Records Service · Est. in practice
Closed File.
You have an open file. It may have been open for days, years, or decades. It may concern a matter of significance or a matter of none. We do not distinguish between the two.
We review the file. We issue a determination. The matter is formally closed.
Submit a File →What We Do
We close files. That is our entire scope. You have a matter that has been open — a question unanswered, a conversation unfinished, a thing that trailed off without resolution. The matter may be unresolvable. That is not our concern.
We confirm that a file exists, that it has been open, and that it is now eligible for closure. We issue a Determination of Closure. The file is moved from open to closed. The contents remain as they were. Nothing is added. Nothing is resolved. The status changes.
Only the status.
What Closure Is Not
Not resolution.
The matter may remain unresolved. Most matters do. Closure and resolution are frequently confused. They are not the same. Resolution requires an answer. Closure requires a stamp.
Not acceptance.
You are not required to accept the outcome in order for the file to be closed. Your feelings about the matter are not part of the file. If you would like your feelings documented, we recommend the Official Registry of Grudges.
Not forgetting.
The file is not destroyed. It is moved. It still exists, in the closed cabinet. You may think of the closed cabinet as a place where things go to stop being your problem. This is not our official characterization, but we do not dispute it.
Not forgiveness.
We are a filing service. We do not forgive. We do not withhold forgiveness. Forgiveness is outside our scope. Our scope is the file. The file is closed.
From the Archive
Selected closed files. Published with permission implied by the act of submission.
CF-0001
The conversation after the wedding.
Opened: June 2007 · Closed: January 2024 · The matter is formally closed. No response was received, and none is now expected.
CF-0419
The letter that was never sent.
Opened: 1998 · Closed: 2025 · The matter is formally closed. The letter still exists. It will not be sent. The letter is in the file.
CF-0781
The PhD.
Opened: September 2009 · Closed: June 2025 · The matter is formally closed. The dissertation remains at 62 pages. It will remain at 62 pages. The committee has not been notified. Notification is outside our scope.
The file is open. It does not have to stay that way.
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