| Frozen | Rule |
|---|---|
| Thresholds | Fixed before measurement and never loosened. Amendments may only make a test stricter, sealed before any capture. |
| Predictions | Never adjusted to fit data; conditions outside the envelope make the run inconclusive. |
| Methods | Extraction methods fixed in advance and applied identically to simulated and measured signals. |
| Evidence | Append-only. A repeated measurement is a new record; the earlier one remains. |
When in doubt, refuse. Missing or expired calibrations, mismatched serial numbers or gain settings, unmatched microphone pairs, unregistered models, unresolved units, dropped audio samples and audio paths that may resample are refused outright. A refusal is recorded; it is never silently worked around.
Governing documents, the registry of admitted models and the amendment record are maintained as versioned law: changes are proposed, reviewed and ratified, and each ratified amendment is recorded with its date and rationale.