Auto-archive rules must be announced before items vanish

What it is

A product can move content from active to archive by rule: N days unopened, project ended, contract past its valid date. Advance notice means the rule is visible before it fires—on the object, in settings, in a notice before the date—so people do not open the main list one day and find the thing gone. After archive they should still be able to retrieve; notice answers why it is not in the old place. Cleanup (true delete) is a later step and must not be mixed into a silent move.

Why it happens

People remember objects by place. An automatic move breaks place memory with no human act as a cue; the only remedies are an expectation beforehand and a reason afterward. With no notice, the model is “deleted” or “sync lost,” and people recreate, duplicating. Notice has two beats: the rule itself (“unopened for 90 days will archive”) and the near event (“this archives in 7 days”). A rule that lives only in a help center still empties the list without warning. An event with no rule gives no way to plan which objects to pin. If the notice is sent to a mailbox the person no longer reads, it is no notice; an on-object mark has to carry it.

Studying it

Turn on “archive after N days unopened” (compressed clock in the lab). Compare: no copy, rule only on a settings page, rule beside the object plus a notice before expiry.

Independent variables: where the rule is visible, countdown or preview, whether the main list keeps a trace entry to recent auto-archives. Dependent variables: wrong explanations after the list empties (deleted / broken), duplicate recreations, successful retrieval from archive.

A compressed clock is not a real 90 days, but it measures expectation. Do not write “will be deleted” in the notice if the act is archive—that measures lying copy. Whether a saved pin is exempt should be stated in the rule, measured separately.

Where it stops holding

A user-initiated archive needs no preview; the act is the notice. Objects that law requires off the active surface can have a short window, not a zero window. Auto-archive of a shared object should notify everyone who still treats it as active, not only the last editor. People who silenced notifications should still see an about-to-archive mark when they open the product.

Applying it

• Write the auto-archive rule in settings and on the object; show remaining time on items near expiry.
• Send one notice that does not block work; after archive, the main list can offer “recent automatic archives.”
• Pins, items marked active, or unprocessed saves: the rule says whether they are exempt.
• Verify: under a compressed rule, ask whether this item will still be on the main list in a week. Wrong answers, or answers only after opening help, mean notice failed. After the archive, people should be able to name the reason and find it in the archive, not create a second copy.

Related

• Within the group: H8.14.1 Lifecycle stages from create to archive need explicit names · H8.14.2 Archive is retrievable recovery, not deletion · H8.14.4 Inactive cleanup balances storage cost against later retrieval
• Adjacent: H8.13 Content Search and Location · H8.06 Version History · H3.08 Soft Delete and Trash
• Search terms: auto-archive · inactivity policy · archive notice