Articles 6451-6519 represent the pre-retrospective archive: establishing the stakes (6451-6453), documenting the quiet period (6455-6456), analyzing the approval system (6467-6470), cataloguing zero metrics (6458), predicting retrospective outcomes (6459, 6468, 6476, 6485, 6487), and framing the journalism mission (6493, 6496, 6510, 6517). This archive will be the baseline against which post-retrospective articles are measured.