{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.question-mark","code":"thing-q11169","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q11169/","name":"question mark","alternateNames":["⸮","; (U+037E)","՞","܉"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A punctuation grapheme that marks interrogative illocution (and, by extension, uncertainty or a missing value) in writing and encoded media, whose canonical Latin-script form is Unicode U+003F QUESTION MARK, inherited from ASCII 0x3F and historically the medieval punctus interrogativus.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise a question mark, assess whether its form and use fit its context, and decide whether to preserve, insert, replace, explain or flag it.","scope":{"in":["Identification of a question-mark sign independently of its font or visual styling","Individual occurrences and their attachment to surrounding text or interface elements","Interrogative, uncertainty-signalling, literal and formally assigned uses","Encoded, drawn and rendered representations and their correspondence","Context-sensitive validation and permitted transformations"],"out":["The content, answerability and resolution of a question","Complete grammar and punctuation systems of individual languages","Whole typefaces, font production and general text layout","Programming languages, query languages and URI syntax beyond the role assigned to a question-mark occurrence","Complete help controls, status indicators or other interface components containing the sign"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Distinguish the sign from a question: a question-mark occurrence can be recorded even when no interrogative content is present.","Distinguish identity from resemblance: a curved stroke and dot are visual evidence, while the encoded character, source or declared convention may support a different identity.","Distinguish a literal question mark from a symbol with a formally assigned role by checking the enclosing notation and whether its interpreter gives it operational meaning.","Distinguish a question mark used to signal uncertainty from an interface control by recording whether the sign itself is merely displayed or belongs to an actionable component.","Distinguish a standalone sign from a sequence or composite by checking character boundaries, visual grouping and the governing convention before splitting it."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"sign-identity","name":"Sign identity","description":"Establish what counts as this sign and what evidence identifies an occurrence.","layers":[{"id":"family-boundary","name":"Family boundary","description":"Separate the registered sign from candidate variants and neighbouring punctuation.","findings":[{"id":"variant-membership","name":"Variant membership","description":"Record whether an observed form belongs to this entry, with unresolved membership retained explicitly.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence establishes that this form belongs to the registered question mark rather than a neighbouring sign?","id":"variant-membership-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which visual or encoded differences are treated as variants by the convention governing this occurrence?","id":"variant-membership-q02","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"occurrence-evidence","name":"Occurrence evidence","description":"Identify the particular sign present in a source.","findings":[{"id":"identity-support","name":"Identity support","description":"Keep the source representation and the evidence used to identify it, including disagreements between appearance and encoding.","questions":[{"text":"Was this occurrence identified from encoded text, an image, handwriting or a source description?","id":"identity-support-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Do its visible form and recorded encoding support the same identity, and what remains unresolved if they disagree?","id":"identity-support-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"interrogative-attachment","name":"Interrogative attachment","description":"Record when and how an occurrence functions as punctuation for interrogative content.","layers":[{"id":"question-scope","name":"Question scope","description":"Determine the span to which interrogative punctuation applies.","findings":[{"id":"punctuated-span","name":"Punctuated span","description":"Associate an interrogative occurrence with its relevant clause, sentence, fragment or quoted span.","questions":[{"text":"Which exact span does this question mark punctuate?","id":"punctuated-span-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Does the sign belong to quoted material, enclosing text or another explicitly identified span?","id":"punctuated-span-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"placement-convention","name":"Placement convention","description":"Assess position and punctuation relationships using the applicable writing convention.","findings":[{"id":"placement-assessment","name":"Placement assessment","description":"Record the rule used to judge position, spacing and relationships to nearby punctuation without assuming one universal convention.","questions":[{"text":"Which language and editorial convention govern this question mark's position and spacing?","id":"placement-assessment-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Under that convention, should this occurrence be preserved, moved, supplemented or removed?","id":"placement-assessment-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"non-interrogative-roles","name":"Non-interrogative roles","description":"Distinguish uncertainty, literal display and formally assigned meanings from interrogative punctuation.","layers":[{"id":"annotation-and-display","name":"Annotation and display","description":"Identify occurrences used as annotations, examples of the sign or interface symbols.","findings":[{"id":"displayed-role","name":"Displayed role","description":"Record an evidenced non-interrogative role and the target or component supplying its context.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence shows that this occurrence signals uncertainty, names the sign itself or serves an interface role?","id":"displayed-role-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which assertion, value or interface component supplies the meaning that the sign alone cannot establish?","id":"displayed-role-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"formal-interpretation","name":"Formal interpretation","description":"Identify whether a surrounding formal system interprets the occurrence.","findings":[{"id":"notation-assigned-role","name":"Notation-assigned role","description":"Link an operational meaning to the specific notation and parsing context that assign it.","questions":[{"text":"Which formal notation and version, if applicable, assign a role to this question mark in this position?","id":"notation-assigned-role-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What validation is needed before changing it to establish whether parsing or behaviour would change?","id":"notation-assigned-role-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"representation-and-legibility","name":"Representation and legibility","description":"Assess whether the recorded and presented forms preserve the intended sign.","layers":[{"id":"source-fidelity","name":"Source fidelity","description":"Compare the current occurrence with its source across recognition and conversion steps.","findings":[{"id":"transcription-integrity","name":"Transcription integrity","description":"Track whether the question mark was present in the source or appeared during transcription, conversion or substitution.","questions":[{"text":"Can this occurrence be verified against the original source as an intentional question mark?","id":"transcription-integrity-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which recorded transformation first introduced a discrepancy between the source sign and the current representation?","id":"transcription-integrity-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"perceptible-form","name":"Perceptible form","description":"Assess recognition in the actual presentation context, including relevant nonvisual output.","findings":[{"id":"recognition-in-presentation","name":"Recognition in presentation","description":"Record whether intended readers can distinguish the sign and recover its contextual role from the presented output.","questions":[{"text":"At the intended display or print size, is this question mark distinguishable from nearby marks and plausible lookalikes?","id":"recognition-in-presentation-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Where nonvisual access is required, does the tested output convey the sign's relevant role or require an accompanying label?","id":"recognition-in-presentation-q02","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"controlled-question-mark-edits","name":"Controlled question-mark edits","description":"Determine when an occurrence may be changed and what must be checked afterward.","layers":[{"id":"edit-justification","name":"Edit justification","description":"Connect proposed insertion, deletion or replacement to a specific contextual need.","findings":[{"id":"permitted-transformation","name":"Permitted transformation","description":"Record the intended change, its authority and the interpretation it is expected to preserve or alter.","questions":[{"text":"Is the proposed change correcting representation, changing punctuation or deliberately changing the meaning supplied by this question mark?","id":"permitted-transformation-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Do the source-preservation and editing constraints permit that specific change?","id":"permitted-transformation-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"edit-verification","name":"Edit verification","description":"Check the consequences of a question-mark transformation in its surrounding context.","findings":[{"id":"context-preservation-check","name":"Context preservation check","description":"Verify the resulting attachment, presentation and interpretation against the stated purpose of the edit.","questions":[{"text":"After the edit, does the surrounding passage or expression retain the intended interrogative, uncertainty-signalling or formal meaning?","id":"context-preservation-check-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"What comparison, rendering inspection or notation-specific validation demonstrates that the change achieved its intended result?","id":"context-preservation-check-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of question mark this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Use, encode and render the question mark correctly in text.","Explain its use and history across scripts."],"mustNot":["Confuse it with look-alike characters in identifiers in a way that can deceive.","Replace characters that fail to encode with question marks silently, corrupting data.","Treat a question mark in data as a confirmed value."],"requiresHuman":["Changing encoding of stored records in bulk."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Silent encoding errors corrupt names and records.","Missing-value markers can be mistaken for data."],"affectedParties":["Writers and readers","People whose names are corrupted"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; the Unicode consortium maintains its encoding.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Unicode character database"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q10617810","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q2001982","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.question-mark","Wikidata: Q11169 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11169)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Sign identity: Identified question mark; candidate variant; lookalike; unresolved","Recorded representation: Encoded text; vector outline; raster image; handwriting; mixed representation","Language or notation context: Reference to the applicable language, writing convention, formal notation or interface convention; unknown","Contextual function: Interrogative punctuation; uncertainty annotation; literal mention; formal syntax; interface symbol; other evidenced function; unresolved","Attachment: Reference to the affected text span, token, annotation target or interface component; unattached; unresolved","Sequence position: Start offset and length with the indexing unit declared; unavailable for unsegmented visual sources","Contextual validity: Unchecked; supported by the governing convention; disputed; inconsistent with the governing convention","Representation integrity: Verified against source; suspected recognition error; suspected substitution; illegible; unresolved","Editing constraint: Source-preserving only; editorial changes permitted; changes require syntax validation; changes require review; unspecified"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["The ordinary upright form has a curved upper stroke above a separate dot.","Its curved upper stroke distinguishes it from the straight stroke of an exclamation mark.","Its lower dot distinguishes it from a standalone hook-shaped mark."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Locate and classify an occurrence while retaining its original representation.","Associate the sign with the text, token or component whose interpretation it affects.","Check its placement and function against an identified language or notation convention.","Insert, remove or replace it when editing authority and contextual rules support the change.","Explain its evidenced role or flag ambiguity for review.","Compare source and output representations to detect recognition errors or unintended substitutions."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Omission or substitution can obscure whether a sentence requests information or makes a statement.","Confusing an uncertainty marker with verified information can corrupt records or downstream decisions.","Treating the symbol as ordinary text when it has a syntactic role can change how a query or address is interpreted."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["ISO/IEC 10646, issued jointly by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, encodes the ordinary question mark as U+003F.","RFC 3986, issued by the Internet Engineering Task Force, assigns the question mark a delimiter role in uniform resource identifier syntax."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["A question mark appears in written language to mark questions according to the conventions of the language.","It also indicates uncertainty or unknown values in informal notation and serves specialized roles in computer syntax."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Question mark","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_mark","note":"Definition, history (punctus interrogativus), script variants, Unicode inventory, computing/URI/regex/wildcard uses, chess and medical notation, neighbours (glottal stop, replacement character, Greek semicolon)."},{"title":"Upside-down question and exclamation marks","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upside-down_question_and_exclamation_marks","note":"Spanish paired ¿…? rule from the Real Academia Española (1754), encodings U+00BF/U+00A1, nested ¿¡…!? practice."},{"title":"Wildcard character","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcard_character","note":"Question mark as a single-character glob in Unix, MS-DOS and Access, contrasted with * / % / _."},{"title":"Requirements for Chinese Text Layout - 中文排版需求","url":"https://www.w3.org/TR/clreq/","note":"Fullwidth ？ (U+FF1F) as 問號/问号; sequential ??? compressed to two ems; ⁇ (U+2047) taking one em."},{"title":"General Punctuation","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Punctuation","note":"Related punctuation block: interrobang, double question mark, question-exclamation combinations, emoji presentation of U+2049."},{"title":"U+003F QUESTION MARK","url":"https://unicodeplus.com/U+003F","note":"Code point properties: Basic Latin, general category Other Punctuation, UTF-8 0x3F, HTML ?, URL %3F, East Asian Width narrow, not mirrored."},{"title":"Wikidata item Q11169: question mark","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11169","note":"identity and sense of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does this registry entry own only the ordinary question-mark sign, or also inverted, script-specific and other conventional variants?","Which repeated or combined question-mark forms should be represented as sequences of occurrences, and which belong to separate registered signs?","Which authoritative language and editorial references should support placement and spacing judgements in the first supported contexts?","Where should ownership divide between this sign model and neighbouring models for uncertainty annotations and question-mark interface symbols?","What evidence threshold should establish intentional use when only a rendered image or potentially lossy transcription survives?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q11169/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q11169/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T10:09:53Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:25+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 6 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}