diff --git a/backend/internal/latest/poller.go b/backend/internal/latest/poller.go
index cf7be40..dbe9580 100644
--- a/backend/internal/latest/poller.go
+++ b/backend/internal/latest/poller.go
@@ -57,11 +57,12 @@ type Poller struct {
 
 	// refuseUntil gates a Site's Lane after it refused twice in one run: no
 	// Series of that Site is attempted again before this time (issue #100).
+	// The stamp is durable — the pass gate reads it from the store, so a
+	// restart does not forget the refusal; nothing of it lives in memory.
 	// browserDownAt is when a browser Lane last lost the sidecar; the other
 	// browser Lanes skip their passes for the next RefuseBackoff, so a
 	// restarting Chrome does not stamp one Series per pass per Lane (story 20).
 	mu            sync.Mutex
-	refuseUntil   map[string]time.Time
 	browserDownAt time.Time
 	// coverWG tracks in-flight cover work. Covers heal in the background so a
 	// slow cover host cannot delay the next Series-page Poll; tests join it
@@ -437,12 +438,8 @@ func (p *Poller) runLanePass(ctx context.Context, name string, paced bool) time.
 		log.Printf("latest poll %s: due=%d checked=%d", name, len(due), fig.Checked)
 	}
 	if refusals >= 2 {
-		p.setRefusalBackoff(name, now.Add(RefuseBackoff))
 		// The refusal outlives the process: the durable stamp gates a restart,
-		// so a Site that just told us to back off is not re-probed. The
-		// in-memory twin is still written because the Lane status block reads
-		// it directly; the gate reads the durable stamp, so a restart does not
-		// forget the refusal.
+		// so a Site that just told us to back off is not re-probed.
 		if err := p.Store.SetLaneRefusal(name, now.Add(RefuseBackoff).UnixMilli()); err != nil {
 			log.Printf("latest poll %s: persist refusal: %v", name, err)
 		}
@@ -511,15 +508,6 @@ func (p *Poller) countEligible(site string) (int, error) {
 	return p.Store.EligibleSeriesCount(site)
 }
 
-func (p *Poller) setRefusalBackoff(name string, until time.Time) {
-	p.mu.Lock()
-	defer p.mu.Unlock()
-	if p.refuseUntil == nil {
-		p.refuseUntil = make(map[string]time.Time)
-	}
-	p.refuseUntil[name] = until
-}
-
 // setBrowserDown records when a browser Lane lost the sidecar. It is Poller
 // state rather than pass state so the other browser Lanes see it too.
 func (p *Poller) setBrowserDown(now time.Time) {
diff --git a/backend/internal/web/admin_lanes.go b/backend/internal/web/admin_lanes.go
index 36b940d..ae5fe73 100644
--- a/backend/internal/web/admin_lanes.go
+++ b/backend/internal/web/admin_lanes.go
@@ -84,13 +84,14 @@ func (h *Handler) lanesView() lanesView {
 		return v
 	}
 	now := time.Now()
-	outcomes, err := h.store.LanePassOutcomes(time.Now().Add(-ownerWindow).UnixMilli())
+	outcomes, err := h.store.LanePassOutcomes(now.Add(-ownerWindow).UnixMilli())
 	if err != nil {
+		// The rows are complete without the chips, so a failed outcome sum
+		// must not blank the table into "no data yet" — that is the confident
+		// wrong statement the page exists to avoid. Every row renders "none
+		// observed" instead, which is honest.
 		log.Printf("admin lanes: outcomes: %v", err)
-		return lanesView{
-			PollerOff:         v.PollerOff,
-			BrowserConfigured: v.BrowserConfigured,
-		}
+		outcomes = nil
 	}
 	bySite := make(map[string]store.SiteOutcomes, len(outcomes))
 	for _, o := range outcomes {
@@ -193,8 +194,11 @@ func laneState(p store.LanePass, now time.Time) (phrase string, good, attention
 	case latest.SkipAsleep:
 		phrase = "browser asleep"
 		good = true
-	case latest.SkipDueQuery, latest.SkipEligibleCount:
-		phrase = "check failed"
+	case latest.SkipDueQuery:
+		phrase = "due query failed"
+		attention = true
+	case latest.SkipEligibleCount:
+		phrase = "eligible count failed"
 		attention = true
 	case latest.SkipNothingEligible:
 		phrase = "nothing eligible"
diff --git a/docs/adr/0012-persisted-lane-state.md b/docs/adr/0012-persisted-lane-state.md
index f740522..fb592b7 100644
--- a/docs/adr/0012-persisted-lane-state.md
+++ b/docs/adr/0012-persisted-lane-state.md
@@ -39,6 +39,6 @@ confident zero.
 The poller still owns the writes: each pass exit records one row (ADR-0010),
 and a pass that returns before gathering figures carries the previous pass's
 numbers forward instead of recording zeroes. A skip is a stable wire string;
-`asleep` never counts toward `Attention`. When polling is switched off the
-page must say so, and the browser statusline appears only when a poller
-actually answers.
\ No newline at end of file
+`asleep` never counts toward `Attention`. When polling is switched off
+(`LATEST_CHAPTER_POLL_ENABLED` unset) the page must say so, and the browser
+statusline appears only when polling is switched on.
\ No newline at end of file