Why I Refuse to Issue Proof Before Storage Is Durable

Community Article Published December 14, 2025

The problem

Most verification systems show a green checkmark even when the data they claim to verify doesn’t actually exist yet.

This isn’t a UI issue. It’s a trust failure.

The failure mode nobody talks about

When storage is asynchronous, many systems:

  • Accept writes optimistically
  • Return “success” before durability
  • Hope replication finishes later

That creates a dangerous gap: proof is issued before reality is stable.

The rule I enforced

In VEOS, proof is never issued until storage is confirmed durable.

If durability is pending:

  • No receipt
  • No proof
  • No green checkmark

The system refuses — on purpose.

Why this matters

If proof can exist before durability, verification becomes theater.

A system that refuses early is more trustworthy than one that lies politely.

Live demo

You can see this rule in action here:

Try changing one value and watch verification fail.

Feedback welcome from anyone building trust, verification, or evidence systems.

Community

Article author

Happy to answer questions or get feedback from folks building verification, trust, or evidence systems.

The live demos linked above show the rule in action.

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