From c10485c27a4c1a6b224e4f0484627d2f9400b5ad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tigran Najaryan Date: Mon, 15 May 2023 16:09:08 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] Explain why custom attributes are not recommended to be placed in Otel namespaces The @open-telemetry/technical-committee discussed and decided to keep the existing recommendations but clarify them and explain the purpose. --- specification/common/attribute-naming.md | 7 +++++++ 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+) diff --git a/specification/common/attribute-naming.md b/specification/common/attribute-naming.md index 67aee0ad094..badb9acbd07 100644 --- a/specification/common/attribute-naming.md +++ b/specification/common/attribute-naming.md @@ -133,6 +133,13 @@ To do that consider a few options: `myuniquemapapp.longitude` is likely fine). Make sure the application name does not clash with an existing semantic convention namespace. +- It is not recommended to use existing OpenTelemetry semantic convention namespace + as a prefix for a new company- or application-specific attribute name. Doing so + may result in a name clash in the future, if OpenTelemetry decides to use that + same name for a different purpose or if some other third party instrumentation + decides to use that exact same attribute name and you combine that instrumentation + with your own. + - The name may be generally applicable to applications in the industry. In that case consider submitting a proposal to this specification to add a new name to the semantic conventions, and if necessary also to add a new namespace.