Source Update Date

Source Update Date is the practice of recording when a referenced page, dataset, documentation page, policy note, or public help article was last checked, and whether the checked version still supports the claim being made.

A source trail is weak when it only stores a link. Links move, pages rewrite paragraphs without changing URLs, product documentation changes examples, and policy pages often replace old wording with new wording. A reader may open the same URL two months later and see a page that no longer says what the original note claimed. The update date gives the trail a time boundary.

The minimum record is simple: source title, URL, publisher or owner, date checked, visible update date if one exists, the exact claim supported, and what changed since the previous check. The goal is not to archive the whole web page. The goal is to make later correction possible without guessing.

The most useful interpretation is claim-level checking. A long document may change many sections while the cited claim remains stable. Another page may keep its headline while quietly changing the paragraph that matters. The update date should therefore connect to the claim, not only to the page.

There are limits. A source update date is not a legal preservation record and does not replace screenshots, archive services, or official document retention when those are required. It is a working research note for public summaries, product comparisons, help articles, and citable explanations.

A good source trail says: checked on this date, for this claim, against this page state. That small structure makes future corrections less defensive. If the page changes later, the note can say what was true when checked and what needs revision now.

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