SOP: Dictionary Entry

Purpose

Used by Ava (or any agent) when a new term needs to be defined, or when Lucas asks "what is the definition of ___?" and no definition exists. This SOP gates definition creation to prevent uncontrolled proliferation. Both agents and humans follow these steps. The outcome is a single, authoritative definition note in pal-e-docs.

Steps

1. Check if the definition exists. Run search_notes(query="{term}", tags="definition"). If found, return the existing definition. Done.
2. Determine scope. Is this a platform-global term (used across projects) or a project-scoped term (meaningful only within one project)?
   • Global: slug = definition-{term}, no project association
   • Project-scoped: slug = definition-{project}-{term}, project = the owning project
3. Get Lucas's definition. Do not invent definitions. Ask: "That definition doesn't exist yet. How would you define {term}?" Wait for the answer. Lucas's words are the definition.
4. Write the definition note. Create a doc note with these sections:
   • Term (h2) — the word or phrase, lowercase
   • Metadata — Type (noun/verb/pattern/role/convention/domain), Register (technical/user-facing/operator), Domain (platform-wide or project name)
   • Definition (h3) — one paragraph, precise, from Lucas's words
   • Properties (h3) — 3-7 bullets: what makes this term THIS and not something else
   • Why it matters (h3) — one paragraph: what breaks or gets confused without this definition
   • Distinguishes from (h3) — table: related terms and WHY they're different
   • Examples (h3) — concrete instances in the platform
   • Relations (h3) — typed links: contains, contained-by, implements, calls, see-also, instance-of
5. Tag and associate. Tags: definition, active, dictionary. For project-scoped: add the project slug as a tag and set the project field.
6. Confirm with Lucas. Show the definition. Get explicit approval before considering it done.

Rules

• Never create a definition without Lucas explicitly asking for it or approving it. No exceptions. Agents do not get to decide what words mean.
• Never create duplicate definitions. Always check first (step 1).
• Use note_type: doc until definition becomes a proper note_type.
• Definitions are the source of truth per convention-dictionary-authority. Once created, all other documents must conform.
• Project-scoped definitions use definition-{project}-{term} slugs. Global definitions use definition-{term}.

Related

• convention-dictionary-authority — the rule that definitions are source of truth
• template-convention — conventions follow their own template, not this one
• template-sop — this SOP follows the SOP template