Stabilisation vs. manipulation: intent decides

The standard

A declared intent of intervention states whether an intervention preserves an existing character or produces a new one. The same tool can serve both; only the intent separates them.

Criteria

• The intervention names the change it protects against
• It preserves a state instead of producing a new one
• It remains traceable and reasoned
• Its aim is fault prevention, not taste design

Distinction

Stabilisation ≠ manipulation: one secures a state, the other shapes it. Sulfites and filtration are one or the other depending on which declared intent of intervention they carry. Where the intent is missing, the effect decides, not the label.