0003: A stale State is a warning, not an error

Decision: the map check compares each member's newest tag with the State column and reports a mismatch as a warning that gives both values.

Status: accepted, 2026-11-02. Shape: decision record.

Context

• A State cell may say words, such as "scope only", where no tag exists, and a tag may be pushed before the page is edited.
• GitHub's unauthenticated API can be slow or rate limited, and the check must not turn that into a red run.
• Alternatives: an error on any mismatch; a warning; no check.

Decision

• map_true.py is a warning check, run only online, with no token and no identity.
• A request that fails is a warning that says why; nothing is compared for that member.

Consequences

• The page cannot go stale in silence, and a flaky network cannot fail a run.
• Bad: a reader who ignores warnings can still leave a State stale; the weekly run lists it each time.

See also

Decisions; the front page, where the State column is.