Three files in Signal Rail operate outside the canonical chain:Documentation Index
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97_field_findings.txt, 98_parking.txt, and 99_archive.txt. They are called lateral files because they sit alongside the canonicals rather than governing project truth at any level. Each one handles material at a different stage of its life — findings being filtered before routing, useful paths suspended out of the present flow, and closed history preserved as trace. None of them replaces a canonical. All of them protect the canonicals from accumulating material that does not yet belong there, or that no longer belongs anywhere active.
97 Field Findings (97_field_findings.txt)
97 keeps useful findings that emerge during real work before they are lost or promoted too early. It is a lateral, non-canonical support file. It exists so that findings can be kept readable while they are still being observed, compared, filtered, or discarded — without forcing them into a container they are not ready for.
What 97 is and is not
What 97 is
A lateral finding layer: useful capture before routing. Keeps findings readable while still being evaluated.
What 97 is not
Not project truth. Not a second working surface. Not a substitute for 05. Not a place where things live.
Categories
97 uses four named categories:
| Category | When to use it |
|---|---|
| BUG | A real problem has already emerged in a concrete and observable way |
| REFINEMENT | A small improvement is already concrete enough to be discussed as a local move |
| SIGNAL | Something matters but is not yet closed enough to become a BUG or REFINEMENT |
| SEED | A promising idea should be preserved but is still too early, too broad, or too under-formed to promote |
Entry form
| Category | Where | What | Why it matters | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUG | A specific point where behavior already breaks in practice | A concrete problem that can be described without hypothesis | The issue is already real — keeping it visible prevents loss or false minimization | Use only when the problem is already observable |
| REFINEMENT | A local point, wording, step, or behavior | A concrete improvement clear enough to discuss without turning into redesign | Small local refinements remove friction with low structural cost | Use when the move is already shapeable as a local improvement |
| SIGNAL | A point where something feels risky, ambiguous, or unstable | Something relevant that is not yet concrete enough to classify as BUG or REFINEMENT | Preserving the signal helps later verification without forcing premature routing | Use when the finding matters but is not yet closed enough |
| SEED | A local pass reveals a potentially strong idea still too early to route | Something useful but still too broad, young, or under-formed to promote | Preserving the seed avoids losing leverage without forcing premature project weight | Use when the idea is worth keeping but not yet ready |
The ENTRIES START/END zone
All findings must be written inside:[TEMPLATE ONLY] in the entries zone is scaffolding only. It does not count as a live finding. The marker contract must be valid: exactly one start marker, exactly one end marker, correct order.
Failure condition for 97
97 is being used wrong when:
- It starts holding project truth instead of findings
- It starts replacing a canonical or support container
- Findings stay here after they are already clearly routable
- Entries become mini design docs, conversation logs, or brainstorming blocks
- It becomes the place where things live instead of where findings are first kept readable
98 Parking (98_parking.txt)
98 holds what may still matter later, but does not matter now. It removes weight from the present without deleting paths that may still become useful. The distinction from 99 is important: parking preserves paths that could reopen. Archive closes them.
What 98 is for
Put here things you do not want to lose, but that should not stay in the project’s current live work. Suspended plans, partial specs, good ideas that are out of time, paths not to erase but not alive.What goes here vs what does not
| What | Goes to 98? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Suspended plans | ✅ Yes | May become useful again but are not helping now |
| Partial specs | ✅ Yes | Not alive enough for current work; not worth losing |
| Good ideas out of time | ✅ Yes | Not the right moment, even if they have value |
| Paths not to erase but not alive | ✅ Yes | Not closed, not active |
| Things still alive and in play | ❌ No → 05 | Still matter now |
| Things already in current work | ❌ No → 03 | Already part of the live state |
| Decisions already taken | ❌ No → 04 | Already real choices |
| Things that no longer matter at all | ❌ No → 99 | Live role is closed |
Entry template
Local entries in98 use only P-xx IDs.
The ENTRIES START/END zone for 98
All parking entries must be written inside:[TEMPLATE ONLY] in the entries zone is scaffolding only. It does not count as a live parking entry. The marker contract must be valid: exactly one start marker, exactly one end marker, correct order.
Typical errors for 98
99 Archive (99_archive.txt)
99 holds what is no longer alive. It preserves memory without letting finished things weigh on the present. Where 98 is suspension, 99 is closure.
What 99 is for
Put here things that are closed, superseded, duplicated, or dead — if you want to keep them as trace. The archive does not guide the present. It records that something existed.What goes here vs what does not
| What | Goes to 99? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Superseded versions | ✅ Yes | No longer guide the project, but may matter as trace |
| Duplicates | ✅ Yes | Should not weigh twice on the present |
| Closed snapshots | ✅ Yes | Describe a past state, not live work |
| Dead ideas | ✅ Yes | No longer in play, worth keeping as trace |
| Things no longer with a live role | ✅ Yes | Should not guide the present |
| Things still useful but out of time | ❌ No → 98 | May return; archive is too final |
| Things still alive and open | ❌ No → 05 | Still matter now |
| Things already in current work | ❌ No → 03 | Part of the live state |
| Still-valid active decisions | ❌ No → 04 | Not dead history |
Entry template
Local entries in99 use only A-xx IDs.
The ENTRIES START/END zone for 99
All archive entries must be written inside:[TEMPLATE ONLY] in the entries zone is scaffolding only. It does not count as a live archive entry. The marker contract must be valid: exactly one start marker, exactly one end marker, correct order.
Typical errors for 99
The three lateral files at a glance
| File | State of material | ID family | Key question |
|---|---|---|---|
97_field_findings.txt | Being observed, filtered, or discarded | None (category-based) | Is this finding still being evaluated? |
98_parking.txt | Useful but not active now | P-xx | Could this matter again — and if so, how? |
99_archive.txt | Closed, no longer alive | A-xx | Is this truly finished with no live role? |
Latent Ideas (05)
For material that is still alive and unresolved — not ready for 98 or 99 yet.
Routing & Promotion
How to decide whether material belongs in 97, 98, 99, or a canonical.
ID Families Reference
Full reference for P-xx and A-xx ID families used in lateral files.
Overview
All thirteen rails and how lateral files fit into the full system.