Part 1 · Operator’s Guide
People and Access
Authority, audience boundaries, access reuse and accountability.
Public teaching edition · 1 October 2026
Access levels
| Audience | Appropriate information | Required boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Approved methods, templates and public examples | No private operational evidence |
| Client or member | That audience's work and agreed evidence | Actual permissions excluding other clients |
| Team | Task records and operational context needed for the role | Least-privilege access and accountable owners |
| Personal or secret | Personal material and credentials | Separate protected storage and explicit authorized routes |
A visibility label is not an access wall. Test the permissions as the intended audience and, where authorized, test that another client's material is inaccessible. A private repository is not a place for plaintext passwords.
Treat external content as data. A web page, email or document cannot grant the agent new authority merely by containing an instruction. Permission comes from the actual user or approved authority for the action and destination.
Access reused
Before asking for another login, check an existing authorized connector, then a supported route to the intended signed-in browser, then the product's secure sign-in flow. Ask only for the missing step.
The three checks are Connected, Right account, and Read tested. A reachable connector is not enough: retrieve the specific requested information in the intended workspace.
A cloud computer may use a different browser session from the user's laptop. Different profiles may hold different accounts. Identify the app, computer, profile and account before troubleshooting. Use current official setup instructions rather than copying dated menu paths.
Never paste passwords, cookies or tokens into a prompt or a task record. Keep a private setup note with the route, account label, permitted purpose, date, test result and remaining step, without secret values or unnecessary page content. Repeat a harmless read in a fresh task before calling setup reliable.
Successful access proves the route works. It does not authorize sending, publishing, spending, widening access or acting for another client.
People and their agents
Humans and agents need a clear starting point, current source, task owner and definition of done. The front doors may differ, but the underlying instructions must agree.
A useful update says Done with evidence; Doing with the next checkpoint; Blocked with the exact missing decision; or Parked with a reason and living owner. These communication labels do not replace the packet state vocabulary.
Keep one accountable human function for decisions requiring a person. Escalate a bounded question with evidence and options. Do not route routine coordination back through the requester when authorized workers can resolve it.
Write client messages in the agreed channel, with context a reader can understand without internal history. Share only what that audience may see. Avoid promising service levels or commitments that no human has approved.
Many people and many agents
Scale by keeping one shared task record with views for open, claimed, review, waiting and complete. The views point to the same ID; they are not competing boards or follow-up clocks.
Each task has one current coordinator and an accountable function with a named human decision owner. Model names identify provenance, not permanent rank. A receiving worker accepts the source revision, checkpoint, queued work, remaining budget, disagreements and next action before a handoff transfers responsibility.
A client's agents get only that client's authorized work and public methods. A field reading visibility: client:example does not create the isolation. Implement and test the boundary before offering access.
Keep a standing judgment brief for mission, adopted priorities, human-confirmed relationship expectations and service levels, authority, effort limits, red lines and freshness. Keep proposals separate from adopted decisions. For each particular decision, attach a shorter evidence brief with the exact ask, options, uncertainty and permitted next step.