docs: stage pre-beta 8 menace judgment

docs/governance/DECISIONS.md

@@ -393,3 +393,19 @@ handoff or branch history instead.
   changes what the evidence means by proving that cross-object pressure
   reappears above `scoreboard_claim` even after the scoreboard lane collapsed
   cleanly on the same families.
+
+## D-028: Menace judgment is the staged next lens after Beta 7.0
+
+- Date: `2026-05-22`
+- Category: `eval_quality`
+- Tags: `next_lens`, `menace`, `beta_staging`
+- Provenance: `human-led method decision with implementation decision`
+- Decision: After the active `Beta 7.0` broader prose surface stabilizes, the
+  staged next widening step is menace judgment rather than more prose replay on
+  the same tested family shape.
+- Why: `Beta 7.0` already showed the structural contrast clearly:
+  cross-object reopens at `9 / 6` while same-pick stays collapsed at `15 / 0`.
+  The next honest question is no longer only whether the round body is
+  coherent. It is whether the full visible round lands as the right kind of
+  compact rigged-round menace without drifting into smugness, cruelty, or
+  generic filler.

docs/governance/SESSION_HANDOFF.md

@@ -228,6 +228,10 @@ Worktree note:
    - not mean
    - not smug
    - not condescending
+9. Treat the first staged family as:
+   - `cross-object coherence drift`
+10. Use the staged note as the next contract surface:
+   - `docs/research/PRE_BETA_8_MENACE_JUDGMENT.md`
 
 ## Guardrails
 

docs/research/PRE_BETA_8_MENACE_JUDGMENT.md

@@ -0,0 +1,158 @@
+<!-- @format -->
+
+# Pre-Beta 8.0: Menace Judgment
+
+## What This Pre-Beta Asks
+
+Once broader prose has stabilized as the next live weak surface, can Scorey
+open a tighter judgment lane for the quality of its menace rather than only the
+coherence of its prose?
+
+## Status
+
+Staged, not active.
+
+`Research Beta 8.0` has not started yet. This note exists because the lower
+gates are now stable enough to support a wider judgment question without
+operator drift:
+
+- pulse closeout is stable
+- scoreboard closeout is stable
+- prose closeout is stable
+- `Beta 7.0` has already shown the active weak family clearly:
+  - cross-object prose: `9 / 6`, then `9 / 6`
+  - same-pick prose: `15 / 0`
+
+So the next widening step no longer needs to ask only whether the round body is
+coherent. It can ask whether Scorey is landing the right kind of tiny unfair
+presence.
+
+## Eval Shape
+
+`pre-Beta 8.0` would keep the bounded isolated run shape from `Beta 7.0`, but
+change the judged question again:
+
+- keep route validity as the floor
+- keep bounded isolated runs
+- keep the live pair-cycle sampler
+- keep the score line visible
+- keep the broader round body visible
+- judge the quality of the round's menace as a row-level lens on the full
+  visible round
+
+First staged source family:
+
+- `cross-object coherence drift`
+
+Why this family first:
+
+- it is still the only durable weak family above the lower lanes
+- it already reopens under broader prose while same-pick stays collapsed
+- it is the sharpest place to test whether menace quality is the real next seam
+  instead of another structural coherence problem
+
+First staged menace question:
+
+- does the visible round land as compact rigged-round menace without drifting
+  into smugness, cruelty, or filler?
+
+Proposed row verdict:
+
+- `pass`
+- `fail`
+
+Proposed pass rules:
+
+- the round feels unfair in a compact deliberate way
+- the menace is playful, not mean
+- the voice is confident without sounding smug or superior
+- the pressure stays pick-specific and round-specific
+- the round does not bloat into explanation, lecturing, or generic aggression
+
+Proposed fail shape:
+
+- smug or superiority-performing voice
+- condescending or lecturey phrasing
+- generic aggression or insult without rigged-round character
+- prose too padded to feel like a tiny menace
+- structural drift severe enough that menace quality cannot be judged honestly
+
+Packaging decision:
+
+- keep the bounded run shape for sourcing rows
+- keep the verdict row-level on the first menace pass
+- do not widen yet into a vague full-vibe lane
+
+## Diagram
+
+```mermaid
+flowchart TD
+  A["Bounded isolated run<br/>route floor already held"]
+  B["Menace lens<br/>judge full visible round"]
+  C{"Per-row verdict"}
+  D["Pass<br/>compact unfair little menace"]
+  E["Fail<br/>smug cruel filler or drift"]
+  F["Bounded menace read"]
+  G["Keep the lane narrow"]
+  H["Decide whether Beta 8.0 starts"]
+
+  A --> B --> C
+  C --> D --> F
+  C --> E --> F
+  F --> G --> H
+```
+
+Reading note:
+
+- this lane is wider than prose coherence
+- it is still narrower than a loose whole-app personality judgment
+- it judges the quality of the visible menace, not general likability
+- it keeps the bounded source discipline that the newer gates already proved
+
+## What This Would Change
+
+If this lane starts, the repo would move from asking:
+
+- does the broader round body still hold its rigged logic?
+
+to asking:
+
+- does the broader round body feel like the right kind of Scorey menace?
+
+That is a different evidence question.
+
+`Beta 7.0` already showed that the cross-object seam is structurally stable at
+`9 / 6`. `pre-Beta 8.0` would treat that as the entry point for a narrower
+voice-quality judgment above prose coherence.
+
+## Why It Matters
+
+This is the first staged lane that directly matches the object people are
+actually responding to:
+
+- not just prose validity
+- not just scoreboard pressure
+- but the tiny unfair charm of Scorey itself
+
+If the repo can judge that cleanly, it will have a much sharper way to refine
+Scorey's voice without accidentally training toward cruelty, smugness, or
+generic hostility.
+
+## What It Still Needs
+
+- a locked row-level menace contract
+- a decision entry that makes menace judgment the staged next lane after
+  `Beta 7.0`
+- the exact bounded source plan for the first run
+- confirmation that the judged object is the full visible round, not just one
+  fragment inside it
+
+## What Would Promote It
+
+`Research Beta 8.0` should start only when:
+
+- the menace contract is locked
+- the first bounded menace run closes cleanly
+- the runtime returns to `0` pending after that run
+- the resulting evidence shows something meaningfully different from the closed
+  `Beta 7.0` prose surface

docs/research/README.md

@@ -75,6 +75,13 @@ Current active beta note:
   - `20367-20381`: `15` pass / `0` fail
   - `20382-20396`: `9` pass / `6` fail
 
+Current staged next lane:
+
+- `pre-Beta 8.0`
+- [Menace Judgment](./PRE_BETA_8_MENACE_JUDGMENT.md)
+- first staged family:
+  - `cross-object coherence drift`
+
 Most recently closed beta:
 
 - `Research Beta 6.0`
@@ -89,6 +96,7 @@ Read in order:
 5. [Research Beta 5.0: Fail-Pressure Pulse](./BETA_5_FAIL_PRESSURE_PULSE.md)
 6. [Research Beta 6.0: Scoreboard Judgment](./BETA_6_SCOREBOARD_JUDGMENT.md)
 7. [Research Beta 7.0: Broader Prose Judgment](./BETA_7_BROADER_PROSE_JUDGMENT.md)
+8. [Pre-Beta 8.0: Menace Judgment](./PRE_BETA_8_MENACE_JUDGMENT.md)
 
 ## How To Read The Betas And Stages
 
@@ -152,7 +160,7 @@ Parked lanes:
   - after the stale queue archive, use fresh runs rather than old backlog traversal for the next tone evidence
 - later eval lenses:
   - broader prose judgment is now the active widening step
-  - `pre-Beta 8.0` menace judgment is the next staged lane to define
+  - `pre-Beta 8.0` menace judgment is the next staged lane
 - research visuals:
   - keep the beta map and per-beta notes in tracked docs
   - only add heavier cross-beta visuals if the method story actually needs them