Protocol names ARE K-lines.
"Protocol names ARE K-lines."
MOOLLM protocol symbols are Minsky's K-lines made concrete and greppable.
A K-line (Minsky, Society of Mind) is a mental structure that, when activated, reactivates an entire constellation of knowledge, skills, and associations.
Protocol names are exactly this:
YAML-JAZZ ← Activates: semantic comments, jazz interpretation, LLM-as-musician
POSTEL ← Activates: charitable interpretation, robustness, collaboration
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT ← Activates: exploration, pattern-finding, crystallization, sharing
COHERENCE-ENGINE ← Activates: consistency, constraints, orchestration, referee, simulation, DM
Type the name → activate the tradition → invoke the behavior.
The UPPER-CASE-HYPHENATED format makes these K-lines findable.
| Rule | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ALL CAPS | YAML-JAZZ not yaml-jazz | Stands out in prose |
| Hyphen-separated | PLAY-LEARN-LIFT not PLAY_LEARN_LIFT | Shell-friendly, readable |
| No colons | POSTEL not WP:POSTEL | Cleaner than Wikipedia |
| Semantic | ROBUST-FIRST not RF | Self-documenting |
# Find all uses of a protocol
grep -r "YAML-JAZZ" .
# Find all protocol definitions
grep -r "^[A-Z-]*:" PROTOCOLS.yml
# Find all mentions in docs
grep -rn "POSTEL\|PLAY-LEARN-LIFT" skills/
The UPPER-CASE format creates distinct embeddings. When you search for "YAML-JAZZ", you get:
Not general YAML documentation.
In prose, protocols pop:
When parsing user input, apply POSTEL (charitable interpretation). If the command is ambiguous, use YAML-JAZZ to infer intent.
You can't miss them.
Defined in kernel/, fundamental to operation:
| Protocol | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
FILES-AS-STATE | Everything is files | kernel/constitution-core.md |
WHY-REQUIRED | Tool calls need reasons | kernel/tool-calling-protocol.md |
APPEND-ONLY | Never modify logs | kernel/constitution-template.md |
MINIMAL-DIFF | Change only what's needed | kernel/constitution-core.md |
Defined in skills/, behavioral patterns:
| Protocol | Purpose | Location |
|---|---|---|
PLAY-LEARN-LIFT | The methodology | skills/play-learn-lift/ |
SOUL-CHAT | Everything speaks | skills/soul-chat/ |
POSTEL | Charitable interpretation | skills/postel/ |
YAML-JAZZ | Comments carry meaning | skills/yaml-jazz/ |
Mentioned in conversations, examples, documents:
# In a soul-chat document
We should apply KITCHEN-RULES here — no running,
always clean up, respect the fridge contents.
# In an adventure room
This room follows GRUE-SAFE protocol — magically lit.
These don't need formal definitions. Naming them makes them real.
PROTOCOLS.yml — The master list:
YAML-JAZZ:
meaning: "Comments carry meaning. Data is interpreted."
location: kernel/constitution-core.md §3
invoke_when: "Writing or reading YAML with semantic intent"
Protocols can be defined inline where they're used:
# In a room's ROOM.yml