Kernel stores more than one timestamp because one fact can happen, be observed, arrive, and be recorded at different moments. Collapsing those moments destroys useful operational and audit meaning.
Effective time describes the business; recorded time describes the system.
Common timestamp meanings
- Effective At — when the business fact became true.
- Recorded At — when Kernel recorded the fact.
- Observed At — when a provider or integration saw it.
- Received At — when the system received the message.
- Occurred At — when the external activity happened.
- Corrected At — when a prior value was formally corrected.
- Superseded At — when a record stopped being current.
A calendar fact that has no useful time-of-day—such as the date an agency relationship began—uses Effective On semantics instead.