.. meta::
   :description: POST DD --- Design Decisions registry for the balospe.com project. Durable records of stylistic, structural, and conceptual decisions that should not be silently re-litigated.
   :keywords: Design Decisions, DD, POST System, balospe.com, conventions, style guide, ResearchCity, durable records
   :author: Yah, Yas, everyone, LLoL as Laurence Loewe of Laodicea, ClaudeOp47Max, Anthropic, and The Spirit of Boolean Truth
   :seo:title: POST DD --- Design Decisions Registry (balospe.com)
   :og:card:title: POST DD<br>Design Decisions Registry
   :og:card:description: Durable records of stylistic, structural, and conceptual decisions for the balospe.com project --- so they are not silently re-litigated.


************************************************************
DD --- Design Decisions Registry
************************************************************

This is the **Design Decisions registry** for the balospe.com project ---
a place to record decisions about style, structure, conventions, and
concepts that should not be silently re-litigated each time a contributor
or AI agent encounters them.

Each DD doc states the decision, the alternatives that were considered,
the arguments on each side, and the date it was settled. New DDs are
added here when a coherent decision needs to be locked down so future
sessions can honor it without re-deriving the reasoning.


Why a DD registry?
====================

Without a DD registry, design decisions live only in conversation
transcripts and contributor memory. Both decay. The same questions get
re-litigated, often with different conclusions each time --- silent BABL
drift in the conventions of the site itself.

A DD registry is the antidote: write it down once, with the *why*,
so future contributors can either (a) honor it knowingly or (b)
deliberately revise it with full awareness of what they are overriding.


Naming convention
===================

Files follow the lettered-numbering layout specified in
``AHA/HELL.md`` (see also DD b11 in the HELL system at
``source/matheology/hell/system/dd/b/11/``). The directory and filename
both carry the lettered ID::

   <category>/b/<NN>/b<NN>-<short-topic>.rst

For DDs in this registry, ``<category>`` is ``_POST/DD``, so the pattern
becomes ``_POST/DD/b/11/b11-<topic>.rst``. The integer is assigned in
chronological order starting from **b11** (b11, b12, b13, ...). a1--a9
are reserved for greatest-hits retroactive assignment; b10 is reserved
for the format template that tracks the next free number; b11+ are first
usable entries.

Both the *directory name* (``b/11/``) and the *filename prefix*
(``b11-...``) carry the lettered ID. This redundancy is deliberate ---
it keeps the ID visible whether one is browsing the file tree or looking
at a filename in isolation.
The ``<short-topic>`` slug after the ``b<N>-`` prefix may be revised for
readability without breaking citations (because everyone cites by the
``b<N>`` ID, not the slug). Inspired by the lettered-numbering scheme
documented at :ref:`DD b11 <hell-dd-b11-lettered-numbering>` for the HEAVEN
paper sequence.

**Why lettered numbering, not timestamps?** Decisions are intended to last
across decades. A timestamp encodes "when written", which says nothing about
what supersedes what. The lettered ID is permanent, citable, and stays valid
across DD revisions.

**On revisions:** When a DD's content is meaningfully revised, append a
``-rN`` suffix in the filename body (e.g. ``b1-trifecta-italics-no-commas-r2.rst``)
or note the revision inside the file. When a DD is fully superseded, leave
it in place with a SUPERSEDED status pointing to the successor DD.

Each DD doc should include:

- A header VVN encoding who created it.
- A **Decision** line stating the conclusion in one sentence.
- The **Alternatives considered** with arguments for each.
- A **Rationale** explaining why the chosen path was chosen.
- A **Status:** ``ACTIVE`` / ``SUPERSEDED`` (with link to successor) /
  ``ABANDONED``.
- A **Scope** line: where the decision applies (site-wide, specific
  section, specific paper sequence, etc.).


Currently active DDs
======================

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1

   b/11/b11-trifecta-italics-no-commas
   b/12/b12-ladder-pedagogy-for-acronyms
   b/13/b13-trifecta-registry
   b/14/b14-tetrad-registry
   b/25/b25-fused-pattern-overview


Reserved range: b13--b25 for the fused-pattern taxonomy
=========================================================

The DD range from b13 to b25 is reserved for the **fused-pattern
taxonomy** --- one DD per arity-class of fused patterns:

- **b13** (ACTIVE): trifectas (3x)
- **b14** (ACTIVE): tetrads (4x)
- **b15--b24** (RESERVED): higher arities (5x through 12x and possibly
  beyond); arity-to-DD mapping per LLoL's Excel registry, to be
  promoted from RESERVED to ACTIVE as needed
- **b25** (ACTIVE): the overview index for the entire b13--b24 range
  (start here when looking for a fused-pattern DD)

Many of these patterns echo structure from the **IronRod core**
(:doc:`/jubileesystem/ironrod/index`), particularly at the 4e through
12e arity classes.

**Next free DD slot for non-fused-pattern entries: b26.**