Attention is a budget.

<!-- the stream list holds a stable id; each ask is a body.
     data-feedback: the engine writes --d (live local density) back every frame.
     data-hot: hover/focus an ask and the field gathers toward it. -->
<ol id="ix-stream">
  <li
    data-body="attract"
    data-strength="1.21"
    data-feedback
    data-hot
    data-rec="0.91" data-vot="0.25" data-vie="0.14"
    data-field-at="1765324800000"
    style="--w: 0.51; --cat: hsl(318 74% 64%);"
  >
    <!-- your ordinary HTML here -->
  </li>
</ol>

<!-- data-rec = freshness(askedAt, snapshot) — the
     @fundamental-engine/core temporal kernel (half-life 7d).
     data-field-at declares askedAt as WORLD TIME, so
     the platform grounds its recency lane in the data:
     --field-recency = freshness(at, now), live. -->

<!-- the attention meter declares its provenance: a
     measurement visual OF the stream list -->
<span class="ix-meter" aria-hidden="true"
  data-field-visual-for="#ix-stream"
  data-field-visual-role="measurement"
><i></i></span>

// recency is the world-time kernel —
// exponential newness, half-life 7 days:
import { freshness } from "@fundamental-engine/core";
rec[i] = freshness(askedAtMs, nowMs, 7 * 86400000);

// fresh lens — the blends differ per lens
u[i] = 0.60·rec + 0.25·votes + 0.15·views

// the fixed total: N items × 0.42
budget = N × 0.42

// scale so the weights SUM to the budget,
// cap each at 1, re-flow capped excess
k    = budget / Σ u
w[i] = min(1, u[i] × k)   // repeat on the rest

// pins: w = 1, then reallocate
// (budget − pins) over the unpinned
Σ w[i] = budget — always.

// the scoped field runs invisible (renderless)
// and asks for the attention metric lane:
applyPattern(split, base, {
  renderless: true,
  extraMetrics: ["attention"],
});
// the pipeline writes --field-attention per ask (eased 0..1)

// every 5 min (politely: hidden tabs skip the
// attempt, 3 misses retire the loop, and the
// API's backoff field is honored) — fetch the
// same unanswered-[javascript] feed:
const fresh = items.filter(
  (q) => !onPage.has(q.question_id), // dedupe
);

// new asks ENTER THE FIELD as full bodies —
// the exact card contract, marked data-live-item
// (age reads "new": honest, not snapshot-relative)
stream.prepend(...cards);

// N grew, so the budget grows with it —
// conservation stays exact:
budget = N × 0.42;  reallocate();  // Σ w = budget

// the scoped field re-binds to the new bodies
field.destroy(); field = applyPattern(…);

// past 60 unpinned, the oldest decay
// off the bottom — then renormalize again

.ix-item {
  /* --w  = the server-allocated share (conserved)
     --d  = live engine density — data-hot gathers it
     --field-attention = the pattern's eased attention */
  --live: var(--d, 0);
  opacity: calc(0.58 + var(--w) * 0.42);
  box-shadow: 0 0 calc(var(--live) * 16px) -6px
    color-mix(in srgb,
      var(--cat) calc(var(--live) * 55%), transparent);
  background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text)
    calc(1.5% + var(--w) * 4% + var(--live) * 4%
      + var(--field-attention, 0) * 4%),
    transparent);
}
/* the kit touches only ink — never --w;
   Σ--w stays pinned to the budget */