Legibility Collapse: When Systems Continue Operating but Stop Reporting Reality

Legibility Collapse defines the structural moment when a platform’s visibility layer stops updating while the operational layer continues functioning, creating the illusion of inactivity despite ongoing engagement. Using the SR diagnostic framework, the essay maps how indexing stalls, semantic reclassification, dominant‑cluster overload, and infrastructural drift cause the representational interface to detach from system reality. It argues that Legibility Collapse is not a behavioral anomaly but a failure of interpretation—evidence that platforms break first at the level of visibility, not operation.