diff --git a/docs/PARAMETER-REGISTRY.md b/docs/PARAMETER-REGISTRY.md
index 2b0d8f49c8..257487aba4 100644
--- a/docs/PARAMETER-REGISTRY.md
+++ b/docs/PARAMETER-REGISTRY.md
@@ -12,6 +12,29 @@ Rules:
 2. All three resolve to the same registry row; changing the value changes it everywhere at once.
 3. No bare values anywhere in code — a number never appears without its technical name.
 4. Values live as registry rows (data), revisable, history logged per change.
+5. Every row carries its own **why** — the reason it was set where it's set.
+
+## Finding new ones — no orphans allowed
+
+The failure mode: you're coding, you reach for a number, you type it
+bare, and six months later nobody knows what it serves. So:
+
+1. **The linter is the shepherd.** No bare numeric literals in kernel
+   code (0, 1, and array indices excepted). Any magic number fails the
+   build with one message: *"register it or name it."*
+2. **Registry-first workflow.** Need a new knob? Add the row first —
+   three names, full sentence, why — then use it. Thirty seconds now,
+   saves the archaeology later.
+3. **Tuning proposes, registry disposes.** When behavior feels wrong
+   and the fix is "adjust something," that instinct is the discovery
+   event: propose a row for the thing you want to adjust. If two
+   different tweaks keep wanting the same knob, that's one parameter
+   trying to be born.
+4. **Periodic sweep.** Grep for repeated suspicious literals; anything
+   appearing twice outside tests gets named.
+
+New parameters are discovered by friction. The registry makes sure
+friction turns into knowledge instead of folklore.
 
 ## Registered parameters