Reconcile or retire legacy `main` branch (388 behind / 145 ahead of `master`)

[ahmetabdullahgultekin]

Context

master is the repository's default and canonical branch (flipped 2026-05-27); all current work, including the graduation-thesis deliverables (PRs #225/#226/#227), lands on master. main is a legacy divergent line that has been intentionally deferred across sessions because reconciling it is a potentially destructive decision that needs review to avoid code loss.

Current state (as of 2026-06-14)

• origin/main is 388 commits behind and 145 commits ahead of origin/master.
• The 145 main-only commits span 2026-04-18 → 2026-06-01.
• Top changed areas: verify-widget (41), archive (19), scripts (16), landing-website (14), bys-demo (8), .claude (6), auth-test (5), .github (2), plus a long run of spoof-detector submodule bumps.
• Several look superseded by later master work (e.g. chore(merge): reconcile master into main (2026-05-11), branch-protection chores, spoof-detector bumps master also carries), but this is unverified.

Why this is open, not auto-fixed

Merging 145 unique commits in either direction risks dropping in-flight unique work. The 145 main-only commits must be triaged first (superseded vs genuinely unique) before any merge/rebase/abandon.

Decision needed

1. Retire main — accept master as the single line; capture a safety/main-archive-2026-06-14 tag, then abandon main. (Lowest effort; recommended if the 145 commits are all superseded.)
2. Reconcile — review the 145 main-only commits, cherry-pick/merge genuinely-unique work into master, then fast-forward main to master.

Acceptance criteria

• Triage the 145 main-only commits into superseded vs genuinely-unique
• Capture a safety tag/branch before any history operation
• Either retire main (with archive tag) or merge unique work into master + sync main
• Confirm no protected-branch / CI references still point at main

Not blocking

The thesis is fully on master and current; this does not block submission. Tracking for later cleanup.