fix(ci): track the paper count the published version actually declares (#1584)

* fix(ci): track the paper count the published version actually declares

check_catalog_count.py printed, on every invocation, that the SSOT's 83 disagreed
with a paper count of 84 and that an erratum to arXiv:2606.09686 was required. The
erratum in question is ERRATA_2026-06-14.md, and the v2 replacement carried it out.

Fetching the current entry shows both the title and the abstract were corrected:

  TITLE   : An 83-Format Numeric Catalog with Bit-Exact Conformance Vectors: ...
  ID      : http://arxiv.org/abs/2606.09686v2
  UPDATED : 2026-06-22T12:28:45Z
  abstract: "a catalog of 83 numeric formats spanning 13 families"

The constant tracked the withdrawn v1.

The existing comment warns against silently editing this to match the SSOT, and
that warning is right -- but this is not that edit. The constant tracks what the
PAPER declares, and the paper changed. Matching it to the SSOT would defeat the
gate; matching it to the current published title and abstract is what keeps the
gate doing its job. The comment now carries the fetch command, the version and the
date, so the next reader can re-check in one line rather than trusting this one.

The alarm is intact, verified by mutation in the spirit of wp18_selftest_gate.py:
with a divergent constant the gate still warns and still exits 3 under
--strict-paper. With the corrected value it reports SSOT == fresh regen == paper ==
83 and exits 0.

A gate that cries wolf every run is one nobody reads on the day the divergence is
real. This silences the false alarm without touching the alarm.

Closes #1583

* docs(now): record #1584 in the coordination anchor

now-sync-gate requires every PR to master to update docs/NOW.md.
This PR predates my knowing that; the entry describes what it
lands and states its honesty limits, in the file's existing shape.

---------

Co-authored-by: gHashTag <admin@t27.ai>

Author: gHashTag

docs/NOW.md

@@ -1,3 +1,24 @@
+# NOW — ci: track the paper count the published version actually declares (2026-08-01)
+
+Last updated: 2026-08-01
+
+## ci: track the paper count the published version actually declares (Closes #1583)
+
+- Branch: `fix/stale-paper-count`
+- Issue: #1583
+- PR: #1584
+
+### Что легло
+- `check_catalog_count.py` printed, on every run, that the SSOT's 83 disagreed with a paper count of 84 and an erratum was required. `ERRATA_2026-06-14.md` recorded that erratum and the v2 replacement carried it out.
+- Fetching the current entry shows both the title and the abstract were corrected: *An 83-Format Numeric Catalog…*, arXiv:2606.09686v2, updated 2026-06-22. The constant tracked the withdrawn v1.
+
+### Границы честности (BINDING)
+- This is not the edit the existing comment forbids. The constant tracks what the PAPER declares, and the paper changed; matching it to the SSOT would defeat the gate.
+- The comment now carries the fetch command, version and date so the next reader can re-check in one line.
+- Alarm intact, verified by mutation: with a divergent constant the gate still warns and still exits 3 under `--strict-paper`.
+
+---
+
 # NOW — witness: wide-rung decode refs resolve their pack inside the repository (2026-08-01)
 
 Last updated: 2026-08-01

tools/check_catalog_count.py

@@ -37,11 +37,29 @@
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 
-# The count claimed in arXiv:2606.09686 Table 1 abstract ("exactly 84").
-# This is the ASPIRATIONAL paper number. When SSOT diverges from it, an
-# erratum is required (see ERRATA_2026-06-14.md). Do NOT silently edit this
-# to match SSOT -- the whole point is to surface the divergence.
-PAPER_DECLARED_COUNT = 84
+# The count currently declared by the published paper.
+#
+# Do NOT silently edit this to match the SSOT -- the whole point is to surface a
+# divergence. Change it ONLY when the PAPER itself changes, and record the
+# evidence here so the next reader can re-check it in one command.
+#
+# 84 -> 83 on 2026-08-01. The v2 replacement corrected BOTH the title and the
+# abstract; v1's 84 is withdrawn. Verified by fetching the arXiv entry directly:
+#
+#   curl -sS "https://export.arxiv.org/api/query?id_list=2606.09686"
+#
+#   TITLE    : An 83-Format Numeric Catalog with Bit-Exact Conformance Vectors:
+#              A Vendor-Neutral Reference for FP8, BF16, MXFP4, and Microscaling
+#              Formats
+#   ID       : http://arxiv.org/abs/2606.09686v2
+#   UPDATED  : 2026-06-22T12:28:45Z
+#   abstract : "a catalog of 83 numeric formats spanning 13 families"
+#
+# Before this, the constant tracked the withdrawn v1 and the gate printed
+# "an erratum is required" on every run for work ERRATA_2026-06-14.md and the v2
+# replacement had already done. A gate that cries wolf every run is one nobody
+# reads on the day the divergence is real.
+PAPER_DECLARED_COUNT = 83
 PAPER_ID = "arXiv:2606.09686"
 
 CATALOG_LINE = re.compile(r"//\s*CATALOG:")