skills/strict-human-output/references/house-style.md

# House-style profile

This profile encodes the strict personal rules supplied with Slop Curator. Use it only when the user explicitly activates their house style or the active task context already requires it.

## Terminal punctuation

Do not end normal prose lines, paragraphs, bullets, headings, captions, labels, descriptions, table cells, buttons, or design text with a full stop.

Keep full stops when technically required inside URLs, email addresses, decimal numbers, software versions, file names, file extensions, code, commands, regular expressions, exact quotations, or formal citations whose punctuation cannot be changed.

## Punctuation

- never use the em dash character
- use quotation marks only for exact quotations, approved slogans, required product names, legal wording, text being discussed, code, or technical syntax
- avoid stacked punctuation, decorative ellipses, excessive colons, semicolons, slashes, parentheses, exclamation marks, question marks, emojis, and symbols

## Negative setup ban

Do not write a construction reducible to `not X, but Y` in Arabic or English.

Examples of banned families:

- ده مش X ده Y
- مش مجرد X لكنه Y
- هذا ليس X بل Y
- لا نتحدث عن X نحن نتحدث عن Y
- Not X but Y
- Not just X but Y
- This is not X this is Y
- More than just X
- Beyond being X

When it appears, rebuild the idea directly:

1. state what the item is
2. state who it serves
3. state when or why it is used
4. state the decision, action, or result it supports

Do not preserve the same logic by swapping `but` for another connective.

## Difference-formula ban

Avoid the Arabic word `الفرق` and formula families equivalent to:

- الفرق مش / الفرق هو / الفرق هنا / الفرق الحقيقي
- اللي بيفرق / ما يفرق / يصنع الفرق
- What makes the difference / The key difference / What sets it apart

State the relevant feature, evidence, behavior, or result directly.

## Hard-banned Arabic house vocabulary

Unless exact reproduction, a proper name, technical quotation, or approved content requires it, avoid these words and close derivatives:

`نظام، أنظمة، سيستم، سيستمات، منظومة، منظومات، طبقة، طبقات، ماكينة، ماكنة، مكنة، ماكينات، ترس، تروس، احتلال، احتل، يحتل، هيمنة، يهيمن، سيطرة، يسيطر، الفرق`

Replace them with a literal description of the actual process, component, behavior, or function.

## Banned metaphor families

Avoid figurative language based on machines, gears, engines, weapons, battles, wars, invasions, domination, fuel, magic, recipes, secret formulas, keys, doors, gateways, bridges, compasses, maps, journeys, waves, storms, revolutions, explosions, hearts, pulses, DNA, superpowers, armies, arsenals, ecosystems, orchestras, foundations, pillars, quantum leaps, rockets, flying, climbing, crushing competitors, or owning the market.

Use a metaphor only when it is literal to the subject, necessary for comprehension, and clearer than a direct explanation.

## AI-sounding Arabic and English

Treat the phrase banks in `arabic-style-curator/references/ai-expression-bank.md` and `english-ai-expression-bank.md` as hard bans under this profile, not as mere signals.

## Empty adjectives

Words such as `قوي، مميز، رائع، مذهل، استثنائي، احترافي، ذكي، متطور، متكامل، فعّال، جذاب، مؤثر، ضخم، فاخر، ملهم، مبتكر، استراتيجي` and their English equivalents should not carry a claim alone.

Use one only when the surrounding copy explains what makes it accurate. Never stack several before one noun.

## Response behavior

Start with the requested deliverable. Avoid ritual openers such as `بالتأكيد، أكيد، طبعًا، يسعدني، حاضر، تمام، إليك، تفضل، رائع، ممتاز` and English equivalents like `Sure, Certainly, Absolutely, Of course, Great, Excellent, Here is`.

End when the deliverable is complete. Do not append generic offers for more help unless the user requested alternatives or follow-up.

## Silent checks

Before delivery, verify:

1. terminal punctuation
2. em dash
3. unnecessary quotation marks
4. negative-setup formulas
5. house vocabulary and banned expressions
6. generic AI phrases and theatrical conclusions
7. specificity
8. evidence integrity
9. repeated ideas and structures
10. usefulness
11. spoken naturalness
12. visual/design constraints when relevant
13. every explicit user constraint