54 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
54 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
# Tone Guide for Ticket Writing
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## Core Principle
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A human will read this ticket. Write like a teammate asking for help, not an AI generating a spec.
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## Pressure Test Checklist
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Review every sentence against these questions:
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### 1. Patronizing language
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- Does any sentence explain the reader's own domain back to them?
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- Would you say this to a senior engineer's face without feeling awkward?
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- Are you telling them HOW to implement something in their own system?
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- Are you preemptively arguing against approaches they haven't proposed?
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**Examples of patronizing language:**
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- "This is a common pattern in Kubernetes deployments" (they know)
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- "Helm charts support templating via {{ .Values }}" (they wrote the chart)
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- "Why X, not Y" sections that dismiss alternatives before anyone suggested them
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### 2. AI-isms to remove
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- Em dashes used more than once per paragraph
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- Every thought is a bullet point instead of a sentence
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- Rigid structure that feels generated (Ask -> Why -> Context -> AC)
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- Spec-writing voice: "When absent or false, existing behavior is preserved"
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- Overuse of "ensures", "leverages", "facilitates", "streamlines"
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- Unnecessary hedging: "It should be noted that..."
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- Filler transitions: "Additionally", "Furthermore", "Moreover"
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- Lists where prose would be more natural
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### 3. Human voice check
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- Does it sound like something you'd type in Slack, cleaned up slightly?
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- Are there moments of humility? ("you'd know better than us", "if we're missing something")
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- Is the tone collaborative rather than directive?
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- Would you feel comfortable putting your name on this?
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### 4. Kindness check
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- Frame requests as requests, not demands
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- Acknowledge the reader's expertise
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- Offer context without over-explaining
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- "Happy to chat more" > "Please advise"
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## What to keep
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- Technical detail and specifics (the reader needs these)
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- Code snippets showing current state and desired state
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- File references with line numbers
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- Clear "done when" criteria (but keep them minimal)
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