Unpublishing and archiving solve different problems. Unpublish when the current revision must stop governing. Archive when the Standard itself is no longer part of the active working set.
Unpublish
Remove the active revision from force.
- Stops authoritative retrieval
- Keeps the Standard available for continued work
- Preserves all revisions
- Useful while preparing a replacement
Archive
Move the Standard out of active work.
- Use when the subject is retired
- Keeps the historical record
- Stays in the library under Archived, marked retired
- Terminal — there is no un-archive
Unpublish first when the rule is unsafe
If an active rule is wrong or should no longer be followed, unpublish it rather than waiting for a perfect replacement. Internal answers should not keep treating known-bad material as authoritative.
Archive retired subjects
Archive when the process, product, or responsibility has ended and the Standard should no longer appear among current work. Add context to the final revision or description when readers may later need to understand why it ended.
Preserve the record
Neither action should erase revision history. Historical accountability depends on being able to see what was active and when.
Link replacements explicitly
If a new Standard supersedes the old one, make that relationship clear before archiving. Readers following an old reference should be able to find the current rule without guessing.