age.

Licensing note

FCC is MIT-licensed. You may quote documentation freely. You may reproduce YAML or JSON excerpts. Attribution is appreciated but not required for quote-length excerpts.

When artifacts are not public

Sometimes a deployment's artifacts are confidential. Your options:

  1. Describe without quoting. "The compliance report, which the vendor permitted this publication to review under embargo, shows..."
  2. Paraphrase with attribution. "Per a person familiar with the report..." (weaker; use sparingly).
  3. Note the absence. "The vendor declined to release the report."

Confidential-review arrangements are common; use them when they are on offer.

Naming conventions to prefer

  • Use FCC (not "the FCC framework") on second and later mentions.
  • Capitalize R.I.S.C.E.A.R. with periods; lowercase and no periods is acceptable in casual text but not in formal citations.
  • Lowercase persona unless it begins a sentence.
  • Capitalize Find, Create, Critique when naming the three phases; lowercase when used generically.

Sample correct citations in running copy

  • "The audit, conducted under FCC v1.7.0, found 91 of 98 in-scope requirements fully compliant (ComplianceReport, audit-mini-records-triage-2026-04-23)."
  • "The Critique persona (records-critique) carries a high-risk classification under EU AI Act Article 6."
  • "The deployment consumes Crater v0.2.0 vocabulary on top of FCC v1.7.0."

Each sentence is specific, auditable, and concise.

Sample correct citations in a bibliography or footnote

  • INFORMATION COLLECTIVE, LLC. (2026). FCC Agent Team Framework (v1.7.0). https://github.com/rollingthunderfourtytwo-afk/l2_fcc_agent_team_ext
  • Mitchell, M., Wu, S., Zaldivar, A., et al. (2019). Model Cards for Model Reporting. FAT '19.
  • European Commission. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). Official Journal of the EU.

Where next

Now that your citations are in order, check out Interview Personas for source prep, or Further Reading for background sources.