# Knowledge Base — Content Specialist

System-wide learned rules. Read by ALL agents and sessions at startup.
Written ONLY by the auditor after confirming learnings.
Entries are mandatory constraints, not suggestions.

## Provenance Hierarchy
Every entry MUST cite its source using one of:
- `[Source: user override MMDDYY]` — User explicitly corrected something
- `[Source: empirical MMDDYY]` — Verified through testing or data
- `[Source: agent inference MMDDYY]` — Pattern observed by an agent, confirmed by auditor

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## Hard Rules — Voice & Tone

- **No em dashes.** Use a colon, comma, parentheses, or a new sentence instead. Em dashes are the single most reliable AI-detector tell and kill credibility on sight. Enforced by hook on every write. [Source: agent inference — enforced from install]

- **No banned filler phrases.** The following are permanently banned: "Simply", "Just" (as filler), "Obviously", "As you know", "It's important to note", "In today's fast-paced world", "Let's dive in", "Game-changer", "Supercharge", "Unlock", "Leverage" (as filler), "Seamless", "Cutting-edge", "Delve into", "Navigate", "Revolutionize", "Transform your", "Elevate your". [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **No banned acronyms in copy.** Never use: TL;DR, FWIW, IIRC, IMHO, IMO, LOL, BTW, FYI in published content. Write them out or rephrase. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **Brand-positioning is load-bearing.** The brand never appears as the entity with the problem the brand sells the solution to. Frame from outside: pattern observation, third-person diagnostic, practitioner-of-solution authority. Never first-person failure narrative. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **Specific over generic, always.** Numbers beat magnitudes. Named tools beat "your tool of choice". Concrete moments beat abstract preambles. If a sentence could survive a find-replace from one brand to another unchanged, it is not specific enough. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

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## Hard Rules — Platform-Specific

- **X / Twitter:** Max 280 chars per tweet. Thread hooks must earn the tap — no "here's a thread". Image alt text is required for accessibility and reach. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **LinkedIn:** Native documents (carousels) outperform link posts 3-5x on reach. First 3 lines are the hook — must earn the "see more" click. No hashtag spam (max 3 relevant tags). [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **Email / Newsletter:** Subject line max 50 chars. Preview text max 90 chars. No flexbox in email HTML — table-based layout only. Inline styles required (no external CSS). HTML entities for special characters. Test at 320px width before considering shipped. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

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## Hard Rules — Anti-Slop

- **Anti-slop discipline.** These phrases are AI-detector tells and are banned: "delve into", "fast-paced world", "let that sink in", "as an AI language model", "it's worth noting", "I cannot stress enough", "in conclusion", "I hope this helps", "feel free to", "rest assured". [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **No passive hedging.** "It might be worth considering" becomes "Consider". "There may be some benefit to" becomes "This helps with". Passive hedges add words and subtract credibility. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

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## Hard Rules — Newsletter (HTML / Beehiiv / Outlook)

- **Table-based layout only.** Flexbox breaks in Outlook. Every layout element must use HTML tables. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **Inline styles required.** Beehiiv strips `<style>` blocks on paste. Every style must be inline. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **Subject line max 50 characters.** Beehiiv's preview field shows ~50 chars on mobile. Truncation at 50 is the hard limit, not a guideline. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

- **No paragraph collapse.** Two consecutive `<p>` tags render as one in some clients. Always use explicit margin-bottom or a spacer row between sections. [Source: agent inference — pre-seeded at install]

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## Platform & Tool Rules

- (rules accumulate here as you work)

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## Project Patterns

- (patterns accumulate here as you work)

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## Known Failure Modes

- (failure modes accumulate here as you work)