DBaD → DecencyMeter

Why the score must stay downstream from the trace.

DBaD records structured integrity signals. DecencyMeter can interpret those signals in a separate advisory layer, but the score must never be mistaken for DBaD validation.

Use this page to understand the separation before you look at the live scoring surfaces.

Open the v2.2 demo Open advisory demo Read anomaly explainer

DBaD = protocol layer
DecencyMeter = interpretation layer
Warning-first presentation

Protocol before score · Portable citation preserved · No scoring or validation changes here

Fast distinction

DBaD records Expected outcome, evidence, escalation closure, blind spots, and completeness in a deterministic trace.

DecencyMeter interprets Those recorded signals downstream, with visible profiles and warning-bound score presentation.

Humans still decide meaning The protocol does not become a moral verdict, and the score does not become DBaD validation.

Start Here

Pick the surface that matches what you want to inspect next.

Inspect the runtime proof See the upstream v2.2 trace and deterministic validation that DecencyMeter reads from. See the advisory score Open the downstream demo and compare how presentation and profiles constrain interpretation. See where scoring can go wrong Review the public anomaly explainer before treating any score as proof.

Core distinction

Protocol Layer vs Interpretation Layer

The separation needs to stay visually obvious because the public failure mode is rhetorical, not just technical.

DBaD is the protocol layer

DBaD records what was declared, expected, evidenced, observed, escalated, and attested. It validates structure and governance conditions in deterministic runtime form.

DecencyMeter is the interpretation layer

DecencyMeter can score, summarize, or rank what DBaD recorded, but only downstream from the trace protocol. The live advisory demo uses audited trace trc_20260428181140_42396240, now supports visible advisory profiles, does not store scores, does not mutate traces, and must remain visibly separate from DBaD validation. The public scoring anomaly explainer shows why the first v0.1 anomaly is a DecencyMeter interpretation issue rather than a DBaD failure.

Validation is not a score

DBaD validation answers whether the stored trace is structurally coherent enough to pass deterministic checks. It does not answer whether the case is ethically good, safe, or true.

Scores must travel with warnings

DecencyMeter surfaces are now intentionally warning-first and citation-first so a number cannot travel alone without making omission look dishonest.

Architecture Shape

This is the actual order of operations. The protocol comes first; interpretation sits above it.

1 DBaD trace Structured stored trace with explicit fields and history.

2 Deterministic validation Rule-based checks for structure, ordering, gating, and malformed fields.

3 v2.2 integrity signals Outcome, evidence, closure, blind spots, expectation, and completeness claim.

4 Optional DecencyMeter interpretation First-pass downstream advisory scoring demo built on top of recorded signals with explicit, subjective weights.

5 Human review People still interpret the trace, challenge the logic, and decide what the system should mean.

Boundary Note

A DecencyMeter score must never be treated as DBaD validation.
DBaD validation must never be treated as moral correctness.
DBaD can record trace integrity signals without claiming those signals are the final human meaning of the case.
The live demo score is transparent, advisory-only, and computed without storing scores or mutating traces.
Scoring models are expected to evolve and may be contested.

Portable Citation Object

Portable citation object: a reusable advisory notice designed to travel with screenshots, quotes, press references, decks, emails, and regulator or journalist excerpts. It is not a legal disclaimer or enforcement tool; it is a presentation-discipline tool that makes omission of context visibly dishonest.

Short Notice

DecencyMeter Advisory Notice: Advisory only. Not DBaD validation. Not proof of ethical behavior, truth, or outcome quality. Profile, version, and context matter.

Standard Notice

DecencyMeter Advisory Notice: This is a procedural trace-interpretation score only. It does not verify truth, ethics, harm, safety, or real-world outcomes. Scores vary by profile and version and must not be presented as proof of ethical behavior.

Synthetic / Experimental Notice

DecencyMeter Advisory Notice: This synthetic pressure-test output and experimental DecencyMeter output are advisory only. They are not DBaD validation and not proof of ethical behavior, truth, or real-world outcome quality. Profile, version, and case context matter.

v0.3.2 Warning Hierarchy

The warning needs to be semantically stronger than the score because the main failure mode is overread and quote-mining.

Semantic headline first

ADVISORY ONLY — NOT DBaD VALIDATION — NOT PROOF OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOR

The first thing the eye reads must be the limitation, not the number.

Quote-resistance goal

Public score surfaces should make it easy to copy the advisory notice and hard to quote the score alone without obviously omitting required context.

Inputs a Scoring Layer Might Consider

These are deterministic aggregates from stored traces. They are not scores, not inference, and not a system-health claim.

See top issues

Expectation vs observed outcome

Traces with expected outcome: 9
Matches: 4
Mismatches: 3
Pending observation: 2

Missing state-transition evidence

Supported transitions total: 22
With evidence: 8
Missing evidence: 14
Traces missing evidence: 11

Completeness status

unknown: 33
declared_complete: 5
partial: 4
not_attested: 1

Outcome distribution

unknown: 34
upheld: 3
reversed: 1
escalated: 0
incident: 5
no_observed_issue: 0

Links

v2.2 demo · DecencyMeter demo · Scoring anomalies · Top issues · API docs · Try to break DBaD · Peer review findings