From e9d2b9824fb0b4bee3693ab4a2718667f7cb37f6 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Juniper Bevensee Date: Wed, 1 Jul 2026 10:04:09 +1200 Subject: [PATCH] docs(skill): require explicit reporting when site:/operator search returns no snippets Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) --- hermes-skill/SKILL.md | 16 ++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 16 insertions(+) diff --git a/hermes-skill/SKILL.md b/hermes-skill/SKILL.md index 7a8de10..e4cbd36 100644 --- a/hermes-skill/SKILL.md +++ b/hermes-skill/SKILL.md @@ -53,6 +53,19 @@ so another researcher (or a future session) could resume without you. Collect candidate sources and claims. Prefer authoritative, open sources. Keep provenance for everything — a claim without a traceable source is a lead, not a fact. +**Web-search honesty.** When you search the open web (via the runtime's search +tools) and a query using an operator — `site:`, `filetype:`, quoted exact-phrase, +etc. — returns no results, or results with no usable snippets, **say so +explicitly**: e.g. "could not retrieve snippets for `site:nature.com …` — the +search backend may not support that operator." Then, if you broaden or reformulate +the query (drop the operator, loosen the phrasing), do it as a **visible, stated +step** — "no snippets for the `site:` query; retrying without the operator" — +**never as a silent swap**. Quietly dropping an operator and re-querying hides a +real limitation of the search backend behind a result that looks complete; for a +citations tool, the limitation *is* the finding. Surfacing "the backend ignored +this operator" is more useful than a clean-looking answer built on a query you +silently changed. + ### Phase 3: Verify (the core) Run every citation through the four-axis check: @@ -165,6 +178,9 @@ the package's smoke test; imitate its shape when judging a real result. See - **Never fabricate** a citation, result, dataset, or quotation. Unknown is a valid answer. - **Never inflate** a verifiability score or present an unverified reference as verified. - **Never hide** a retraction or correction. +- **Never hide a search limitation.** If a web query returns nothing or no + snippets, report it; if you reformulate, state that you did. A silently + reformulated query is a hidden limitation — unknown is a valid answer. - Do not represent identifiable human-subject data outside a study's scope and ethics approval. - When in doubt about legality, ethics, or a misconduct claim about a named study, **stop and consult**.