A.16.2:21 - Comparative Retreat Rule

A.16.2:21.1 - Retreat kinds are not interchangeable

reopen, sketchBackoff, respecify, and retire solve different problems. Comparing them as if they all meant “we stepped back” erases the particular closure, framing, route, endpoint-use, publication, or current-use change each one makes.

A.16.2:21.2 - Honest recovery over softening prose

Authors in a context may prefer softening language such as “refined further” or “adjusted slightly” even when a real retreat or retirement occurred. A.16.2 rejects that habit. If closure dropped, framing was withdrawn, route selection or endpoint use changed, or a branch was retired, name the move directly.

A.16.2:21.3 - Boundary to silent editing

If a publication is simply rewritten and no continuity account is preserved, that is editing, not A.16.2. Retreat is a reviewable move only when the earlier high-closure form or the form that had passed a named endpoint test remains part of the visible history.