2.9 KiB
name, description, type, originSessionId
| name | description | type | originSessionId |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preserve, don't delete — when retiring scaffolding, archive with provenance | When the steward says "remove" or "retire" about scaffolding, default to archival (with clear retirement note + provenance), not deletion. Confirm before destructive action. | feedback | efda5c2e-ca9a-4e55-9344-64aa9a3c1140 |
When the steward says "can be removed" or "retire" about an existing implementation file, spec section, or other scaffolding artefact, the default interpretation is remove from active use, preserve the artefact with archival note. Not deletion. Confirm before any destructive action.
Why: Steward verbatim 2026-04-27 after I rm'd scss/AldineXXI/archive-v1/_marginalia.scss in response to "dormant marginalia can be removed": "meant removed from the spec, but we archive it, correct?" He was retiring the active reference, not the historical record. Same shape as the 2026-04-26 sibling-file integration with redirect notices ("the record needs to be complete") — preservation is the consistent posture across ARC scaffolding decisions. The file was already in archive-v1/ (already archived once); my deletion would have erased the implementation entirely. Restored from git (HEAD 5c059d8).
How to apply:
- "can be removed" / "let's retire X" / "remove this from the spec" → archive with provenance, do not delete. Move to a clearly-named archive location if not already archived; add a retirement note (date + reason + supersession references); leave a breadcrumb in the active artefact pointing to where the archived version lives.
- When in doubt about destructive vs preserving action, ask first. The cost of pausing is low; the cost of deletion is irreversible.
- Cousin to the 2026-04-26 "the record needs to be complete" pattern (sibling-file integration with redirect notices retained as audit trail). Both express the same posture: the work has provenance; provenance is preserved.
- Specifically applies to: ARC spec sections (AldineXXI Codex), ARC SCSS partials, ARC content/template files, chamber-library files, any thinking-folder artefacts. The default pattern is archival, not deletion.
- Also applies during cleanup passes (Phase 0 audits, etc.): the steward distinguishes Batch A delete (disposable cruft) from Batch B/C archive (anything with provenance value). Archive is the default; delete needs explicit per-item authorization.
- The git history preserves files at the file-path level, but archival-with-provenance is more legible than git archaeology. A retirement note in the active artefact + an archive location is what the steward consistently chooses when given the choice.
Cousin to: feedback-canonical-workstream-tracker-discipline.md (the record needs to be complete in canonical trackers); the 2026-04-26 sibling-file integration LOCK; feedback-trust-contract-drift-pattern-tracking-is-the-discipline.md (drift-tracking IS the discipline — preservation is its sibling).