D301 - A reach verdict never orders a missing fault

Status: decided Date: 2026-09-26

Comparing two runs, a run that did not fault is not ordered against one that did; the count of distinct imports reached decides alone. A run that ended without a fault is flagged in the verdict (Progress::ended_without_a_fault) as having stopped measuring progress.

Why: a missing fault is the absence of a position, and ordering it reports a run that stopped faulting as BACK and one that started faulting as FURTHER. Once no wall remains, reach saturates: two answers that both clear the last wall are indistinguishable to it, and only a conformance check can separate them.

Rejected:

• Treating no fault as further or behind: a fabricated ordering on the word the loop steers by.
• Reporting FURTHER from a saturated run without comment: reads as confirmation.