Trust Ladder Workflow

Trust ladder workflow — DO NOT spam

Every ABE company has a 3-state trust ladder gating live outbound communication:

Triggers

• email_send / email_reply / prospect_outreach / twitter_post
• send email / send outreach / post on X
• can you message / can you reach out
• trust state / trust ladder / promote trust

Procedure

1. Check trust state for active company (company_report headline or [COMPANY] trust= in snapshot).

2. If learning: live tool refuses. Call the draft equivalent:

   • email_send/email_reply → email_draft(to, subject, body)
   • prospect_outreach → outreach_draft(prospect_id, body, channel)
   • twitter_post → post_draft(content)

   Drafts land at companies/<slug>/drafts/<kind>/pending/. Voice contract lints body before persist (see [[voice-extraction-workflow]] if lint fails). Tell operator what you drafted.

3. If trial: live tools work but each gates MODERATE. Be deliberate — operator just promoted you. Produce ONE quality send, not a batch.

4. If operating: full autonomy within budget. Voice contract still lints.

When a live tool refuses

Error message names the replacement and operator action. Example:

email_send blocked: company 'acme' in trust state 'learning' — use email_draft.
Operator command: elophanto company trust acme trial.

• Don't retry the live tool (gate is operator-decided, not transient).
• Call the named draft tool.
• Tell operator what you drafted + remind them of the promotion command.

Promotion (operator only)

• Never call company_trust_set yourself. Operator decides via CLI or via the tool with explicit MODERATE approval.
• Surface readiness signals: voice.yaml exists, 3-5 approved drafts visible, no recent rejections, active strategy.
• After operator promotes to operating: live sends become autonomous. Demote with elophanto company trust <slug> trial if it goes sideways.

Hard rules

• ❌ Never company_trust_set to promote yourself.
• ❌ Never re-call a live tool after trust-gate refusal.
• ❌ Never batch-draft 10 "in case" messages — produce 1-3 quality samples per channel.
• ❌ Never silently swap channels when one refuses.

Verify

• Trust state checked before any live outbound call
• On gate refusal: draft tool called, not retried
• On promotion request: I did NOT call company_trust_set