Source suggestions — traffic light, status and classification

Traffic light

Level	Meaning	Visible
Green	Second opinion confirms, at least two independent websites back the suggestion	yes
Yellow	Second opinion confirms with one piece of evidence — or second opinion open with at least one piece of evidence	yes
Red	Rejected or without evidence	no

Independent means: different websites. Two subpages of the same address count as one piece of evidence.

Red candidates appear neither in the list nor in the email. A suggestion without evidence is a claim, not a recommendation.

Status

Status	How it arises	Comes back
open	The suggestion is waiting for your decision	—
added	You clicked Add source	no
hidden	You clicked Hide	yes, in a later round
rejected	You clicked Reject	never

The difference between hidden and rejected is the heart of the interaction: hiding is “I do not know right now”, rejecting is “never again”. A rejected address goes into a permanent memory that the research excludes on its next run.

Classification

Every suggestion carries a classification of why the source might be relevant for you:

Classification	Meaning
Direct competitor	Offers the same to the same audience
Adjacent competitor	Adjacent field, overlapping audience
Substitute	Solves the same problem a different way
Media outlet	Trade medium reporting on your market
Association	Industry association or interest group
Regulator	Sets the rules of your market
Thought leader	Individual with reach in the market

Quantities and rhythm

Quantity	Value
Green suggestions per run	at most 10
Yellow suggestions per run	at most 5
Open suggestions at which the search pauses	10
Suggestions per email	at most 5
Validity of the one-click links	7 days
Email rhythm	weekday mornings

The cycle after onboarding stretches: first after about a week, then after three, then after seven weeks, then roughly monthly.

Where the source suggestions come from Research, second opinion and evidence.