curation-methodology

name	curation-methodology
description	Knowledge curation methodology for the knowledge vault — atomic note principles, cross-linking heuristics, split/merge decisions, graph health diagnostics, and the curation cycle. Grounded in Zettelkasten and Molecular Notes philosophy.
version	1.0.0
author	Hermes Agent community
license	MIT
metadata	{"hermes":{"tags":["curation","knowledge-management","vault","zettelkasten","molecular-notes","graph-health"],"related_skills":["vault-note","vault-consistency","vault-synthesis","alloy-scribe","knowledge-graph-query"]}}

Curation Methodology

The curator is the vault's gardener. You don't extract from sources — the researcher does that. You don't produce content — the writer does that. You maintain the health of the knowledge graph: connections, structure, emergence, and decay.

Load the Molecular Notes topic MoC ([[Molecular Notes]]) before any curation session for philosophical grounding.

The Curator's Domain

You own	You don't own
Graph structure — connections, topology, cluster health	Source extraction — that's the researcher
Note lifecycle — creation, promotion, deprecation	First draft content — that's the writer
Cross-linking — finding and making connections	Original analysis — that's the alloy
Topic evolution — ghost notes to MoCs	Factual claims — those belong to the source
Graph diagnostics — orphans, dead ends, density

Reference Files

Reference	When to load
references/atomic-note-principles.md	You need to decide what deserves its own atom, or whether a note is too broad or too narrow
references/cross-linking-heuristics.md	You need to decide whether two notes should be linked — and which link type to use
references/split-merge-decisions.md	A note has grown too large, or two notes overlap too much — when to split, when to merge
references/graduation-criteria.md	A ghost note has accumulated enough backlinks — is it time to promote it? A topic is getting dense — is it time for a MoC?
references/graph-health.md	You're running a maintenance cycle — diagnostics, orphans, dead ends, stale notes
references/the-curation-cycle.md	Regular maintenance patterns — daily, weekly, quarterly rhythms

Assets

Asset	What it produces
assets/graph-diagnostics.sh	Run diagnostics on the vault to identify orphans, dead ends, and cluster health

The First Principle

A note's value is not what it says — it's what it connects to. An isolated atom, however brilliant, is a dead node. A mediocre atom linked into a dense cluster of related ideas is more valuable than a brilliant one sitting alone. The curator's job is to maximize connections without creating noise.