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core/docs/decisions/ADR-0108-proposed-adr-sequencing.md
Shay 7bb8334fc5
docs: accept ADR-0108 and rewrite Current frontier per its acceptance evidence (#112) 
- ADR-0108 Status: Proposed -> Accepted
- README index row updated to Accepted
- 'Current frontier' rewritten with the ranked Proposed-ADR list mandated
  by ADR-0108 \xc2\xa7Decision; removes the now-false 'No ADR currently sits in
  a "Proposed but unimplemented" state' sentence
- Open candidate directions (no-ADR-yet) section retained for the
  multi-reviewer governance frontier item from ADR-0105
2026-05-22 11:21:20 -07:00

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ADR-0108 — Proposed-ADR Sequencing Post-ADR-0105

Status: Accepted Date: 2026-05-22 Author: CORE agents + reviewers Relates to: ADR-0080, ADR-0084, ADR-0087, ADR-0106

Context

After ADR-0105, the ADR index carries four Proposed-but-not-Accepted ADRs:

ADR Proposed Origin
ADR-0080 2026-05-20 Contemplation loop (self-interrogation, read-only Phase 1)
ADR-0084 2026-05-20 Definitional layer for lexicon packs (optional per-entry block)
ADR-0087 2026-05-20 Rhetorical style as a third substantive selection axis
ADR-0106 2026-05-22 Expert-demo promotion contract

Three of these (0080 / 0084 / 0087) were proposed in a single 2026-05-20 session and have not advanced. The frontier work since that day went into the ADR-0091→0105 evidence-governed domain chain (a different axis), so the stall is orthogonal scope, not contradiction or rejection.

docs/decisions/README.md currently states "No ADR currently sits in a 'Proposed but unimplemented' state." That sentence is no longer true and the README will need updating once this sequencing decision is accepted.

Without an explicit sequencing decision, three things happen:

  1. The Proposed-ADR list grows without external legibility.
  2. Reviewers cannot tell intent to land from intent to defer from intent to withdraw.
  3. Future "what's next?" questions re-derive sequencing on every read, which is wasted work and drifts over time.

ADR-0108 makes the sequencing decision explicit, durable, and revisable.

Decision

1. Priority order

The four currently-Proposed ADRs are sequenced as follows:

  1. ADR-0106 — Expert-Demo Promotion Contract. Highest priority. Domain-legibility: the four reasoning-capable ratifications overstate what the system has demonstrated until expert_demo has a real contract. Implementation PR follows acceptance.

  2. ADR-0107 — mathematics_logic expert-demo promotion (reserved). First worked promotion against the ADR-0106 contract. Smallest expert-demo proof surface across the four ratified domains.

  3. ADR-0080 — Contemplation Loop. Next-most-load-bearing. Converts gap-finding from human-driven to system-emitted-and-reviewed. Phase 1 is intentionally read-only and SPECULATIVE-only. Unlocks curriculum growth speed.

  4. ADR-0084 — Definitional Layer. Deferred pending ADR-0107. The definitional block is content-shaped; its value surfaces during a worked expert promotion when definitional depth becomes a bottleneck. Holding it Proposed avoids premature schema commitment.

  5. ADR-0087 — Rhetorical Style Axis. Lowest current priority. Register + anchor-lens already demonstrate the orthogonality pattern ADR-0087 generalizes. No active pull from a downstream consumer. Stays Proposed until a concrete consumer ADR motivates it.

2. No withdrawals

This ADR withdraws none of 0080 / 0084 / 0087. Each remains Proposed and intact. Sequencing ≠ rejection.

3. Sequencing is revisable

Acceptance of ADR-0108 does not freeze the order. The order is the current best guess; new evidence (a worked promotion that hits a definitional bottleneck, a downstream rhetorical-style consumer landing, an unanticipated capability gap) updates the order by a follow-up ADR.

4. README discipline

The README "Current frontier" section MUST list every Proposed ADR with its sequencing rank and one-line rationale, so outside readers can see intent without reading every ADR body. The sentence "No ADR currently sits in a 'Proposed but unimplemented' state" is removed when this ADR lands and is replaced with the sequenced Proposed-ADR list.

Invariants

proposed_adr_index_complete

Every ADR with Status: Proposed in docs/decisions/ must appear in the README "Current frontier" sequencing list. A Proposed ADR absent from the sequencing list is a documentation drift bug.

no_silent_withdrawal

A Proposed ADR may move to Withdrawn only by a successor ADR that explicitly cites it. No silent deletion.

sequencing_is_revisable

Acceptance of ADR-0108 does not lock the order. A subsequent ADR may re-rank Proposed ADRs by citing this one and stating the trigger.

Acceptance evidence

Accepted when the following land together:

  • README "Current frontier" updated to:
    • remove the "No ADR currently sits in a 'Proposed but unimplemented' state" claim
    • add the ranked Proposed-ADR list with one-line rationales matching §Decision
  • this ADR's status flipped to Accepted
  • no body content of ADR-0080 / 0084 / 0087 / 0106 is modified by this PR (sequencing is a meta-decision, not a content edit)

Consequences

  • "What's next?" becomes a one-screen read on docs/decisions/README.md rather than a four-file scan plus reasoning.
  • Reviewers can act on Proposed ADRs in declared order without cross-checking session memory.
  • Proposed ADRs that genuinely no longer fit get a documented exit via a successor ADR rather than disappearing from the index.
  • Future "candidate frontier" bullets in the README become the on-ramp to a new Proposed ADR, with this sequencing list as their next stop.

Out of scope

  • This ADR does not implement any of the four Proposed ADRs.
  • This ADR does not modify ADR-0080 / 0084 / 0087 / 0106 bodies.
  • Multi-reviewer governance (the open ADR-0105 candidate frontier item) is orthogonal and remains future work.