What is not the same
An original recordis nota copied tree
A hintis notevidence
A DNA matchis notan exact relationship
Family testimonyis nota documentary record, but it may still be valuable evidence
A hypothesisis nota fact
A repeated online claimis notindependent confirmation
Status of a conclusion
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Confirmed | Supported by evidence the researcher accepted, with no open conflict. |
| Probable | Supported, but something is still missing or weakly sourced. |
| Conflict | The evidence disagrees, and the conflict is shown, not hidden. |
| Hypothesis | Proposed, by you or by an engine, and not yet decided. |
| Rejected | Considered and turned down, kept with the reason. |
Three states for every number
The five statuses above are the only ones a relationship can carry. A claim nobody has checked yet has no status at all: it is shown as not checked, never as clean.
Every surface tells apart loading, honestly empty and failed. A zero from an engine that never ran reads as not checked, never as clean. A dash means not measured, not zero.