SUMMARY: A source handoff is the moment a claim or artifact moves from discovery into review, context, and possible archive.
Sources lose value when they arrive without custody. A link in chat may be useful for five minutes and invisible tomorrow. A forum claim may start a discussion but never reach the archive. A news item may look urgent until the source trail thins.
The handoff gives the source a route: who found it, why it matters, what it supports, what remains uncertain, and where it should live next.
Handoff Fields
Origin: where the source first appeared and who surfaced it.
Claim: the specific statement, pattern, or risk the source is being asked to support.
Confidence: whether the source is primary, secondary, speculative, or only a pointer.
Destination: whether the source belongs in a post, forum thread, private review note, or archive route.
Countermeasure
Pair source handoffs with evidence escrow. Handoff moves a source into review. Escrow preserves it long enough for review to remain accountable.
Operator Rule
No source should cross into the archive without a note explaining why it belongs there.
Field assessment: handoff is how discovery becomes memory instead of residue.