Standing document 02
Returned Recordings
What happens when a submission does not meet the accession standards — and what a witness can do about it.
01
A return, not a rejection
When a submission fails a standard, it is returned — never accessioned, never catalogued, never shown on any public surface. The recording itself stays the witness’s own; nothing is published, and nothing is kept by the archive.
02
Every return names its reason
A return always cites the specific standard it failed, in the steward’s own words, along with the steward’s name and the date of the decision. A witness is never left to guess why.
03
One appeal
A witness may appeal a return exactly once, to a different steward than the one who returned it. The appeal is either upheld — the return stands, final — or the submission is accessioned after all.
Rules
01
A return always cites a specific accession standard.
02
A return always names the deciding steward and the date.
03
A witness may file exactly one appeal per return.
04
An appeal is reviewed by a different steward than the original decision.
05
An appeal’s resolution is final — upheld or accessioned, with no further appeal.