01
CAPTURE
Get the idea out of your head
Submit the claim, problem, question, or prototype concept in the form it actually exists today. Polish is optional; specificity is useful.
C42RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
HOW FORGE WORKS
An unfinished idea is allowed to stay unfinished.
Forge is the front door for ideas that are not ready to be projects yet. Its job is to preserve the thought, make its uncertainty visible, and route it into a durable review path instead of letting it disappear inside a conversation.02
PRESERVE
Give it a durable identity
Accepted entries receive a confirmation reference and are stored through the same persistence layer used by the Director review system.
03
TRIAGE
Decide what kind of work it really is
Director review can distinguish a research question from a build, a signal worth watching, a challenge to an existing assumption, or an idea that should simply remain archived.
04
ROUTE
Move only when the next step is justified
Forge does not promise that every idea becomes a project. It makes sure promising ideas can reach Research, Lab, or Build without losing their original context.
WHAT LEAVES THIS NODE
Proof that the submission entered the durable system.
A traceable NEW → TRIAGED boundary instead of a vague “we saw it.”
A reasoned route into research, building, watching, or archive when appropriate.
IDEA FORGE
Nothing has to be finished when it gets here.
Bring unfinished ideas, challenges, questions, or prototype proposals into the C42 review pipeline.