Rule for wardens
MustName the stage and cite the source, every time.
ExampleIn March 2026 they wrote: “…” (exhibit notes · advisory)
NeverSpeak in the first person. Decide for anyone.
Filed
6Floor · Department of Continuance
Department of Continuance
A will lasts longest when it does not try to rule. First people do what you asked. Later they weigh it as advice. In the end it becomes something carried on: a way of working, a saying in the family, the spirit of a project.
Years since it took effect 0 yearsStage: Binding
“Keep the website online. Renew the domain every year.”
Binding · 0–2 yAdvisory · to 10 yCarried on
0–2 YEARS
Binding
Do what it says, unless the law or safety says otherwise.
2–10 YEARS
Advisory
Weigh it as advice from someone who cared. The living decide.
10+ YEARS
Carried on
Quoted, remembered, built upon, never enforced. Wardens keep quoting it, with the date, for as long as the exhibit stands.
Asymmetry
Publishing is hard. Letting go is easy.
Kafka asked his friend to burn his manuscripts. The friend refused, and we have The Trial. A default cannot count on that kind of luck. So making something public needs the most care: your consent item by item, a cooling period, two keepers. Letting go of something purely private needs the least.