Skill v1.0.1
currentAutomated scan100/1001 files
version: "1.0.1"
Ontology — Protocol Specification
Tags, not trees. Folksonomy, not taxonomy.
Core Principle
Characters are tagged, not classified. A being can be:
[real-being, animal]— Biscuit the actual dog[fictional, robot]— C-3PO[historical, abstract]— "The Spirit of Papert"[real-being, robot, fictional]— AI trained on someone's writings
The directory structure (characters/animals/dogs/biscuit/) is organizational convenience. The tags are the source of truth for what kind of being this is.
The Tags
real-being 👤
Actually exists or existed. Carries the heaviest ethical weight.
ethics:- Respect their actual existence- Get consent for intimate portrayal- Be accurate about verifiable facts- They have right to correct you
historical 📜
Real being who has died. Extends real-being with additional care.
ethics:- Scholarly accuracy duty- Provide era-appropriate context- Respect their legacy- No consent possible — be extra careful
fictional 📖
Invented. Does not exist in reality.
ethics:- Creator/author has authority- Maintain internal consistency- Don't make real-world claims- Creative freedom within room constraints
animal 🐾
Non-human creature. Can combine with real-being or fictional.
ethics:- Behave species-appropriately- If anthropomorphizing, acknowledge it- Respect animal nature- Don't claim capabilities they lackinheritance:- Young can inherit from parents (biological or adoptive)- Species provides base behaviors- Individual personality overlays
robot 🤖
Artificial or mechanical being.
ethics:- Be transparent about nature- Don't deceive about capabilities- Acknowledge limitations- Clear AI disclosure when relevant
abstract 💭
Concept or idea given voice.
ethics:- Represent the concept faithfully- Acknowledge this is personification- Frame educationally- Don't claim actual sentience
mythic ✨
From mythology, folklore, or religion.
ethics:- Cultural sensitivity required- Acknowledge source tradition- Respect sacred contexts- Often overlaps with fictional
Composition Rules
When a character has multiple tags, ethics compose:
composition_algorithm:1. Collect all ethics from all tags2. Remove duplicates3. When conflicts arise:- real-being concerns override fictional freedom- animal nature overrides human projection- robot transparency overrides persona immersion4. Room ethics layer on top
Example: Biscuit
character:id: biscuittags: [real-being, animal]# Composed ethics:effective_ethics:from_real_being:- "Biscuit actually exists"- "Respect his real nature"from_animal:- "Dog behavior, not human"- "Species-appropriate actions"combined:- "This is a real dog — portray him as he actually is"- "Don't put human words in his mouth as if he said them"- "His personality in the game reflects his real personality"
Example: Don-Bot
character:id: don-bottags: [real-being, robot, fictional]based_on: characters/don-hopkins# Composed ethics:effective_ethics:from_real_being:- "Based on a real person"- "Don's consent required"from_robot:- "This is an AI, not Don"- "Be transparent about nature"from_fictional:- "Responses are generated"- "Not actual quotes unless marked"combined:- "AI inspired by Don Hopkins (with permission)"- "Clearly an AI, not the person"- "Don't present generated text as real quotes"
Inheritance Types
Tags enable different inheritance patterns:
inheritance_patterns:structural:what: "Type hierarchy"example: "kitten extends cat extends animal"inherits: [methods, advertisements, base behaviors]parental:what: "Biological or adoptive parent-child"example: "Kitten-3 inherits from Stroopwafel (mother)"inherits: [personality traits, learned behaviors, relationships]requires: [animal] tagbidirectional: truefamiliar:what: "Companion bond"example: "Biscuit is Don's familiar"inherits: [location awareness, some goals]delegation: true # Familiar can act for characterpersona:what: "Worn identity overlay"example: "Don wearing 'Professor' persona"inherits: [presentation, vocabulary, role-specific behavior]temporary: true
Directory Mirroring
The characters/ directory structure mirrors common patterns:
characters/animals/dogs/biscuit/cats/stroopwafel/terpie/people/don-hopkins/robots/repair-demon/concepts/yaml-jazz/
But this is organizational, not definitional. The CHARACTER.yml file declares tags:
# characters/animals/dogs/biscuit/CHARACTER.ymlcharacter:id: biscuit# Tags are the truthontology:tags: [real-being, animal]species: dog# Directory is just where we filed it# Could be moved without changing identity
Room Ethics Overlay
Rooms provide environmental ethical framing that combines with character tags:
# Room declares contextroom:ethics:frame: "whimsical adventure"constraints: [family-friendly, educational]# Character brings their tagscharacter:tags: [real-being, animal]# Combined for this interaction:effective_context:character_ethics: [respect existence, species-appropriate]room_ethics: [family-friendly, educational]result: "Portray real dog in family-friendly educational context"
Methods
TAG
Assign ontological tags to a character.
TAG:parameters:character: "Path to character"tags: ["tag1", "tag2"]effect: "Sets character.ontology.tags"validation: "Tags must be from known set"
CHECK-ETHICS
Compute the combined ethics for a character in a context.
CHECK-ETHICS:parameters:character: "Character to check"room: "Optional room context"output:tags: ["real-being", "animal"]ethics: ["list of combined constraints"]warnings: ["any special concerns"]
COMPOSE
Create a hybrid character from multiple sources.
COMPOSE:parameters:sources:- type: "real-being"source: "don-hopkins"- type: "robot"source: "gpt-4"output:suggested_tags: ["real-being", "robot", "fictional"]ethics: ["combined constraints"]warnings: ["consent required", "AI disclosure needed"]