diff --git a/docs/operations.md b/docs/operations.md
index fb8e9c2..8f029aa 100644
--- a/docs/operations.md
+++ b/docs/operations.md
@@ -41,8 +41,10 @@ virtual hole, which on a relay outage means an almost empty page rather than an
 obvious error. The generic welcome only returns if `--home` is not an npub at
 all. That is the real reason the project relay belongs in the bridge's own
 `--relay` set: it is the front page's only source, and nothing else covers for
-it. `relay.damus.io` rejects kind 31436 outright, so the popular relays are not
-a safety net here.
+it. The popular relays are not a safety net here: relay.damus.io rejected
+kind 31436 outright when the bridge was first deployed (it accepted a probe
+document on 2026-08-07), and any of them can change kind policy or retention
+without notice.
 
 Its NIP-05 name is served statically by the proxy rather than by the bridge.
 A bridge is a window onto relays, and who owns a name at a hostname is the
diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index bbb2424..bb6ca67 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -35,10 +35,13 @@ import { BookmarkStore } from './bookmarks.ts'
 import { aboutContent } from './about.ts'
 import { renderForTerminal } from './cliview.ts'
 
-// relay.trotters.cc is the project's own relay. It is in the defaults because
-// a general-purpose relay may refuse an unfamiliar kind: relay.damus.io rejects
-// every kind 31436 document, so a hole published only to the popular set can be
-// unreadable through them. `--relay` replaces this list entirely.
+// relay.trotters.cc is the project's own relay. It is in the defaults as the
+// reliability anchor: a general-purpose relay may refuse an unfamiliar kind or
+// drop it on retention, and the popular set changed without notice before
+// (relay.damus.io rejected every kind 31436 document when this list was
+// written; it accepted one in testing on 2026-08-07). A hole published only
+// to relays you do not run is readable exactly as long as they feel like
+// keeping it. `--relay` replaces this list entirely.
 const DEFAULT_RELAYS = [
   'wss://relay.damus.io',
   'wss://nos.lol',