Docs
The loop

Keeping answers current

How AppThentic notices that an answer has gone out of date, and what happens next.

Documentation fails quietly: it stays exactly as written while the system moves on. AppThentic treats every answer as true for a specific version of a rule, and watches for changes that break that.

What makes an answer stale

  • The code or config changed. A merged pull request changes the refund window from 30 to 45 days.
  • A location disagrees. The help page says 45 while the code says 30.
  • The reason expired. A festive-season override is still active though the promotion ended in January.
  • The owner left. Nobody accountable stands behind the answer any more.

What happens

  1. The rule is marked Stale. The old answer stays visible, with its date.
  2. The owner gets one specific question: “Refunds moved from 30 to 45 days in PR #2291. Does the chargeback reason still hold?”
  3. The owner confirms, updates or rejects the reason. The rule returns to Approved, or becomes Disputed if sources disagree.

History is kept

Nothing is overwritten. Each rule keeps its timeline: what it was, why, who approved it, what changed, and when. That timeline answers “when did this change and why?” months later.

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