Permanent record
A permanent record is a document whose genre declares it is never edited once committed, such as a journal entry or a result. It writes no status of its own; its status is derived from the documents that point back to it.

A citation of a permanent record always shows what was cited, because the record cannot change under it. The gate compares each one with its first commit, so the promise is checked, not hoped for.

The old record stays as committed; arrows from newer documents set its status R-1 committed once, never edited R-2 supersedes: R-1 journal entry kind: retraction names it or retracts it
Nothing writes to the old record. Its status follows from the documents that point back at it: a newer record that names it in supersedes, or a journal entry that retracts it.

One record, three states, no edits

The record below is the same file in every state. Pick what happens to it, and see what the shell draws on its page. Only the status and the banner change, and both come from other documents.

With scripts off, every state is described here. A record that nothing points back at is live. A newer record that names it in supersedes makes it superseded. A journal entry of kind retraction about it makes it retracted.

Live. Nothing points back at it. Every citation shows it as it was committed, and the shell draws no banner.

Superseded. A newer result names it in its supersedes field. The old result keeps its address, so old citations still show what they cited, and a banner links the newer one.

Retracted. A journal entry of kind retraction names it in about. The record stays readable, marked retracted, with a banner linking the entry that says why.

Result ยท R-1

The gate's running time on this library, as first measured

live superseded retracted
Superseded. A newer result replaces this one; follow its link for the current number.
Retracted. A journal entry withdraws this result and says why.

The body is exactly as it was committed, in every state.

The gate compares this file with its first commit.

Permanent, frozen and revised

Permanent

Never edited once committed. A journal entry and a result. Its status is derived, never written.

Frozen

Edited freely until it reaches a state such as locked, then never again, except a status change to one of its card's exits. A protocol and a report.

Revised

Edited in place, and always current. Concepts, entries, maps and the rest of the pages.

The trap: thinking permanent means it can never be wrong. It can be wrong, and the library says so: a newer record supersedes it, or a journal entry retracts or corrects it, and a banner on the record links the correction. What never happens is a quiet edit.

Related

The journal is made of permanent entries, one file each. The gate holds every permanent and frozen document to its history in git.

The long form

How a correction reaches every page that cited the old record is in How corrections work.