Stable review identity
A saved review belongs to the sorted pair of internal observation IDs inside one workspace. Observation identity includes connection, provenance and normalized source ID. A new source identifier creates a new observation; an old review is not silently transferred to it.
Material evidence
A SHA-256 fingerprint covers selected identity fields, binding revision, source type and ID, normalized names, exact trimmed owners, descriptions, business purpose, lifecycle/review, and allowlisted scope/evidence fields. It excludes arbitrary provider configuration and secrets. Release 708b5af also includes the reconciliation rule version, so a policy upgrade intentionally requires a fresh confirmation.
An ordinary refresh is not a new decision
Collection timestamps, last-seen, presence, staleness, connection display name, source health and enabled state are excluded from the material fingerprint. They affect whether linking is eligible, but do not by themselves erase a saved Separate or Defer decision. A source health recovery alone does not reopen the pair.
Review state changes
| State or event | Result |
|---|---|
| No saved decision | Possible match. |
| Same evidence after Separate or Defer | The saved state remains. |
| Material evidence changes | Reopens as Possible match, with previous choice retained in history. |
| Source refresh fails | Previous choice remains; guided link is unavailable. |
| Link succeeds | One binding changes; both business records survive. |
| Reverse succeeds | A new audited decision restores the previous binding. |
Why a conflict is useful
A confirmation contains the expected evidence fingerprint and review revision. Linking also carries the reviewed destination business fields. The server recomputes them after acquiring the writer lock. A mismatch rejects the command. Do not automatically retry with a new fingerprint: that would submit a decision the person did not review.