How BecSpec handles data and evidence.
BecSpec does not treat public availability as permission to copy or reuse information commercially. Each selector must have a documented provenance route for the facts it publishes.
Two provenance routes
Some BecSpec tools are built from openly licensed source datasets. Others need a small number of factual compatibility or eligibility determinations researched individually. Those are handled differently rather than forcing every category into a bulk-data model.
Licensed source data
Downloaded datasets, APIs, catalogues and other bulk source records are not ingested unless BecSpec has established that the intended commercial reuse, normalisation and automated extraction are permitted where relevant.
Typical sources include:
- Government and open data with explicit commercial reuse rights.
- Open datasets under compatible licences.
- Standards-derived facts where we are entitled to reproduce or use them.
- Manufacturer or supplier data where permission or licensing explicitly allows the intended use.
- Fields BecSpec calculates itself from legitimately obtained source data.
Evidence-derived assertions
A selector may contain a limited number of independently authored factual assertions researched claim-by-claim — for example, a documented compatibility boundary or an official upgrade mechanism. This is not permission to rebuild a manufacturer catalogue in another format.
For these assertions BecSpec:
- records the publisher, source, check date and exact scope of the evidence;
- writes the factual conclusion independently rather than copying source prose;
- does not reproduce source tables, images, catalogue structure or substantial record selections;
- does not broaden a market, model, date or configuration claim beyond what the evidence establishes;
- reviews source access and reuse terms separately from the copyright status of an individual fact;
- does not circumvent robots rules, authentication, CAPTCHA or other access controls.
If source terms or rights remain unclear for the intended production use, that evidence remains research-only until it is corroborated by a cleaner source, permission is obtained, or the use is otherwise specifically cleared.
No hidden bulk scraping
BecSpec does not crawl manufacturer or third-party sites to reconstruct their catalogues or databases. Evidence-derived assertions are researched individually and remain subject to the source-use rules above.
How a value is labelled
Every specification or assertion BecSpec holds carries its own origin. Two results can show the same value for entirely different reasons, so provenance travels with the value or claim rather than being assumed from the surrounding record.
| Origin | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Read directly from a rights-cleared source dataset, meaning unchanged. | A rated figure carried in an open register |
| Normalised | From a rights-cleared source, but cleaned into a consistent form. The source form is retained where appropriate. | A designation written two ways, unified to one |
| Derived | Calculated or determined by BecSpec from stated inputs/evidence under a published rule. | An independently authored compatibility assertion supported by cited evidence |
| Not established | The available source or evidence does not establish the field or claim. It is not guessed or silently filled in. | An upgrade path that the manufacturer has not documented clearly enough to call |
Registration families
Some sources are regulatory registration databases, where one registration can cover a family of products rather than a single part number. Where that happens, fields may list every option across the family — not the configuration of the specific model shown.
BecSpec marks these family-level and ranks them below model-specific matches. It means a compliant variant exists in that family. It does not mean the model number shown is that variant.
Vendor neutrality
Ranking is produced entirely by published matching rules. There is no paid placement, no commercial weighting, and no supplier relationship influencing which products appear or in what order. BecSpec currently has no commercial relationship with any manufacturer or distributor.
If that changes — through affiliate arrangements, sponsored placement or supplier integrations — it will be labelled on the results themselves, not disclosed only here.
Freshness
BecSpec records retrieval or evidence-check dates rather than assuming a source is permanently current. Where a registration expires, a programme changes, or manufacturer eligibility cannot be confirmed for the exact item, the result is flagged or withheld rather than silently inferred.
What BecSpec is not
BecSpec is a technical search and compatibility aid, not the manufacturer, regulator or installer. A result is not a guarantee that an exact product or vehicle has a particular configuration. Selection, eligibility and installation decisions should be confirmed with the manufacturer, supplier, dealer or an appropriately qualified professional where required.