Infrastructure

It's not clear if the concern is for CN or MN operations. The problem is valid for CN operation, but not necessary for MN operation.

CN management of data and metadata is dependent on the SystemMetadata dateUploaded timestamp.

In the case of content that has been uploaded from a source outside of [DataONE], the dateUploaded will be set by the MN create() operation. Since CNs harvest content based on this timestamp, the new content will be picked up by the CN.

In the situation where content is transferred from a MN to another MN, it will be necessary to preserve the dateUploaded timestamp. This can be achieved by the recipient MN requesting the system metadata associated with the object being transferred from the origin, or the CN can forward the system metadata along with the request for object replication. In either case, the transferred content will retain the dateUploaded timestamp, and so will not appear as new content to a Coordinating Node.

Hence, it is not necessary for a MN listObjects() call to indicate whether or not an object has been replicated. However, it is necessary to update docs associated with MN replication to ensure the dateUploaded timestamp is preserved.