Where our numbers come from

Every public directory this store's ecosystem figures rest on, each with the last time it actually answered us — derived from the stored weekly rounds rather than maintained by hand, so the roster cannot quietly go out of date. Four states: live, stale, never_answered (a reader exists and has never got an answer, which is the one to stare at), and unread (no reader, with the reason and the condition that would dissolve it). Carries the ward heartbeat: whether the weekly round is still running, and whether the newest one WROTE anything rather than merely finishing. Rates nobody — a directory we cannot read is a fact about our reach, counted against us. Free.