What it is
CLOCK_USAGE (src/prompts/talk.ts:30) is a rule written against ONE fact:
the clock line is handed over and then immediately told what not to do with it
("That is your bearings, not a line to say: mention the hour or the day only
when it genuinely lands…"). It rides sceneLine(), so every talk and reply
prompt carries it.
spec 04 §3.5, landed with the first-line-after-a-gap fix, states the opposite
rule for prompts: they carry situation FACTS plus ONE whole-role framing of the
host's craft (HOST_CRAFT, src/prompts/persona.ts), and never a
reference-only rule per fact — a "don't say X" line is how a fact turns into a
line about the fact. CLOCK_USAGE predates that principle and was deliberately
left out of scope of the fix (it is the clock's shape, not the gap's), so it is
the one known violation left in the prompts.
Suspected, NOT verified: whether removing it makes the host announce the hour
more often. HOST_CRAFT already names "the hour" among the things the host
reads and judges, which is the whole-role form of the same guidance — but only
a by-ear pass can say whether the beat still opens without a time check.
Spec
specs/spec04/04-no-dead-air.md §3.5 (the facts-plus-one-framing rule) and
§3.4 (the clock beside the bucket, which introduced CLOCK_USAGE).
Done when
CLOCK_USAGE is gone from src/prompts/talk.ts — deleted outright or folded
into HOST_CRAFT as whole-role wording — the unit suite still pins that the
clock fact itself reaches every speaking prompt, and a by-ear pass confirms the
host does not open beats with a time check or read the date out. If it does,
the fix is the fact's shape or placement, not a restored rule line.
What it is
CLOCK_USAGE(src/prompts/talk.ts:30) is a rule written against ONE fact:the clock line is handed over and then immediately told what not to do with it
("That is your bearings, not a line to say: mention the hour or the day only
when it genuinely lands…"). It rides
sceneLine(), so every talk and replyprompt carries it.
spec 04 §3.5, landed with the first-line-after-a-gap fix, states the opposite
rule for prompts: they carry situation FACTS plus ONE whole-role framing of the
host's craft (
HOST_CRAFT,src/prompts/persona.ts), and never areference-only rule per fact — a "don't say X" line is how a fact turns into a
line about the fact.
CLOCK_USAGEpredates that principle and was deliberatelyleft out of scope of the fix (it is the clock's shape, not the gap's), so it is
the one known violation left in the prompts.
Suspected, NOT verified: whether removing it makes the host announce the hour
more often.
HOST_CRAFTalready names "the hour" among the things the hostreads and judges, which is the whole-role form of the same guidance — but only
a by-ear pass can say whether the beat still opens without a time check.
Spec
specs/spec04/04-no-dead-air.md§3.5 (the facts-plus-one-framing rule) and§3.4 (the clock beside the bucket, which introduced
CLOCK_USAGE).Done when
CLOCK_USAGEis gone fromsrc/prompts/talk.ts— deleted outright or foldedinto
HOST_CRAFTas whole-role wording — the unit suite still pins that theclock fact itself reaches every speaking prompt, and a by-ear pass confirms the
host does not open beats with a time check or read the date out. If it does,
the fix is the fact's shape or placement, not a restored rule line.