# Status line vocabulary

A status line is the bolded first line of a stateful document, immediately
after its H1: a leading state word, a role qualifier, and a dated verb
clause. Example shape:

```markdown
# <Deployment or document title>

**Status: CURRENT production deployment.** Observed <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM TZ>
after <the observation that supports the claim>.
```

Rules:

- Check the status line before treating any document as active. Preserved
  documents are historical measurements, even if their commands still work.
- Do not rewrite preserved measurements. When a current document is
  displaced, change only its status line and add a dated displacement
  clause; retain its measurements and reversal commands.
- Record observed state, not intended state, and date every observation.

## Controlled terms

| Term | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| **CURRENT** | Selected by the current projection and observed live. Always followed by `Observed <date>`. |
| **PRESERVED** | Historical record retained for rollback or reference; not active configuration. Always followed by a displacement clause: `displaced <date>`, `stopped <date>`, or `ended <date>`. |
| **VALIDATED** | Proven by measurement but never selected as current. State what validated it and that it was not selected. |
| **PARKED** | Known-good and deliberately stopped; state why and what currently holds its place. |
| **RETIRED** | Permanently withdrawn and superseded; name the successor. |

Extend the table only when a real document needs a state these five cannot
express, and define the new term here before using it.

## Index markers

When an index (for example a deployments README) lists these documents, its
Status column carries a shorter parallel marker — the same leading term plus
the observation or displacement date. A machine check can then assert that
the document's status line and the index marker agree.