oqlisted

# The open-questions register ## Registering 1. **Number** — the highest plus one. Check for **duplicates and gaps** before assigning: ``` grep -oE "^### OQ-[0-9]+" open-questions.md | sort | uniq -d # duplicates ``` Do not count headings to guess the next number — archived entries and duplicates will skew the count. Take the **maximum**, not the count. 2. **Entry header:** ``` ### OQ-NN — <a question, not a topic> **Status:** OPEN · **Depends on / Blocks / Touches:** ... ``` Add a priority only when it is high or critical. A field filled in on every routine question becomes noise and stops meaning anything. 3. **The body** answers three things: what we do not know, what happens if we leave it unresolved, and what has to be known before it can be answered. ## When to open a question - a doubt you are tempted to settle with "let's do X for now" — **always**; - a boundary that cannot be enforced mechanically (rule W9); - a risk discovered while doing something else, which you are not fixing now; - a decision deliberately deferred — recording **until when** and **on what** it depends. If you are writing a code comment that starts with "for now", "eventually" or "to be considered", that is an open question, not a comment. ## Closing Change the status to `RESOLVED → <record or phase>, <date>` and **state the answer** — a bare link forces the reader through an entire decision record. Three special cases: - **The answer was reversed