Our Three Determinations
EVERY FILE RECEIVES ONE OF THESE.
RESOLVED
The matter is closed. Something in the file — the elapsed time, the context, the framing, the simple act of writing it down and having someone read it — resolves the open question. Not always by answering it. Sometimes by changing what the question was.
71% of files receive this determination. We don't predict which ones. The ones that do tend to surprise the people who submitted them.
UNRESOLVABLE
Some things can't be resolved. The other party can't be reached. The information needed doesn't exist. The question is unanswerable by its nature. This is also an answer. An Unresolvable determination formally closes the file on the grounds that no resolution is possible — and that expecting one was the source of the problem.
28% of files. This determination is often the harder one to receive. It is also, frequently, the more useful one.
PENDING FURTHER EVIDENCE
Rare. We issue this when something specific is missing that, if found, would genuinely change the determination. We tell you what to look for. If you find it and resubmit, we re-review. We do not issue this determination to avoid making a harder call. We issue it when we mean it.
1% of files. We've issued this determination 12 times. 7 of those files were subsequently resubmitted with new evidence. 5 resolved. 2 became Unresolvable.