Files
dotfiles/claude/memory/feedback-mechanical-vs-architectural.md
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David F GliddenandClaude Opus 4.7 e9e772d69c memory: bundle accumulated 04-17/26 + lock ARC about-page architecture
Safety checkpoint before deep-audit Phase 0 of the ARC repo. Steward-authorized
commit-everything for rollback safety.

ARC architectural locks (2026-04-26 evening):
- Path 1 enfilade structure (separate Colophon and Lex items)
- 8-door enfilade locked: Colophon · Lex · Framework · Vignette · Attention ·
  Chamber · Tools · Now (+ Bio quiet link)
- Adsum and threshold-hic as two distinct texts on the reflowed About page
  (steward verbatim: "They are certainly not the same text")

ARC consolidation pass (canonical tracker project-arc-rework.md, +~700 lines):
fold 04-23 evening (Norris read), 04-24 (lex-method authored, posture cluster,
§XII Sidenotes, ARC CLAUDE.md cleanup), 04-25 (marks cluster, colophon-at-scale,
full Vico/Harrison lex-chain), 04-26 (chamber-library walk, cluster scaffolds,
canonical-tracker discipline surfaced).

Sibling-file integration: four 2026-04-26 frame files folded into the canonical
tracker (Integrations A/B/C/D) with INTEGRATED redirect notices retained as
audit trail.

New durable feedback memories:
- feedback-canonical-workstream-tracker-discipline (umbrella drift surfaced
  2026-04-26 by steward; proposes /wake-up + /wrap-up amendments)
- feedback-catalogues-stale-walk-trees (steward feedback on chamber-library
  catalogue currency)

Implementation plan drafted for the coming week: Phase 0 deep audit → Phase 5
cleanup, with steward additions on second pass (deep audit; Chamber v1 as own
browsable archive; clean rebuild of cluster sources rather than moving test
artifacts as canon).

Also bundled (untracked accumulation since 04-17):
- ~24 session memory + ledger files for 04-17 through 04-26 work
- ~10 feedback memories (BMF + ARC + working-method)
- 5 project memories (lex-as-method, strunk-white queue, plus today's four)
- 4 user memories (duality-rules, formation-practice, foundation-work, humic-layer)

Steward-side modifications also in this commit: ~/CLAUDE.md, bin/bmf-start.sh,
open-tasks.md, project-focus-april-may.md, session-2026-04-17 — all
pre-existing, not from today's session.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-04-26 14:52:14 +02:00

4.1 KiB

name, description, type, originSessionId
name description type originSessionId
Mechanical vs architectural — scope of executor-authored fixes on L1 territory Steward principle (2026-04-19) distinguishing fixes the steward+executor can author together on L1 code from fixes that belong to Seb or steward-with-Seb. Mechanical fixes are in scope; architectural changes are not. feedback a3ddbf34-da48-4129-acba-658f2f869783

Mechanical vs architectural — scope principle for L1 work

Under the new territory framing (steward joined Seb on L1 production), executor-authored fixes on BetterMemories.io code are scoped to mechanical changes. Architectural changes remain Seb's or steward-with-Seb's call, not executor-authored.

Why: Steward verbatim (2026-04-19): "For example, I would not touch an Architectural element, but mechanical, etc yes". The principle keeps code authorship aligned with the reviewer who has the design-shape intuition. Mechanical fixes are safe to author because their correctness is locally verifiable; architectural changes need the codebase author's perspective on design fit.

Classification

Mechanical (in scope for executor + steward):

  • Bug fixes to localized logic with no design-shape implication (e.g., #126's min-max degenerate case — a 3-line guard on existing logic).
  • Comment corrections when code reveals the comment is factually wrong.
  • Type-signature fixes, import path fixes, dead-code removal.
  • Test additions for known bugs.
  • Small defensive guards (null checks, range checks) that don't change behavior semantics on the happy path.
  • Minor refactors that preserve exact behavior (renames, extract-function, inline).

Architectural (out of scope — Seb's territory or escalated):

  • Design-shape changes: introducing a new mode, new state, new contract, new dispatch path.
  • Decisions about "what should happen when X" (error vs empty vs fallback vs degrade).
  • Cross-cutting invariant changes (L1/L2 boundary, logchain contract, module independence).
  • Integration shape between subsystems (hooks ↔ recall, slot graduation, etc.).
  • Performance strategy choices (O(N²) vs async post-hoc vs cap-batch vs cheap classifier).
  • Environment/runtime-state coupling decisions (battery-aware behavior, resource pressure responses).

Gray zone (flag explicitly, ask before acting):

  • Fixes that are mechanically small but have design implication (e.g., H3's ?? 'temporal_stats' fallthrough — 3-line fix but the new behavior is a design call).
  • Changes to defaults (env vars, threshold values) — mechanical to edit but semantic to decide.
  • Adding logging/telemetry — usually mechanical but can reveal PII or shift operational semantics.

How to apply

  • Before authoring a fix on BMF code: classify it as mechanical or architectural.
  • Mechanical: implement → test → PR as steward → Seb reviews.
  • Architectural: surface as [PROPOSAL] or brief note, let Seb author the fix (he has design-shape intuition we don't).
  • Gray zone: surface with the design question explicit, let steward decide whether to author or route to Seb.

Worked examples from 2026-04-19 L1 audit

Finding Classification Rationale
H1 / #126 min-max normalize clobber Mechanical Known edge case, 3-line guard on existing logic
BM25 score-range comment at query-router.ts:542-543 Mechanical Doc correction, zero behavior impact
H3 temporal ?? 'temporal_stats' fallthrough Gray zone Fix is tiny but "what SHOULD happen" is a design call
H2 battery suppression silent failure Architectural Whether/how to surface, fall back, or degrade is design
H4 agent events entering WM Architectural Hook integration shape, not a local bug
Entity O(N²) relationship inference Architectural Fix-space is wide (A-F options from forensic doc); choice is design
  • Territory framing: project-focus-april-may.md — steward joined Seb on L1.
  • Authorization-taxonomy: [FIX] (in scope) vs [PROPOSAL] / [ESCALATE] (architectural) per ~/CLAUDE.md.
  • Independent-review discipline: feedback-independent-specialist-authorization.md — always audit sub-agent returns via Symmetria.