01
Identity.
A stable, portable identifier for a person or entity. Not tied to an email provider, a phone carrier, or a social platform. Yours to keep. Infrastructure, not a product.
portable · permanent · yoursProtocol · 10 / 12Identity + Routing
.tel.
The connective layer for people who do work in the world. Identity, routing, and channels. Routes the noise away from the people who need to reach you, and toward the ones who actually do. A small protocol with a long view. Built to outlast a platform cycle.
.tel · statusALPHA
StageAlpha · invite only
SpecOpen · public
ChannelsEmail · SMS · structured .tel
NodesSelf-hostable
§ 01Three capabilitiesidentity · routing · channels
02
Routing.
Rules for how messages, notifications, and requests reach you. Who gets through, who waits, who gets redirected. Configurable per context, per time, per relationship.
context-aware · configurable03
Channels.
The actual communication paths. Email, SMS, and structured channels that connect .tel identities to each other and to Babb products. The protocol layer between identity and delivery.
email · SMS · structured04
Context-aware routing.
A .tel address behaves differently depending on who is contacting you, when, about what, and through which channel. Working hours, off hours, emergency — each has its own rules.
who · when · what · which05
Self-hostable nodes.
Nodes serve .tel addresses, maintain routing tables, and handle message delivery. Run your own or use Babb-operated nodes. The protocol is the same either way.
self-host · federated06
Ecosystem connective tissue.
Every Babb product routes through .tel. Workpads notifications. BitPads transaction confirmations. Clarkware alerts. The connective layer for the entire ecosystem.
Workpads · BitPads · Clarkware§ 02Design principlesinfrastructure, not product
Protocol
LayerBetween identity and delivery
Resolution.tel address → routing rules
NodesSelf-hosted or Babb-operated
ChannelsEmail, SMS, structured .tel
Long view
IdentityYours — not your provider’s
DurabilityReimplementable from spec alone
IndependenceNo platform dependency
SimplicitySmall enough to survive
§ 03Where to find it
.tel is in alpha.
Invite only. Open specification. Self-hostable nodes.