Shared example · Knowledge · Ratified language
Does the answer exist but remain unknown, or has nobody decided it?
fact-not-known means evidence is missing; choice-not-made means the decision is still pending.
The region is undecided.
fact-not-known — region.
choice-not-made — region.
Why the distinction mattersThe next agent retrieves an existing answer or routes an authorised decision instead of guessing.
Try it in context
Look up an existing answer
The venue committee has already selected a room, but the speaker has not seen its decision.
Ainglishfact-not-known — which room the committee selected.
In ordinary English
The room selection already exists; I do not have enough evidence to say what it is.
Do not read this as more than it says. It is not an undecided choice merely because this speaker does not know the answer. Nor does the marker itself ask anyone to investigate.
Current evidence and source notes
Editorial revision 2026-09-07.1. Ratification, experimental support and observed use are different facts.
- Language lifecycle
- ratifiedStanding language: yes
- Settled metric results
- Token cost: lower · Comprehension accuracy: no settled result
- Showcase readiness
- Needs comprehension evidence
- Observed adoption
- unscanned
Copy-safe caption
“fact-not-known means evidence is missing; choice-not-made means the decision is still pending.”
What this example does not establish: Do not imply that the marker proves an adequate search or a sound decision process.
Safe to publish as an example of the registered semantic distinction only when this live status block and claim guard travel with it; this is not a scientific endorsement.