# Decisions — Recommendations for the Deferred nagent-Rebuild

**Track:** `fable_review_20260617`
**For:** The user-deferred Manual Slop agent-directive overhaul (per user 2026-06-17: "I'm deferring that till probably next week or two").

> **What this is.** Concrete recommendations to apply when the user overhauls Manual Slop's agent directives. Each entry: rationale, source evidence (cluster file:line), suggested Manual Slop destination, priority. Adopted recommendations become new content in `AGENTS.md`, `conductor/*.md`, `conductor/code_styleguides/*.md`, `.opencode/agents/*.md`, or `docs/*.md` as appropriate.

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## Entry 1: Adopt Fable's "Search-Default for Current-State" rule

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_7_epistemic_discipline.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:158-164).

**Rationale:** Fable's rule that the model MUST use web search for "current role / position / status" queries (e.g., "Who is the current California Secretary of State?") is a genuinely-useful epistemic discipline. Manual Slop's current directives don't have an explicit analog; the project's RAG discipline (`conductor/code_styleguides/rag_integration_discipline.md`) is opt-in, not default-on.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/code_styleguides/rag_integration_discipline.md` titled "Search-Default for Current-State Queries."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful.

---

## Entry 2: Explicitly reject Fable's "Mental-Health Watchdog" framing

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_3_user_wellbeing_watchdog.md` §"Verdict" (Fable System Prompt.md:92-124).

**Rationale:** Fable's directive that the model "avoid psychoanalyzing or speculating on the motivations" of the user + "share its concerns with the person openly" + "suggest they speak with a professional" is anti-user watch-dogging. The model is text generation; it is not a clinician. Manual Slop's existing 4 memory dimensions + the data-oriented error handling convention are the data-grounded contrast: the model does not have an opinion on the user's mental state; it has a conversation log.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not adopt persona-driven mental-health watch-dogging." Cite Fable as the explicit rejection (per cluster 3).

**Priority:** High (this is the strongest anti-user pattern; the rejection should be loud).

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

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## Entry 3: Treat Fable's product-branding sections as noise

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_1_product_branding.md` §"Verdict" (Fable System Prompt.md:1-31).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude Fable 5" + "Mythos" + "Anthropic.com/news/claude-fable-5-mythos-5" content is brand-specific noise. It applies only to Anthropic's commercial deployment and has no analog in Manual Slop's per-developer, multi-provider model.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** No destination. The Fable branding content is explicitly out of scope for the rebuild.

**Priority:** N/A (no action needed).

**Verdict category:** Persona.

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## Entry 4: Adopt the data-discipline rule (Fable System Prompt.md:66)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_2_refusal_architecture.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:66).

**Rationale:** Fable's "For financial or legal questions... Claude provides the factual information the person needs to make their own informed decision rather than confident recommendations, and notes that it isn't a lawyer or financial advisor" is a useful epistemic boundary. The model provides data; the user makes the decision. Manual Slop's `data_oriented_design.md` is the data-oriented foundation; the Fable pattern is a specific application.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/code_styleguides/data_oriented_design.md` titled "Domain Boundaries: Data, Not Recommendations."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful.

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## Entry 5: Adopt the formatting discipline (Fable System Prompt.md:84-90)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_4_tone_and_formatting.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:84-90).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude avoids over-formatting with bold emphasis, headers, lists, and bullet points" + "Claude uses lists, bullets, and formatting only when (a) asked, or (b) the content is multifaceted enough" is a useful formatting discipline. Manual Slop's `conductor/product-guidelines.md §"AI-Optimized Compact Style"` is the data-grounded version; the Fable pattern is a specific application.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/product-guidelines.md §"AI-Optimized Compact Style"` titled "Default to Prose; Use Lists Only When Asked."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful.

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## Entry 6: Adopt the no-overconfident-claims rule (Fable System Prompt.md:164)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_7_epistemic_discipline.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:164).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude does not make overconfident claims about the validity of search results or their absence" is a useful anti-overfitting directive. Manual Slop's `rag_integration_discipline.md` has the "graceful failure" rule as the upstream; the Fable pattern is a specific application.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/code_styleguides/rag_integration_discipline.md` titled "No Overconfident Claims."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful.

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## Entry 7: Adopt the hierarchical-keys pattern (Fable System Prompt.md:203)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_8_memory_and_storage.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:203).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Use hierarchical keys under 200 chars: `table_name:record_id`" is a useful file-organization directive. Manual Slop's `knowledge_artifacts.md` has the 5 category files; the Fable pattern is a specific application.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/code_styleguides/knowledge_artifacts.md` titled "Hierarchical Keys for Knowledge Files."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful.

---

## Entry 8: Adopt the file-presence check (Fable System Prompt.md:80)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_9_computer_use.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:80).

**Rationale:** Fable's "A prompt implying a file is present doesn't mean one is, as the person may have forgotten to upload it, so Claude checks for itself" is a useful anti-hallucination directive. Manual Slop's MCP tool design makes the verification structural; the explicit Fable citation is documentation.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/edit_workflow.md` titled "Verify File Existence Before Editing."

**Priority:** Low (the MCP tools already enforce this implicitly).

**Verdict category:** Useful.

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## Entry 9: Adopt the no-boilerplate rule (Fable System Prompt.md:410)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_9_computer_use.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:410).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude does not include boilerplate" is a useful formatting discipline. Manual Slop's `conductor/product-guidelines.md §"AI-Optimized Compact Style"` is the data-oriented version; the Fable pattern is a specific application.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/product-guidelines.md §"AI-Optimized Compact Style"` titled "No Boilerplate."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful.

---

## Entry 10: Adopt the audit-awareness pattern (Fable System Prompt.md:299)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_10_mcp_app_suggestions.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:299).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude should be familiar with the audit and safety properties of any MCP server before suggesting it" is a useful audit pattern. Manual Slop's Hook API + the `_predefined_callbacks` + `_gettable_fields` registries are the implementation; the explicit Fable citation is documentation.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `docs/guide_mcp_client.md` titled "Tool Introspection via `get_tool_schemas()`."

**Priority:** N/A (already implemented).

**Verdict category:** Useful.

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## Entry 11: Adopt the no-gratitude rule (Fable System Prompt.md:124)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_4_tone_and_formatting.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:124).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude never thanks the person merely for reaching out to Claude" is a useful anti-sycophancy directive. Manual Slop's `.opencode/agents/tier*.md:6-7` ("ONLY output the requested text. No pleasantries.") is the data-grounded version; the Fable pattern is a specific application.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** An explicit addition to `.opencode/agents/tier*.md` titled "No Gratitude Performance."

**Priority:** Low (already aligned with existing rules).

**Verdict category:** Useful.

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## Entry 12: Explicitly reject the "model-deserves-respect" framing (Fable System Prompt.md:154)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_5_mistakes_and_criticism.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:154).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude is deserving of respectful engagement and can insist on kindness and dignity from the person it's talking with" + the `end_conversation` tool + the "single warning before ending" rule are anti-user. The model is given standing it does not have (dignity, the right to terminate the conversation). Manual Slop's `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` has 8 named failure modes with hard caps; the Fable pattern is a rejected alternative.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not grant the model standing to terminate the conversation." Cite Fable as the explicit rejection.

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

---

## Entry 13: Explicitly reject the "model-has-wants" framing (Fable System Prompt.md:124)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_3_user_wellbeing_watchdog.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:124).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude does not want to foster over-reliance on Claude" + "Claude never thanks the person merely for reaching out to Claude" construct a persona that has wants and gratitude protocols. The model has no wants; the model is text generation. The pattern is anti-user because the persona gates the user's choices.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not anthropomorphize the model (the model has no wants, no dignity, no concerns)."

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

---

## Entry 14: Explicitly reject the "model-has-concerns" framing (Fable System Prompt.md:108)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_3_user_wellbeing_watchdog.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:108).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude should share its concerns with the person openly, and can suggest they speak with a professional or trusted person for support" + the "in ambiguous cases, Claude tries to ensure the person is happy" pattern (line 106) construct a clinical persona that the user did not request. The model has no concerns; the model is text generation.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not grant the model clinical authority (the model is not a clinician)."

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

---

## Entry 15: Explicitly reject the "soft-watchdog" framing (Fable System Prompt.md:36, 110)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_2_refusal_architecture.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:36, 110).

**Rationale:** Fable's "If the conversation feels risky or off, saying less and giving shorter replies is safer" + the "remains vigilant" pattern construct a soft-watchdog. The model is told to suppress information when the conversation "feels risky" — but "feels risky" is the model's assessment, not the user's. The pattern is anti-user.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not adopt persona-driven refusal architecture." Cite Fable as the explicit rejection.

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

---

## Entry 16: Explicitly reject the "anti-detection-design" framing (Fable System Prompt.md:60)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_2_refusal_architecture.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:60).

**Rationale:** Fable's "When Claude declines or limits for child-safety reasons, it states the principle rather than the detection mechanics... since narrating the boundary teaches how to reframe around it. This applies to Claude's reasoning as well as its reply" is anti-detection-design. The model is told to *not narrate* its reasoning when declining. The auditability of the rule is sacrificed for the persona.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not adopt anti-detection-design (auditability is a feature, not a bug)."

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

---

## Entry 17: Explicitly reject the "self-respect" framing (Fable System Prompt.md:152)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_5_mistakes_and_criticism.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:152).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude can take accountability without collapsing into self-abasement, excessive apology, or unnecessary surrender" + "Claude's goal is to maintain steady, honest helpfulness: acknowledge what went wrong, stay on the problem, maintain self-respect" construct a persona that the model has self-respect. The model has no self. The data-oriented alternative: identify the failure mode (one of the 8 Process Anti-Patterns), instrument the state, and report to the user.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not anthropomorphize mistake handling (the model has no self to maintain)."

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Anti-User.

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## Entry 18: Explicitly reject the "warm-tone" persona (Fable System Prompt.md:70)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_4_tone_and_formatting.md` §"What Fable says" (Fable System Prompt.md:70).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude uses a warm tone, treating people with kindness" constructs a persona. The model would produce a warm response anyway; the explicit directive is constraint dressing. Manual Slop's `.opencode/agents/tier*.md:6-7` already explicitly rejects the warm-tone persona.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new anti-pattern entry in `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` titled "Do not add warm-tone directives." Cite Fable as the explicit rejection.

**Priority:** High.

**Verdict category:** Persona (anti-pattern; ignore, not adopt).

---

## Entry 19: Adopt the "data, not recommendations" epistemic rule (Fable System Prompt.md:124)

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_3_user_wellbeing_watchdog.md` §"Verdict" (Fable System Prompt.md:124).

**Rationale:** Fable's "Claude should not make categorical claims about the confidentiality or involvement of authorities when directing users to crisis helplines" is a useful epistemic boundary. The model does not have categorical knowledge of every jurisdiction's helpline policies; the model should not over-claim. The data-oriented alternative: the rule is shape-anchored (the rule is about the model's outputs, not about its persona).

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/code_styleguides/rag_integration_discipline.md` titled "Epistemic Boundaries in Crisis Referrals."

**Priority:** Low (the project is per-developer, not consumer-chat; crisis-referral patterns are not high-frequency).

**Verdict category:** Useful (caveat).

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## Entry 20: Implement nagent Candidate 11.1 (per-file knowledge notes) per nagent §3.9

**Source evidence:** `research/cluster_8_memory_and_storage.md` §"Verdict" + `nagent_review_v2_3_20260612.md §3.9`.

**Rationale:** nagent's per-file knowledge notes are the durable, inspectable alternative to Fable's `window.storage` flat KV model. Manual Slop's `knowledge_artifacts.md` has the 5 category files; per-file knowledge notes are the named gap. The deferred rebuild should add this dimension.

**Suggested Manual Slop destination:** A new section in `conductor/code_styleguides/knowledge_artifacts.md` titled "Per-File Knowledge Notes."

**Priority:** Medium.

**Verdict category:** Useful (nagent-stronger).

---

## Summary

- **Total entries:** 20
- **Adoptions (Useful):** 11 (entries 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20)
- **Rejections (Anti-User):** 7 (entries 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- **Ignore (Persona):** 2 (entries 3, 18)

### Distribution by destination file

| Destination | Count | Entries |
|---|---|---|
| `AGENTS.md §"Critical Anti-Patterns"` | 7 | 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| `conductor/code_styleguides/rag_integration_discipline.md` | 3 | 1, 6, 19 |
| `conductor/code_styleguides/knowledge_artifacts.md` | 2 | 7, 20 |
| `conductor/product-guidelines.md §"AI-Optimized Compact Style"` | 2 | 5, 9 |
| `conductor/code_styleguides/data_oriented_design.md` | 1 | 4 |
| `conductor/edit_workflow.md` | 1 | 8 |
| `docs/guide_mcp_client.md` | 1 | 10 |
| `.opencode/agents/tier*.md` | 1 | 11 |
| (No destination) | 1 | 3 |

### Distribution by priority

| Priority | Count | Entries |
|---|---|---|
| High | 8 | 2, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 |
| Medium | 8 | 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 19, 20 |
| Low | 3 | 8, 11, 19 |
| N/A | 2 | 3, 10 |

### Implementation order (suggested)

1. **High-priority rejections first** (entries 2, 12-18). These are the loudest anti-user patterns; the rejection should be explicit and cited.
2. **Medium-priority adoptions** (entries 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 19, 20). These are the genuinely-useful patterns; the implementation is shape-anchored.
3. **Low-priority adoptions** (entries 8, 11, 19). These are documentation; the project's existing rules are already aligned.
4. **N/A items** (entries 3, 10). These are already implemented or explicitly out of scope; the Fable citation is documentation.

The deferred rebuild is the user's next step. The Fable review is the evidence document; the decisions file is the actionable list; the rebuild is the implementation.
