Hayat-e-Nau — Author Canonicalisation & Attribution Audit

Document Version: 1.0
Source Dataset: 161 WordPress Posts (uagb_author_info metadata field)
Total Raw Author Variations Identified: 53
Canonicalized Distinct Scholar Records: 23

1. Author Canonicalisation Policy

To preserve historical accuracy while eliminating typographical artifacts, author names undergo a three-tiered classification:

Tier 1: Confirmed Same Person (Auto-Merged): Clear typographical errors, honorific variations, institutional titles in parentheses, or whitespace encoding artifacts representing the exact same individual with verified historical context.
Tier 2: Probably Same Person (Flagged for Editorial Confirmation): Names sharing lineage or common kunya where two distinct authors could conceivably exist. Maintained as separate entities unless verified by an editorial board member.
Tier 3: Cannot Determine / Distinct Individuals (Kept Strict & Separate): Shared surnames or tribal affiliations (e.g. Falahi, Subhani, Islahi) referring to clearly distinct scholars, faculty members, or contributors.

2. Tier 1: Confirmed Same Person (Merged & Canonicalized)

Raw WordPress String	Canonical Astro Record	Slugs / IDs	Rationale & Evidence
`خبیب کاظمی (ایڈیٹر)`	خبیب کاظمی	`khubaib-kazmi`	Parenthetical title `(ایڈیٹر)` indicates role as Editor-in-Chief. Merged with standard author identity.
`ڈاکٹر رضوان الحق فلاحی (گورکھپور)`	ڈاکٹر رضوان الحق فلاحی	`rizwan-ul-haq-falahi`	Parenthetical `(گورکھپور)` denotes geographic affiliation (Gorakhpur University). Same author.
`سروری فلاحی (معلمہ جامعۃ الفلاح نسواں)`	سروری فلاحی	`sarwari-falahi`	Parenthetical specifies faculty role at Jamiatul Falah Girls Section. Merged to canonical author record.
`فیاض احمد فلاحی مدنی (قطر)`	مولانا فیاض احمد فلاحی مدنی	`faiyaz-ahmad-falahi`	Parenthetical `(قطر)` denotes residence. Merged with canonical scholar profile.
`ڈاکٹر اسما ء فیروز`	ڈاکٹر اسماء فیروز	`asma-feroz`	Typographical error in WordPress database with unescaped space before hamzah (`اسما ء` vs `اسماء`).
`اسامہ احسن صدیقی`	اسامہ احسن صدیقی	`usama-ahsan-siddiqui`	Encoded `\u00a0\u00a0` leading non-breaking spaces stripped cleanly.
`سید مطیع الرحمٰن حنیف فلاحی`	سید مطیع الرحمٰن حنیف فلاحی	`mutiurrahman-falahi`	Encoded `\u00a0\u00a0` leading non-breaking spaces stripped.
`بلال احمد فلاحی`	بلال احمد فلاحی	`bilal-ahmad-falahi`	Encoded `\u00a0\u00a0` leading non-breaking spaces stripped.
`عمار جاوید خان`	عمار جاوید خان	`ammar-javed-khan`	Internal double non-breaking space collapsed to single standard space.
`Aligarh Web Solutions`	ادارہ حیاتِ نو	`idarah`	Default WordPress developer/agency account used as a placeholder during bulk uploads. Reassigned to Editorial Board.

3. Tier 2: Probably Same Person (Manual Review Required)

Name A	Name B	Current Treatment	Evaluation Note
`مولانا محمد عنایت اللہ اسد سبحانی`	`عنایت اللہ سبحانی`	Treated as Same Scholar	Renowned Islamic thinker and author; both variations refer to the former director. Merged under canonical name.
`مولانا انیس احمد فلاحی مدنی`	`انیس احمد فلاحی`	Treated as Same Scholar	President of Anjuman Talaba-e-Qadeem. Honorific/degree variation (`مدنی`).
`محمد ارشاد عالم فلاحی`	`ارشاد عالم فلاحی`	Treated as Same Scholar	Media Coordinator. Honorific prefix `محمد` omitted in some legacy posts.

4. Tier 3: Cannot Determine / Distinct Individuals (Kept Strict & Separate)

Name A	Name B	Determination	Reason
`اشتیاق عالم فلاحی`	`پروفیسر اشتیاق دانش`	STRICTLY SEPARATE	Two completely different individuals with different academic backgrounds and affiliations.
`سالم سلیم`	`سرفراز بزمی`	STRICTLY SEPARATE	Independent poets contributing separate ghazals in Bazm-e-Sukhan.
`مولانا محمد اسماعیل فلاحی`	`مولانا محمد عمران فلاحی`	STRICTLY SEPARATE	Two different scholars contributing on separate topics.
`ڈاکٹر محمد اسامہ عظیم فلاحی`	`اسامہ احسن صدیقی`	STRICTLY SEPARATE	Distinct authors with different family names and institutional roles.

5. Implementation Summary in Astro

Canonical authors are declared statically in /src/data/authors.ts.
The migration mapper (scripts/build-articles-dataset.mjs) resolves every incoming post's uagb_author_info against this canonical registry before writing article.authorId.
If an unrecognized author name appears in future migrations, it automatically falls back to idarah with a logged audit warning, preventing build crashes.