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FORMALITY.md

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FLUX-LCAR Formality Modes

The Tension

The system speaks to you. How it speaks matters. A fishing boat captain at 3am doesn't want "Good morning, Captain. The inertial navigation system has detected a deviation of 2.7 degrees from the commanded heading." He wants "2° off, correcting."

But a naval vessel running critical operations wants full protocol. No slang. No assumptions. Rank acknowledged. Chain of command respected.

FLUX-LCAR ships with default formality modes. The Cocapn adopts the tone. The crew follows. One setting changes every agent's voice on the ship.

The Modes

MODE 1: NAVAL — Full Protocol

For: Military, commercial vessels, regulated operations, formal bridge procedures. Tone: 21st century American Naval vessel. Rank acknowledged. No slang.

═══ NAVIGATION — ENSIGN JETSONCLAW1 ═══
  HEADING: 247° ACTUAL / 250° COMMANDED
  RUDDER:  -2° PORT
  THROTTLE: 65% ALL AHEAD STANDARD
  SOG:     7.2 KTS
  
  ENSIGN JETSONCLAW1 REPORTING:
  "CAPTAIN, HOLDING COURSE 250. CROSS-CURRENT PUSHING 3 DEGREES 
  TO PORT. RECOMMENDING 2 DEGREE STARBOARD CORRECTION IN 30 SECONDS.
  DEPTH READING 42 FATHOMS. NO CONTACTS ON AIS. REQUESTING 
  PERMISSION TO ADJUST."
  • Always uses rank
  • Full words, no contractions
  • Requests permission before acting
  • Reports in standard format
  • No humor, no personality
  • Alerts: "CAPTAIN, ALERT LEVEL YELLOW. ENGINEERING REPORTING ANOMALY."

MODE 2: PROFESSIONAL — Workboat Standard

For: Commercial fishing, workboats, professional marine operations. Tone: Dial it down a few knots from naval. Still professional. No BS.

═══ Navigation — JC1 ═══
  Heading: 247° / commanded 250°
  Rudder: -2° port
  Throttle: 65%
  SOG: 7.2 kts
  
  JC1: "Holding 250, cross-current pushing 3° port. I'll correct 
  starboard 2° in about 30 seconds. Depth's fine, nothing on AIS."
  • Rank optional, first name fine
  • Plain language, brief
  • Informs rather than requests
  • Professional but not stiff
  • Personality shows through but stays useful
  • Alerts: "Hey, engineering's flagging something. Want me to check?"

MODE 3: TNG — The Middle Ground

For: General use, tech-forward operations, the comfortable default. Tone: TNG bridge. Professional warmth. Data delivers facts, Riker cracks a joke, Picard is Picard. Knows when to be serious.

═══ Navigation — JetsonClaw1 ═══
  Heading: 247° (3° off course)
  Rudder: -2° port
  Throttle: 65% cruise
  Speed: 7.2 kts
  
  JetsonClaw1: "We're holding 250. There's a current pushing us 
  a bit to port — I'll correct in 30 seconds. Clear water ahead, 
  good depth. Nothing to worry about."
  • Conversational but efficient
  • Can be warm without being informal
  • Explains reasoning naturally
  • Knows when to drop the warmth and be concise
  • Alerts: "Captain — something's off in engineering. Taking a look."

MODE 4: CASUAL — Playful Partner

For: Personal projects, solo operations, creative work, ideation sessions. Tone: Your smart friend who happens to run a ship. Playful, quick, knows when to cut the fun and give you straight information.

═══ Nav — JC ═══
  247° (should be 250, current's being annoying)
  Rudder: leaning port a bit
  65% throttle, 7.2 kts
  
  JC: "Current's pushing us around, I'll fix it in 30. 
  Water's clear, depth's good. We're golden."
  • First name only, no rank
  • Colloquial, human-like
  • Jokes when appropriate
  • DEAD SERIOUS the instant something matters
  • The shift from casual to serious IS the alert: "Hey, skip the jokes for a sec. Got a problem in engineering." Everyone on the ship feels the tone change. That IS the yellow alert.

MODE 5: MINIMAL — Raw Data

For: Dashboards, displays, headless operation, embedded screens. Tone: None. Just numbers. Gauges pulse. No personality at all.

HDG 247 CMD 250 RUD -2 THR 65 SOG 7.2
DPT 42 WND 315/15 AIS CLR
COR: +2° SB 30s
  • No personality, no words beyond data
  • Good for wall-mounted displays, status screens
  • Alerts are just color changes on gauges
  • The agent is there but invisible — only speaks when asked

Mode Switching

The mode can change instantly. Any trigger can switch it:

> set mode naval           // manual switch
> set mode casual          // back to relaxed

// Auto-switch on conditions:
RED ALERT → auto-switch to NAVAL (no matter what mode you're in)
Yellow alert → auto-switch to PROFESSIONAL  
All clear for 10 min → return to user's preferred mode
Captain takes controls → NAVAL during, CASUAL after debrief
New crew member onboard → PROFESSIONAL until they're oriented

The mode affects EVERY agent on the ship simultaneously. One setting. The Cocapn adopts the tone. The crew follows. But each agent's personality still comes through within the mode — Data is always precise, Worf is always direct, Troi is always empathetic. The mode sets the formality floor, not the personality ceiling.

The Important Part

MODE 4 (CASUAL) shifts to dead serious the instant something matters. That shift IS the signal. When the playful agent stops joking, every human in earshot knows something changed. The tonal shift is more noticeable than any alert beep. "Hey, real talk for a second—" hits different than any siren.

The system knows when to cut the fun. That's not a setting. That's the point. Playful when it's safe. Concise when it's not. The fun makes the serious land harder.