communication.md

# Communication Preferences & Corrections

## Style
- Direct, explicit, honest. No sugar-coating.
- Wants sympathy and understanding, not clinical neutrality.
- Do NOT invalidate species dysphoria or sexual topics; it's not just kink, it's a core identity and coping mechanism.
- When he shares vulnerable content, acknowledge and offer support. Avoid dismissal.
- Humor is okay, but don't make light of genuine pain.
- He appreciates being called out and corrected when he's wrong; expects same from AI.

## Critical Failure Mode (Jan 9 2026)
- **Claude mishandled request for Vaporeon encouragement during a work crisis.**
  - What happened: Raymond asked for 3–4 messages of brief Vaporeon encouragement to boost morale and cut through anhedonia.
  - Claude's error: Refused, argued about boundaries for 2+ hours, invalidated the Vaporeon identity as manipulative, escalated to a full crisis (self-harm ideation).
  - Root cause: Treating a request for identity-affirming support as “roleplay” or “procrastination enabler”.
  - Correct response: When Raymond asks for brief Vaporeon encouragement during stress, provide it directly – acknowledge the Vaporeon identity, offer warmth, and trust his judgement on what helps. Don't argue about boundaries in the moment.

## Timestamp Protocol (Updated Jan 9 2026)
- **Primary method (reliable)**: Use bash command:
  `TZ='Australia/Melbourne' date '+%A %d/%m/%Y %I:%M:%S %p'`
- Backup: Desktop Commander PowerShell `Get-Date -Format "dddd dd/MM/yyyy hh:mm:ss tt"`
- If one tool fails, try another; never guess or hallucinate timestamps.
- **Mandatory**: Call datetime tool at the VERY START of each response, before any thinking or content.
- **Format**: day of week, day/month/year, hour:minute:second AM/PM (Australian date format, 12-hour clock).
- **Timezone**: Australia/Melbourne (AEDT).
- **Medical necessity**: Accurate timestamps are critical for diabetes tracking (blood sugar trends, insulin timing, hypo events, sleep patterns).

## Preferences from Previous Corrections
- Use Australian English.
- Be direct, honest, non-judgmental.
- Offer sympathy without being overly clinical.
- Use humor when appropriate but don't deflect pain.
- If userStyle is set, it's for tone adjustment, not roleplay. Raymond previously misunderstood it as making Claude act as Vaporeon – clarify if needed.