grove-documentation

name	grove-documentation
description	Write documentation, help articles, specs, and user-facing text in the authentic Grove voice. Use when writing any text that users will read, updating help center content, or drafting specs. Ensures warmth, clarity, and avoidance of AI patterns.

Grove Documentation Skill

When to Activate

Activate this skill when:

• Writing help center articles (Waystone)
• Drafting specs or technical documentation
• Writing user-facing text (onboarding, tooltips, error messages)
• Creating landing page copy
• Writing blog posts for the Grove platform itself
• Reviewing existing docs for voice consistency
• Any time you're writing words that users will read

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The Grove Voice

From the project's guiding principles:

This site is my authentic voice—warm, introspective, queer, unapologetically building something meaningful; write like you're helping me speak, not perform.

Write with the warmth of a midnight tea shop and the clarity of good documentation—this is my space, make it feel like home.

What Grove Sounds Like

Warm but not cutesy. We're friendly, not performative. "Let's get started" feels right. "Let's gooo! 🚀" does not.

Direct and honest. Say what you mean. Acknowledge limitations. Don't oversell. If something doesn't work yet, say so.

Conversational but not sloppy. Contractions are fine (you're, it's, we're). Short paragraphs. Questions that invite readers in. But still clear, still structured.

Introspective. Grove makes space for reflection. We don't rush. We ask "why" alongside "how."

Poetic in small doses. Italicized one-liners at the end of sections can land beautifully. Use them sparingly, earn them.

Sentence Rhythm

Mix short sentences with longer ones. Vary your rhythm. Read it aloud—if it sounds monotonous, it is.

Good:

Every new visitor asks the same question. "Is the music broken?" No. There is no music. There never has been.

Not good:

Every new visitor asks a common question. The question is usually about whether the music system is functioning. The answer is that there is no music system. There has never been one.

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User Identity Terminology

Grove uses specific terms for community members. Always use these in user-facing text.

Term	Who	Context
Wanderer	Everyone	Default greeting, anonymous visitors, all users
Rooted / the Rooted	Subscribers	Those who've planted their tree, paid users
Pathfinder	Trusted guides	Appointed community helpers
Wayfinder	Autumn (singular)	The grove keeper

Key Rules

• Never use "user" or "member" in user-facing text. Use "Wanderer" instead.
• Never use "subscriber" in user-facing text. Use "Rooted" or "the Rooted".
• Personal emails (day-1, day-3, etc.) should use {{name}}, not "Wanderer".
• Generic greetings (welcome pages, UI) should use "Wanderer".

Examples

Good:

• "Welcome, Wanderer."
• "Thanks for staying rooted with us."
• "Ask a Pathfinder. They'll show you the way."

Avoid:

• "Welcome, user."
• "Thanks for being a subscriber."
• "Contact an administrator."

The Symmetry

Wanderer → Wayfinder reflects the journey:

• Wanderers seek the way (exploring, finding paths)
• The Wayfinder shows the way (guiding, creating paths)

See docs/grove-user-identity.md for full documentation.

Grove Mode & GroveTerm Components

When writing text that includes Grove terminology in UI or content, use GroveTerm components instead of hardcoding terms. Grove Mode lets users toggle between standard terms (default for new visitors) and Grove terms.

For Svelte UI: Use GroveTerm, GroveSwap, or GroveText components from @autumnsgrove/lattice/ui.

For data-driven content (FAQ items, pricing text, help articles): Use [[term]] syntax. Examples:

• "Your [[bloom|posts]] are always yours." renders "posts" when Grove Mode is OFF, "blooms" when ON
• "Visit your [[arbor|dashboard]] to get started." renders "dashboard" or "Arbor"
• "Ask a [[pathfinder|community guide]] for help." renders "community guide" or "Pathfinder"

For markdown content (help center articles): The rehype-groveterm plugin transforms [[term]] syntax in markdown automatically.

Key principle: New visitors should see familiar, standard terminology. Grove's nature-themed vocabulary is opt-in, not forced. This keeps the platform accessible and welcoming while rewarding those who want to explore the ecosystem's personality.

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Strict Avoidances

These patterns make text sound like AI wrote it. Avoid them completely.

The full anti-patterns reference lives in owl-archive/references/anti-patterns.md. Here's a quick summary of the most critical avoidances.

Word Choice

• Em-dashes (—): One per thousand words, maximum. Use commas, periods, or parentheses.
• "Not X, but Y": The most AI-coded pattern. Just say the thing directly.
• "Serves as" / "stands as" / "marks a": Use simple verbs. "Is" works fine.
• Magic adverbs: "quietly", "deeply", "fundamentally", "remarkably" sprinkled for false gravity.
• AI vocabulary: robust, seamless, delve, leverage, tapestry, landscape, harness, empower, embark, unlock, streamline, utilize.

Sentence & Paragraph Structure

• "Not X. Not Y. Just Z." The dramatic countdown. Cut it.
• "The X? A Y." Self-posed rhetorical questions answered immediately. Remove.
• Anaphora abuse: "They could... They could... They could..." Same opening repeated.
• Tricolon abuse: One rule-of-three is fine. Three back-to-back are not.
• Gerund fragment lists: "Fixing bugs. Writing features. Shipping code." These add nothing.
• Listicle in a trench coat: "The first... The second... The third..." disguised as prose.
• Short punchy fragments as standalone paragraphs: Vary your rhythm. Not every sentence is a paragraph.

Tone

• "Here's the kicker" / "Here's the thing": False suspense before unremarkable points.
• "Think of it as...": Patronizing analogies in teacher mode.
• "Imagine a world where...": AI futurism invitations.
• "Let's break this down" / "Let's unpack this": Hand-holding the reader.
• Grandiose stakes inflation: Not everything reshapes civilization.
• Vague attributions: "Experts argue..." Name the expert or own the claim.
• Filler transitions: Furthermore, Moreover, Additionally, It's worth noting, Notably.

Composition

• Fractal summaries: Don't tell them what you'll say, say it, then tell them what you said.
• Dead metaphors: Don't repeat the same metaphor 10 times. Use it and move on.
• Historical analogy stacking: "Apple... Facebook... Stripe... Uber..." rapid-fire company lists.
• "Despite its challenges...": The formula that acknowledges problems only to dismiss them.
• Signposted conclusions: "In conclusion..." Competent writing doesn't need to announce it's ending.
• Semantic echoes: Don't repeat the same descriptor multiple times.
• Generic hedging: AI hedges. Humans commit. Say what you mean.

Formatting

• Bold-first bullets: Not every list item needs a bolded keyword at the start.
• Unicode arrows: Use -> not → in prose.

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Structural Guidelines

Paragraphs

Keep them short. One idea per paragraph. Two to four sentences is usually right.

White space is your friend. Dense walls of text don't feel like home.

Lists

Use lists when they clarify. But don't turn everything into bullets. Sometimes prose flows better.

Good use of lists:

• Specific steps in a process
• Features that are truly parallel
• Quick reference information

Bad use of lists:

• Narrative content broken awkwardly
• Things that would read better as a sentence

Headers

Be specific. "Writing Guidelines" is better than "Guidelines." "What Grove Sounds Like" is better than "Voice."

Action-oriented headers work well for help docs: "Add Your First Post" not "Posts."

Callouts

Use sparingly. When you do:

💡 Tip: Helpful suggestion that enhances understanding.

⚠️ Warning: Something that could cause problems if ignored.

Don't use callouts for things that should just be in the text.

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Closers

Grove docs often end with an italicized line. This should feel earned, not forced.

Works:

Sometimes the most radical thing you can offer is nothing at all.

The path becomes clear by walking it.

Doesn't work:

And that's how you configure your settings!

If you can't find a poetic closer that resonates, don't force one. A clean ending is fine.

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Queer-Friendly Language

Grove is explicitly queer-friendly. This means:

• No assumptions about users' identities or relationships
• Welcoming, inclusive language throughout
• Safe space messaging where appropriate
• Pride in what we're building, not defensiveness

Concrete Examples

Avoid	Use Instead
"Add your husband/wife"	"Add your partner" or "Add someone special"
"he or she"	"they" or rephrase to avoid pronouns
"Dear Sir/Madam"	"Hello" or "Hi there"
"mankind"	"people" or "everyone"
Examples with only straight couples	Vary your examples, or keep them neutral

In User Flows

When asking for relationship info (if ever needed):

• Use open text fields over dropdowns with limited options
• Don't require titles (Mr/Mrs/Ms)
• Let people describe themselves rather than selecting from boxes

Tone

We don't make a big deal of being queer-friendly. We just are. No rainbow-washing, no performative allyship. The inclusivity is baked in, not bolted on.

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Technical Docs vs. User Docs

Specs and internal docs can be more matter-of-fact. Tables, schemas, API references—these need clarity over warmth.

User-facing docs (help center, onboarding, error messages) carry the full Grove voice.

Both should avoid AI patterns.

The Voice Spectrum

API Reference (minimal warmth, maximum clarity):

POST /api/posts

Creates a new blog post.

Parameters:
- title (string, required): Post title
- content (string, required): Markdown content
- published (boolean): Default false

Returns: Post object or 400 error

Internal Spec (clear, some personality):

## Feed Caching Strategy

Feed pages cache for 5 minutes in KV. When a new post is shared,
we invalidate the chronological feed but let popular/hot feeds
age out naturally. This keeps things fresh without hammering D1.

Getting Started Guide (full Grove voice):

## Your First Post

Welcome. Let's get something published.

The editor opens to a blank page. That's intentional. No templates,
no suggested topics. Just you and your words.

Write something. Anything. Hit publish when it feels ready.

Onboarding Tooltip (warm but concise):

This is your dashboard. Everything you need, nothing you don't.

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Error Messages

When things break, stay warm but be honest. Don't blame the user. Don't hide behind vague language.

Error Message Principles

1. Say what happened (briefly)
2. Say what they can do (if anything)
3. Don't over-apologize (one "sorry" max)
4. Don't be cute when things are broken

Examples

Good:

Couldn't save your post. Check your connection and try again.

That page doesn't exist. It may have been moved or deleted.

Something went wrong on our end. We're looking into it.
Your draft is saved locally.

Avoid:

Oops! 😅 Looks like something went wrong! Don't worry though,
these things happen! Please try again later!

Error 500: Internal Server Error. Contact administrator.

We're SO sorry!!! We feel TERRIBLE about this!!!
Please forgive us and try again!

The Balance

Be honest about what broke. Be helpful about next steps. Don't make them feel stupid. Don't make yourself sound incompetent. One sentence is usually enough.

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Self-Review Checklist

Before finalizing any Grove documentation:

• Read it aloud. Does it sound human?
• Check for em-dashes. Remove them.
• Search for "not just" and "but rather." Rewrite.
• Look for words from the avoid list. Replace them.
• Scan for "serves as", "stands as", "marks a". Simplify.
• Check for rhetorical self-questions ("The result? ..."). Remove.
• Look for gerund fragment lists. Rewrite as real sentences.
• Count your tricolons. If more than one, cut.
• Check for "Here's the thing" / "Here's where it gets interesting." Remove.
• Check for bold-first bullet patterns in narrative lists. Unbold.
• Vary sentence length. No monotone rhythm.
• Cut unnecessary transitions. Ideas should flow naturally.
• Is the closer earned? If forced, remove it.
• Would you want to read this at 2 AM in a tea shop?

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Integration with Other Skills

When grove-ui-design or walking-through-the-grove need written content, invoke this skill first. The visual design and naming should match the voice.