Ranking rules

Version 2026-10-01.1, effective 2026-10-01. Machine-readable rules.

1. A first-time visitor must be able to read now without paying or creating an account. Reviewed access decisions remain binding.
2. Search ordering uses relevance. Reading grades, speed and network request counts do not boost ranking.
3. Every-word matches precede labeled broader-match bands. Counts report strict matches.
4. Bounded answer-form, substantive-passage, source-diversity, technical-symbol, version and jurisdiction permutations preserve explicit query constraints.
5. Reading filters require measured evidence; missing evidence does not imply a clean visit.
6. Publisher claims, reader votes and collections do not buy or automatically change rank or admission.
7. Voluntary publisher opt-outs suppress all public surfaces. Full-text reading requires verified reuse rights and attribution.

Changes

• 2026-10-01 — Published the serving contract, keeping bounded title-OR experiments and human relevance judgments separate from serving.
• 2026-09-21 — Removed speed and network request counts from reading grades and published ordering rules.
• 2026-09-07 — Added labeled broader-match bands below strict matches.