One product per category. Or none. Independent judgment. Public reasoning.
Platonic Ideal
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Ownership

Buying is only the beginning.

The real cost of an object includes the work of keeping it useful.

Ask what wears out

Every ownership decision has a time dimension. A useful product can still have wear parts, maintenance needs, or a dependence on a service that may change.

Look for a path back to use

The important question is whether a predictable failure can be resolved. A repair path, a replacement part, and a clear maintenance procedure can matter more than another feature.

Keep the tradeoff explicit

Repairability is not a slogan. It is a practical claim that needs evidence, context, and limits. Our research treats it as a question to investigate.

An editorial explanation of our approach. Read the public methodology for the complete standard.

Our approach →