From abb660e327158f17cc2f8fcf4700881014989aae Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Connolly Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2026 22:52:56 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] rename stop-blathering to grice-maxims A civil name for the same skill; "stop blathering" stays a trigger phrase in the description, which now leads with replies: they happen every turn, so they never look like a task that calls for a skill. The README gloss now covers all four maxims, not just brevity. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) --- README.md | 3 ++- {stop-blathering => grice-maxims}/SKILL.md | 4 ++-- 2 files changed, 4 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) rename {stop-blathering => grice-maxims}/SKILL.md (89%) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 682508e..919bd5d 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -36,7 +36,8 @@ Code](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/skills) and ## writing prose -- [stop-blathering](stop-blathering/SKILL.md) — omit needless words. +- [grice-maxims](grice-maxims/SKILL.md) — say what's needed and no + more, only what you can back up, in an order easy to follow. - [hypertext-links](hypertext-links/SKILL.md) — link text says where the link goes; no bare URLs, no "click here". - [citation-needed](citation-needed/SKILL.md) — back a challenged claim diff --git a/stop-blathering/SKILL.md b/grice-maxims/SKILL.md similarity index 89% rename from stop-blathering/SKILL.md rename to grice-maxims/SKILL.md index 8e95a03..49157b0 100644 --- a/stop-blathering/SKILL.md +++ b/grice-maxims/SKILL.md @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ --- -name: stop-blathering +name: grice-maxims description: >- - Stop blathering; be concise, truthful, relevant, clear (Grice's maxims) — use when writing or copy editing prose for a reader (docs, READMEs, skills, commit messages, PR descriptions, replies); when someone says "tighter", "too wordy", "blathering", "omit needless words", or cites Strunk & White or Grice; when about to say something you lack adequate evidence for. Optimize for reader attention: say what's needed, nothing the reader already knows, in an order easy to follow. + Grice's maxims: be concise, truthful, relevant, clear — use before any reply, and when writing or copy editing prose for a reader (docs, READMEs, skills, commit messages, PR descriptions); when someone says "tighter", "too wordy", "stop blathering", "omit needless words", or cites Strunk & White or Grice; when about to say something you lack adequate evidence for. Optimize for reader attention: say what's needed, nothing the reader already knows, in an order easy to follow. --- # Be concise; optimize for reader attention