Three axes and a clock.
Every entry carries three things: where it came from, whether it reconciles against a named record, and how current it is. We keep them separate because they fail separately.
Origin
Permanent. Origin describes how the entry reached us and never changes.
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| OBSERVED | Read in original. The instrument, filing, recorded document, or published dataset. |
| ASSERTED | Stated by a party with a position, including our own firsthand knowledge. |
| DERIVED | Computed from other entries. Never stronger than its weakest input. |
| RELAYED | Carried from a secondary source. The chain is recorded. |
State
Mobile. State describes what happened when an entry was checked against a named record.
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CONFIRMED | Reconciles against the named record as of the stated date. |
| DEVIATION | Does not reconcile against the named record as of the stated date. |
| CONFLICTING | Two records of comparable standing disagree. |
| NOT_CHECKED | No check has been performed. A gap, not an absence. |
| UNRESOLVED | Checked, and the record does not settle it. |
Freshness
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| FIXED | Cannot change: adopted instrument, recorded document, dated vote. |
| LIVE | Moving now. Re-checked at each use. |
| WARM | Moves on a known cycle. Scheduled refresh. |
| STALE | Past its refresh date. Does not travel until re-checked. |
Does not reconcile against [named record] as of [date].
That is the strongest thing a finding is allowed to say about a figure that fails a check. We do not write verified, proven, false, fraudulent, arbitrary or misleading. Where a figure is not in a document, we state which documents were read and that it is not in them — never that it does not exist.
Standing rules
- All three axes or it does not enter an artifact.
- Derived is never stronger than its weakest input.
- Relay degrades; every hop is recorded.
- 04 Our own knowledge enters as asserted. Firsthand memory especially. Thirty years in a field is a good reason to ask a question and a bad reason to skip a check.
- Sponsored sources are marked at the point of use.
- 06 No characterization of motive, intent, competence or state of mind. About anyone, in any artifact, ever — including while explaining why something is being verified.
- No engineering recommendations.
- Findings publish; the corpus does not.
Corrections
If you believe a finding is wrong, write to corrections@calyxos.ai. Tell us which entry, which record, and what it should say. Corrections publish at the same prominence as the original.