SUMMARY: A source ladder gives operators a fast way to decide how much trust a claim deserves before it enters the archive.
Not every useful item deserves the same treatment. A direct document, a firsthand statement, a reputable report, a copied screenshot, a social post, and an anonymous summary can all be worth noticing. They should not be stored with the same confidence.
The ladder keeps speed from replacing judgment. It lets the site move quickly while still showing readers whether a claim is documented, corroborated, provisional, or merely a lead.
The Ladder
Level 1: Primary record. Original document, filing, transcript, dataset, direct announcement, or archived source with clear custody.
Level 2: Verified report. Reporting or analysis that cites primary material and gives enough context to check the trail.
Level 3: Corroborated signal. Multiple independent references point toward the same claim, but the primary source still needs review.
Level 4: Open lead. Interesting, relevant, and unresolved. Useful for monitoring, not for conclusions.
Posting Practice
Attach a ladder level to items that enter forum discussion, chat synthesis, or the archive queue. Pair the label with a short note: what is known, what is missing, and when it should be checked again. This supports the visibility ledger by making public confidence easier to audit.
Operator Rule
A source label is not a decoration. It is a promise about how carefully the claim has been handled.
Field assessment: a clean ladder turns curiosity into an orderly intake process.
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