issue(org-relations): relation kinds are inverse pairs — logged, not fixed, per operator

One edge, one truth, two seats: NextLadder is funded_by Ballmer Group
while Ballmer Group is funder_of NextLadder. Today only that one pair is
special-cased in a hardcoded read-time map; every other directional kind
(initiative_of and the hierarchy family, any future member_of /
fiscal_sponsor_of) still reads wrong from one side. Issue records the
current partial mechanism, three design options (extend the map / store
both directions on the edge / a kind-vocabulary pairs table), and the
live subgraphs to test any fix against.

Files changed:
- context-v/issues/Relation-Kinds-Are-Inverse-Pairs.md

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01RW28dw3kQAKXr2ZNefCukE

Author: mpstaton

context-v/issues/Relation-Kinds-Are-Inverse-Pairs.md

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+---
+title: "Relation kinds are inverse pairs — one stored string can't speak from both seats"
+lede: "NextLadder is funded_by Ballmer Group; Ballmer Group is funder_of NextLadder — the same edge needs a different kind string per perspective, and today only one pair is special-cased in a read-time map."
+date_created: 2026-07-28
+date_modified: 2026-07-28
+authors:
+  - Michael Staton
+augmented_with:
+  - Claude Code on Claude Fable 5
+semantic_version: 0.0.0.1
+tags:
+  - Issue
+  - Augment-It
+  - Org-Relations
+  - Data-Modeling
+status: Active
+---
+
+# Relation kinds are inverse pairs
+
+## The observation (operator, 2026-07-28)
+
+> relationships have the kind/type string. They are often inverse, so need
+> to be written both ways inverted. So NextLadder is funded_by Ballmer
+> Group, Ballmer Group is funder_of NextLadder.
+
+One org↔org edge, one truth — but the **kind string reads differently
+depending on which card you're standing on.** `rel` (parent/child/peer)
+already gets this right via read-time projection; `kind` mostly doesn't.
+
+## Current state (shipped same day, deliberately partial)
+
+- Kinds are authored ONCE, from the edge's `in` side
+  (`ballmer-group —funder_of→ nextladder`). Storage is a single string.
+- `listOrgRelations` inverts at read time via a **hardcoded map** in
+  `org-relations.ts` (`KIND_INVERSE`): `funder_of ↔ funded_by`,
+  `funds → funded_by`. That fixed the NextLadder card — and nothing else.
+- Every other directional kind still reads wrong from one seat:
+  - Hierarchical kinds on the CHILDREN listing: the parent's card shows
+    `cfat (initiative_of)` — reading as if CFAT were initiative_of the
+    viewer's child, when the honest label from the parent's seat is
+    something like `has_initiative`.
+  - Any future directional kind (`member_of`, `spun_out_of`,
+    `fiscal_sponsor_of`…) silently inherits the defect until someone adds
+    a map entry.
+- Symmetric kinds (`partners_with`) are fine — they're their own inverse.
+
+## Design space (log, don't decide)
+
+1. **Extend the read-time map** — cheapest; the vocabulary lives in code:
+   `initiative_of → has_initiative`, `fund_of → has_fund`,
+   `program_of → has_program`, `agency_of → has_agency`,
+   `chapter_of → has_chapter`, symmetric kinds mapping to themselves.
+   Con: open-vocabulary kinds (the operator can type anything) get no
+   inverse until code changes.
+2. **Store both directions on the edge** (`kind` as authored +
+   `kind_inverse`, both writable at relate/update time) — redundancy-over-
+   normalization house ethos; the operator can author asymmetric wording;
+   reads pick by seat. Con: two fields to keep coherent on update.
+3. **A kind-vocabulary table** (pairs as data, per client like `tag_vocab`)
+   — inverse pairs become operator-curated data, the datalist can offer
+   both forms, exports/didi read the same source. Most machinery.
+
+Whatever the choice, the UI datalist and didi's slab should present kinds
+in the operator's seat-relative form ("is funded_by…" when relating from
+the recipient's side), and the export's `related_orgs` column has the
+same seat problem.
+
+## See also
+
+- `services/record-surrealdb-resolver/src/org-relations.ts` — the
+  `KIND_INVERSE` map (the partial fix) + the shapeRelated projection.
+- [[../plans/Org-Relations-Parent-Child-Peer-Plus-Org-Tags]] — the shipped
+  model this refines.
+- Live examples to test any fix against: NextLadder's four funders, the
+  National Academy for AI Instruction's three, CFAT ⊂ carnegie-foundation,
+  FIPSE ⊂ us-department-of-education.