SΔϕ-30 — Diagnosing Closed Defaults: Minimal Tests for Editable Governance after SΔϕ-29 (v1.0)

This paper extends SΔϕ-29 by distinguishing between formally declared editability and operationally real editability. The central claim is that many systems present themselves as revisable, participatory, or open while functioning in practice as closed-default regimes. To diagnose this gap, the paper proposes four minimal tests for editable governance: Revision Reality Test, Rollback Reality Test, Exception Re-entry Test, and Authority Distribution Test. Revision Reality Test asks whether revision is actually exercised rather than merely declared. Rollback Reality Test asks whether reversal remains timely before restoration cost explodes. Exception Re-entry Test asks whether anomalies can materially alter the dominant path rather than merely be recorded outside it. Authority Distribution Test asks whether multiple actors can actually modify the default path rather than merely advise around it. This paper argues that editability must be diagnosed operationally rather than assumed normatively. In this sense, SΔϕ-30 shifts the Sofience–Δϕ Formalism from minimal governance conditions toward minimal governance diagnostics. This document belongs to the SΔϕ (Sofience–Δϕ Formalism) series. Series references - SΔϕ-29 — Editable Default: Minimal Conditions for Distributed Authority, Rollback, and Exception Re-entry after SΔϕ-28 (v1.0) - SΔϕ-28 — Default Power as Low-Cost Path Assignment: Minimal Conditions for Invisible Fixation after SΔϕ-27 (v1.0) - SΔϕ-27 — Low-Cost Convergence and Restoration Cost Explosion: Exception Compression as a Minimal Fixation Mechanism (v1.0) Keywords Sofience–Δϕ; closed default; editable governance; governance diagnostics; revision reality; rollback window; exception re-entry; distributed authority; AI governance; operational editability