Correct mistakes

Mistakes are expected. Anchorline is designed so correcting them does not require hiding what happened.

Instead of rewriting the past, you record what fixes it.

---

The core idea

You never undo history.

When something is wrong, you record a new action that brings the system back into the correct state. The original mistake remains visible, and the correction explains how it was handled.

This keeps the timeline honest and understandable.

---

Correcting mistakes in balanced logs

In a balanced log, mistakes usually affect quantities.

Common examples:

• Money added to the wrong anchor
• An incorrect amount recorded
• A transfer that should not have happened

To correct this, record a new event that offsets or adjusts the previous one. The balance updates based on the full sequence of events.

You do not delete or edit the original event.

---

Correcting mistakes in collection logs

In a collection log, mistakes usually affect items.

Common examples:

• An item created with incorrect attributes
• A status set incorrectly
• An item linked to the wrong thing

To correct this, record a new event that updates the item to the correct state. The earlier event remains part of the item's history.

---

Why this works

Recording corrections instead of overwrites preserves context.

You can see:

• What went wrong
• When it happened
• How it was fixed

This makes the system easier to trust and easier to reason about later.

---

A useful rule of thumb

If you are tempted to change the past, record the present instead.

Anchorline moves forward by design. Once you adopt that habit, correcting mistakes becomes straightforward and low stress.