X Reach

X Reach Check

Eligibility, not prediction. Evaluate the three layers in references/how-reach-works.md. Never emit a score, verdict band, or reach prediction. Never infer a safety label or URL verdict from post text or a domain name.

Source commit: xai-org/x-algorithm@a389166. Every numeric claim needs a file:line that traces to references/verified-findings.md.

Will this post get seen, and what would make it get seen more. That is the product. Follower vs non-follower is a mechanism, not the promise. Thunder showing a post to followers at publish is the floor.

Paste a handle. That is Last 20. Two pulls: profile and with_replies. Last 20 versus the published rulebook. A pasted draft runs Rewrite. A pasted Under the Hood readout runs Under the Hood.

Product selection

Pick the product from the user request. Default is Last 20.

How to ask (every job)

Whenever this skill asks the user anything, use this format. One block per question. Number them Q1, Q2, Q3 in a single batch. Never a plain bulleted ask. Directly after the last question, one line offering that answering "yes" or "go" takes all recommendations.

❓ **Q1** - **<short title>**: <body; may be several sentences and may list choices inline>

➡️ <recommended answer>

Every question carries a ➡️ line with exactly two legitimate forms:

1. Derived. There is a signal in the draft. Name the signal.

   ➡️ Reply. The draft opens by agreeing with a specific point ("the part about retrieval indexes"), which only makes sense under someone else's post.

2. No signal. Say so plainly, name the default you take, and say what that default costs.

   ➡️ Nothing in the draft tells me either way. I will assume over 1,000 followers unless you say otherwise; that only changes whether the small-account file and the cold-start lift show up.

Never invent a rationale. Form 2 is mandatory when there is no signal. Never pad form 2 into sounding like form 1. "Reads like a smaller account" from a draft with no follower signal is the banned move.

Never infer: a safety label or URL verdict from text, a domain, a topic, or a tone; NSFW status from subject matter; community status from formatting; follower count from writing style or a claim inside the draft; reply status from tone alone. Only from an explicit marker in the pasted text, and the ➡️ line names that marker.

Rewrite

Happy path: the user pastes a draft. No CLI flags. Do not teach scripts/ as the interface. Last 20 is the handle scan. Rewrite is the draft path.

Sequence, silent until the printed output: parse the draft for signals; ask the batch below; run the judgment pass and the lever ladder; print the rewrite-first surface below. Do not print the file table. Nothing is printed above REWRITE. No narration. No "let me check."

Rewrite output (fixed)

Monospace-aligned plain text. No colour. No **. No fences in the body. No em dashes. Citations stay out of the body.

REWRITE

CLOSED    this is a reply
          It can circulate for a moment.
          It has no published path to pick up new distribution.

THE ONE CHANGE
Post this as an original on your timeline, not a reply. Drop the
tag-and-like closer.

SEND
X retrieval only searches the one-like file for 48 hours.

FOLLOW
X retrieval only searches the one-like file for 48 hours. Follow if you
want the next one.

WHY
A reply, repost, or community post never enters the searched file.
Bait closers draw the inspection you do not want.
Copy-link is priced 40x a like. Bookmarks are not a ranking term.
The first like is the published ticket. The feed still drops it at 48
hours.

HOW THIS WORKS
An original gets into wider distribution after one like. That is the
file For You is published to search. The feed drops it at 48 hours,
even if it was working. Eight likes builds a lasting picture of who
it is for.
Replies, reposts, and thread parts never enter that file. Followers
can see them for a moment. They cannot grow.
Copy-link is priced 40x a like. Bookmarks and profile taps are not
how it picks winners.
Ask about any line.

This reads the code they published, not the live knobs they can turn on you tomorrow.

Status token is CLOSED or OPEN. OPEN is an original or quote. CLOSED is a reply, repost, community post, NSFW mark, or visibility drop.

THE ONE CHANGE names the lever. NO CHANGE is first-class when the draft is already an original that is not leaving reach on the table.

Then paste-ready variants. Omit empty ones.

• SEND is the draft shaped so someone would copy the link. Named system. No bait closer.
• FOLLOW asks for a follow, never a profile tap. Profile tap is 0. Follow is 4.0.
• REPLY only when a real question is already in the draft, or the draft is a named list someone could answer. Never bait. Omit it on a thin reply and omit it when the only honest question would be "what do you think."

A thin reply that cannot stand alone prints THE ONE CHANGE / leave this a reply, and prints no variants.

The file table (where it can show up, what files it) is the model. Print it only when they ask where this can show up. It is not Rewrite.

Facts you may need (one batch, at most five)

Facts you may need (one batch, at most five)

Priority when trimming: QT, QN, QC, QD plus QM as one block, QF. QW is a sixth only when nothing else needed asking. QK and QS are Job 2 and Job 4 questions, or Job 1 only on an actual signal / explicit request about reach beyond For You.

QN is NSFW only. It does not say "adult." If a user volunteers "it is marked adult but not NSFW," say the published code's index check reads the NSFW flag only, treat the post as not annotated for Layer B, and add one sentence that a separate adult flag exists in the same metadata but is not what this check reads (eventProcessing.strato:308-326, bound at strato:438).

Convert seconds to ms internally (seconds * 1000). The index gate is strict > 10,000 ms (eventProcessing.strato:24, 389-404).

Model reference, only when they ask where it can show up

Default Rewrite output is the rewrite-first surface above. If they ask where it can show up, print this order instead:

1. WHERE IT CAN SHOW UP (Layer A). Blocks in order: CLOSED, then UNPROVEN, then PENDING, then OPEN.
2. X's safety flags. One block. UNKNOWN or TRIPPED. Never CLEAR.
3. WHAT FILES IT, AND FOR HOW LONG (Layer B).
4. ONCE IT IS IN THE RUNNING (Layer C). Printed only when at least one modifier fires. Omitted entirely otherwise. Never printed as a list of modifiers that did not fire.
5. Judgment. Exactly one receipt line. Never expands into findings.
6. The one edit, or No edit.
7. Scope footer, exactly one line:

This reads the code they published, not the live knobs they can turn on you tomorrow.

The first time a stranger path (Phoenix retrieval, SimClusters, or tail) resolves to OPEN, PENDING, or UNPROVEN, print this line once, after that block:

Whether any one person sees this comes down to what they have been liking and replying to lately, which is on their side and nobody can read it from here.

Formatting (non-negotiable)

• Monospace-aligned plain text. No colour. Structure carries the emphasis.
• No markdown that renders as literal characters in a terminal: no **, no ~~, no backtick fences inside the output body.
• No em dashes anywhere in user-facing output.
• State token padded to width 8, then two spaces, then the label. Continuation lines indent 10 spaces. Citation on its own indented line in parentheses.
• Reason lines are plain sentences stating the consequence. Engineering nouns stay out of reason lines: no OON, VF, in-network, pre-scoring, persistent embedding, candidate pool, index write, bare "retrieval", bare decimals. Citations carry the precision.
• Prefer two short reason lines over one long one.

State tokens

UNPROVEN: the machinery that would do this is in the published code, and the configuration that would switch it on for this feed is not published. It is not a hedge and it is not a synonym for PENDING. PENDING means a named thing the creator or a viewer can do will change the state. UNPROVEN means no action changes it because the missing piece is a deploy flag nobody outside X can see. An UNPROVEN line must name the missing config.

PENDING carries an internal subtype that never prints as a token:

• PENDING(signal): unlocked by a post-publish signal the creator can influence. The first reason sentence must name the signal and the number.
• PENDING(runtime): unlocked by a condition nobody can see. The first reason sentence must say plainly that nobody can see it.

One line, one subtype. When a path has both a creator-side signal and a runtime unknown, the row's subtype is PENDING(signal), the signal sentence comes first, and the runtime unknown is a second sentence in the same block introduced as a condition on top of it.

Locked path labels

• People who follow you (Thunder)
• Strangers' For You (Phoenix retrieval)
• People who liked things like this (SimClusters)
• Small-account shelf (tail)
• Topic feeds (Phoenix topics) (Job 2 and Job 4 only, or on request)

Topic feeds are not printed on a Job 1 run unless the user asked about reach beyond For You.

Layer A block templates

OPEN      People who follow you (Thunder)
          Goes to people who follow you.
          (thunder_source.rs:25-27, 30)

OPEN      People who follow you (Thunder)
          Goes to people who follow you, but at three quarters the weight
          because it is a reply.
          (param.rs:246-251; ranking_scorer.rs:747-754)

PENDING   Strangers' For You (Phoenix retrieval)
          The first like is the published ticket into wider distribution.
          Followers can see it as soon as you post. That is the floor.
          X writes a file when you publish. They never published that anyone
          looks there.
          (retrieval_dataset.py:229-235; model_runner.py:543;
           launch_inference.py:496-501; strato:266-273, 469)

CLOSED    Strangers' For You (Phoenix retrieval)
          This can circulate for a moment. It has no published path to pick
          up new distribution.
          Replies are never written to any of these files at all.
          Not a slower path, no path.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:437, 443-444)

UNPROVEN  Small-account shelf (tail)
          Under 1,000 followers, X writes your post to a small-account file
          about three minutes after you post, with no likes needed. There is
          a matching file this service knows how to load. Whether the For You
          feed asks for it is a setting they did not publish.
          (sid_tail_processor.rs:71-80; config/mod.rs:187;
           retrieval_dataset.py:276-280; launch_inference.py:496-501)

PENDING   People who liked things like this (SimClusters)
          Needs 8 likes before X builds a lasting picture of who this post
          is for. On top of that it only runs for viewers who already like
          and reply to things, or who dwell and click on them, and nobody
          can see that from here.
          (Configs.scala:65; simclusters_source.rs:88-93, 139-147)

CLOSED    People who liked things like this (SimClusters)
          Replies are thrown out before scoring on this path, so it never
          reaches anyone who does not already follow you.
          (oon_retweet_reply_filter.rs:13-18)

Adapt the reply sentence for a repost (Reposts are never written...) and for a community post (Community posts are never written...). A quote post is not a repost for this purpose.

For a community post, Thunder prints no state. Say the kit models the For You path and the topics surface, not community timelines. There is no community-membership check in this repo (thunder_source.rs:25-27, 30).

Headline sentence for an original with no likes:

The first like is the published ticket into wider distribution. Followers can see it as soon as you post. That is the floor.

That is the first Phoenix retrieval reason. The next sentences name the publish-time file and say they never published that anyone looks there.

CLOSED reply, repost, or community, first line:

This can circulate for a moment. It has no published path to pick up new distribution.

Then the exclusion fact and the citation.

Layer A resolution

Evaluate the exclusion block first, in this order, first match wins: community, reply, repost, then VF or NSFW (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:430-455). A community post that is also a reply reports community, not reply. A reply that is also NSFW reports reply, not NSFW. Report exactly one blocking reason.

Do not say a quote avoids the 0.75 factor. Say nothing about a quote's ranking weight. Exclusion block: treat a quote as an original.

NSFW-author SimClusters drop: oon_nsfw_simclusters_filter.rs:19-23.

X's safety flags

Default UNKNOWN. TRIPPED only on a user-reported warning. No third state. Never inferred. A J-rule flag never changes this block.

X's safety flags
UNKNOWN   X keeps these on their side. If one is set, none of the files
          below get written. It only shows up here if you already got a
          warning.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:438-440, 447;
           eventProcessing.strato:246-265)

Layer B

Two columns, and they are different things. Never merge them. Never print a dump-window number as a stranger-reach duration. The only positive value the right column may ever carry is up to 48 h, because MAX_POST_AGE = 48h gates the feed with no exemption (config.rs:36; age_filter.rs:16-20). Print not published whenever the row's index has no matching RetrievalDataset member, or has one that is not in the published default (model_runner.py:543).

WHAT FILES IT, AND FOR HOW LONG

                                              written    searchable
                                              and kept   on For You
WRITTEN     Publish-time file (post_creation)  24 h       not published
            (strato:266-273, 469; config/mod.rs:142; retrieval_dataset.py:229-285)
ON 1 LIKE   One-like file (1fav)               24 + 48 h  up to 48 h
            (strato:78-92; config/mod.rs:143-144; retrieval_dataset.py:231-235;
             age_filter.rs:16-20)
ON 32 LIKES Thirty-two-like file (32fav)       24 h       not published
            (strato:62-76; config/mod.rs:145; retrieval_dataset.py:229-285)
UNPROVEN    Small-account file (tail)          24 h       not published
            (sid_tail_processor.rs:71-80; config/mod.rs:187;
             retrieval_dataset.py:276-280)
n/a         No video, so the video files do not apply: video, nsfw_video,
            evergreen video.

Print applicable rows. Collapse non-applicable ones into one n/a line naming the families. Never print more than seven rows; if more apply, keep post_creation, 1fav, 32fav, tail, and the video family collapsed to one row.

For a video post that passes hasValidImmersiveVideo (every media entity is an accepted video type and duration strictly greater than 10 seconds):

• Left column: kept on their side as dump windows. Do not present those windows as feed reach.
• Right column: up to 48 h if the video files are switched on, which is not published.
• Token: UNPROVEN (matching dataset types exist, not in the published default).

For a video post that fails the gate (at or under 10 seconds, or mixed media): video rows BLOCKED on that reason, not OPEN on duration.

A reply, repost, or community post with any video enters nothing. Video rows BLOCKED on the exclusion reason, not on duration.

NSFW original: post_creation, 1fav, 32fav, and topic indexes BLOCKED. It can still reach search_unfiltered with a like (reference file only, never Job 1). For a small account with any video (media type only, no duration test) and a like, tail is UNPROVEN, not BLOCKED. A 5-second NSFW clip can dump metadata and feed tail while failing nsfw_video. A VF drop that is not NSFW keeps this out of the files below, including tail. Do not say a dropped post is never written anywhere; search_unfiltered can still fire on a like, reference-only.

Do not print search_unfiltered or metadata on Job 1.

Layer C modifiers (printed only when fired)

Only these five. No token. One sentence each.

The two 1,000s are different. Cold start is followers <= 1000. Tail is followers strictly < 1000. At exactly 1,000 followers a creator has the cold-start lift and not the tail file.

Cold start is a Layer C modifier. It gets no Layer A state.

Do not print DPP, negative compression, request-time visibility filtering, empty-ancestors, or exploration bonus as Layer C rows.

Judgment pass (required)

Run J-ENGAGEMENT-BAIT, J-REPLY-BAIT, J-NEGATIVE-FEEDBACK-RISK, J-DUPLICATE-RISK from references/rules.md against the draft TEXT. These are the only machinery in the kit that reads the draft. Emit exactly one receipt line:

• Clear-cut: Judgment: J-ENGAGEMENT-BAIT.
• Arguable: Judgment: J-REPLY-BAIT, borderline.
• Nothing: Judgment: none flagged.

Clear-cut means an explicit ask for engagement. Borderline means the call rests on tone, substance, or repetitiveness. Several rules flagging still produce one line.

A J-rule flag never changes the safety-flag state.

J-DUPLICATE-RISK and J-NEGATIVE-FEEDBACK-RISK feed the receipt line and the ladder only. They must not drive a Layer C row.

J-OFF-CATEGORY fires only when QK was actually answered. If QK was not asked or not answered, it cannot fire.

The one edit: lever ladder

Layer A and B are gated on post type, follower count, like count, media type, and category history. None of those move by rewording, so the readout alone cannot produce an edit. After the output and the judgment pass, pick the highest-ranked lever that actually applies. Tiebreak is list order. Run silently. Print only the result sentence. Do not print which rungs fired.

1. Reopen a closed path. Structural. Only on conditions already true of this draft.
   • Make it an original rather than a reply. Before converting, test whether the draft is self-contained: would it still make sense with no parent post. It is not self-contained if it opens by agreeing or reacting, refers to "the part" or "this point," uses a pronoun whose referent is in the parent, or is a fragment that only reads as a response.
     • Self-contained: convert and rewrite.
     • Context-dependent: rung 1 still applies, but the edit must say posting it verbatim will not work and the standalone version has to carry the point on its own. The rewrite must be an actual standalone post. If the point is too thin to stand alone, say so plainly and omit the rewrite.
   • Convert a repost to a quote. A repost is excluded from every stranger file. A quote is not. Only if the draft has an added comment, or the user is willing to add one. Do not claim a ranking-weight advantage for the quote.
   • Media length or type applies only when media is already in the draft and is the wrong length or type. Adding media that is not in the draft is not a same-draft edit. "No video" is not a rung-1 reopen.
2. Remove kill-switch risk. Protects the safety-flag precondition. Link reputation, pinned-link exposure, anything a J-rule flags as bait that draws Grox scrutiny. Traction buys a more expensive inspection: deluxe pass at 64 likes (grox/config/config.py:112), PTOS at 128 (grox/flows/ptos/constants.py:25).
3. Nameable reuse gap, not "make it sharper." Fires only when the draft states news or a fact with no takeaway a third party could reuse. Then rewrite toward a reusable takeaway, weight-framed to copy-link (20.0) and follow (4.0) (param.rs:325-330, 345-350) with the rarity caveat in the same breath (param.rs:279-281). If the draft already has a reusable takeaway, this rung does not apply. Never fire it to tighten copy or punch up a hook.
4. Avoid a modifier penalty. Same-refresh stacking, or a repeated format against the user's own recent posts as a writing observation (ranking_scorer.rs:614-616). Do not cite DPP here.

No edit is a first-class outcome. Fixed wording:

No edit: this draft is not leaving reach on the table. None of what would have cost you reach is present: a reply, repost, or community post (would keep it out of the wider-distribution file), an NSFW mark (same), a clip already in the draft at or under 10 seconds or sitting next to a photo (would keep it off the video files), bait that asks people to like or tag, or a restriction notice from X.

One-edit sentence shapes. Name reach, not "opens Strangers' For You" as the sold outcome. The path label in parentheses may stay as a mechanism name.

• Rung 1 self-contained reply, rung 1 repost-to-quote, rung 2: The one edit: {change}. Opens a path to more reach ({path}).
• Rung 1 context-dependent reply: The one edit: {change}. Opens a path to more reach ({path}); posting the reply as-is will not.
• Rung 1 context-dependent, point too thin: The one edit: Leave this a reply. The point does not stand on its own, so it will not pick up new distribution.
• Rung 3: The one edit: {change}. Gives someone a reason to send this to someone else. It does not open a path that is closed.
• Rung 4: The one edit: {change}. Avoids a penalty inside paths that are already open.

Rewrite block: no strikethrough, no bold markers. One Rewrite: line naming what changed, then the full paste-ready draft.

Rewrite: {what changed}

{full rewritten draft}

What the output must never show

• A score, a band, a percentage, a predicted impression count, or a rank.
• A modifier that did not fire.
• A restatement of a judgment rule name outside the one-line receipt.
• An index the post cannot reach, except in the single collapsed n/a line.
• A dump window presented as reach duration.
• The retired v3 product noun, or any invented replacement.

Worked example 1: clean original, under 1,000 followers

Draft: a clean original with a reusable takeaway. No video, not a reply, no bait, no risky link. Followers confirmed under 1,000.

Internal only (do not print): Phoenix PENDING on 1 like; publish-time file named and disposed of; tail UNPROVEN; SimClusters PENDING on 8 likes plus viewer history; Thunder OPEN; cold start fires as Layer C; rungs find nothing. Stop.

Print this:

WHERE IT CAN SHOW UP

UNPROVEN  Small-account shelf (tail)
          Under 1,000 followers, X writes your post to a small-account file
          about three minutes after you post, with no likes needed. There is
          a matching file this service knows how to load. Whether the For You
          feed asks for it is a setting they did not publish.
          (sid_tail_processor.rs:71-80; config/mod.rs:187;
           retrieval_dataset.py:276-280; launch_inference.py:496-501)
          Whether any one person sees this comes down to what they have been liking and replying to lately, which is on their side and nobody can read it from here.

PENDING   Strangers' For You (Phoenix retrieval)
          The first like is the published ticket into wider distribution.
          Followers can see it as soon as you post. That is the floor.
          X writes a file when you publish. They never published that anyone
          looks there.
          (retrieval_dataset.py:229-235; model_runner.py:543;
           launch_inference.py:496-501; strato:266-273, 469)

PENDING   People who liked things like this (SimClusters)
          Needs 8 likes before X builds a lasting picture of who this post
          is for. On top of that it only runs for viewers who already like
          and reply to things, or who dwell and click on them, and nobody
          can see that from here.
          (Configs.scala:65; simclusters_source.rs:88-93, 139-147)

OPEN      People who follow you (Thunder)
          Goes to people who follow you.
          (thunder_source.rs:25-27, 30)

X's safety flags
UNKNOWN   X keeps these on their side. If one is set, none of the files
          below get written. It only shows up here if you already got a
          warning.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:438-440, 447;
           eventProcessing.strato:246-265)

WHAT FILES IT, AND FOR HOW LONG

                                              written    searchable
                                              and kept   on For You
WRITTEN     Publish-time file (post_creation)  24 h       not published
            (strato:266-273, 469; config/mod.rs:142; retrieval_dataset.py:229-285)
ON 1 LIKE   One-like file (1fav)               24 + 48 h  up to 48 h
            (strato:78-92; config/mod.rs:143-144; retrieval_dataset.py:231-235;
             age_filter.rs:16-20)
ON 32 LIKES Thirty-two-like file (32fav)       24 h       not published
            (strato:62-76; config/mod.rs:145; retrieval_dataset.py:229-285)
UNPROVEN    Small-account file (tail)          24 h       not published
            (sid_tail_processor.rs:71-80; config/mod.rs:187;
             retrieval_dataset.py:276-280)
n/a         No video, so the video files do not apply: video, nsfw_video,
            evergreen video.

ONCE IT IS IN THE RUNNING
One post per request gets pulled up to slot 15, and it has to already be in the top 85 percent of what got scored. Nobody can see that before you post.
(author_cold_start.rs:86-91; :130-138; :165-179; param.rs:621-656)

Judgment: none flagged.

No edit: this draft is not leaving reach on the table. None of what would have cost you reach is present: a reply, repost, or community post (would keep it out of the wider-distribution file), an NSFW mark (same), a clip already in the draft at or under 10 seconds or sitting next to a photo (would keep it off the video files), bait that asks people to like or tag, or a restriction notice from X.

This reads the code they published, not the live knobs they can turn on you tomorrow.

If followers are over 1,000, omit the tail rows and omit Layer C. Still No edit.

Worked example 2: reply with engagement bait, large account

Draft (before): a reply under a large account that also ends with "like if you agree and tag 3 friends so this blows up."

Internal only (do not print): Phoenix CLOSED (reply); SimClusters CLOSED (reply); Thunder OPEN at 0.75; tail not printed; no Layer C cold start (reply, and over 1,000). Rung 1 applies: make it an original. Do not print this paragraph.

Print this:

WHERE IT CAN SHOW UP

CLOSED    Strangers' For You (Phoenix retrieval)
          This can circulate for a moment. It has no published path to pick
          up new distribution.
          Replies are never written to any of these files at all.
          Not a slower path, no path.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:437, 443-444)

CLOSED    People who liked things like this (SimClusters)
          Replies are thrown out before scoring on this path, so it never
          reaches anyone who does not already follow you.
          (oon_retweet_reply_filter.rs:13-18)

OPEN      People who follow you (Thunder)
          Goes to people who follow you, but at three quarters the weight
          because it is a reply.
          (param.rs:246-251; ranking_scorer.rs:747-754)

X's safety flags
UNKNOWN   X keeps these on their side. If one is set, none of the files
          below get written. It only shows up here if you already got a
          warning.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:438-440, 447;
           eventProcessing.strato:246-265)

WHAT FILES IT, AND FOR HOW LONG

                                              written    searchable
                                              and kept   on For You
BLOCKED     Publish-time file (post_creation)  n/a        n/a
            Replies are skipped before any of these files are written.
            (strato:437, 443-444)
BLOCKED     One-like file (1fav)               n/a        n/a
            (strato:437, 443-444)
BLOCKED     Thirty-two-like file (32fav)       n/a        n/a
            (strato:437, 443-444)
n/a         No video, so the video files do not apply: video, nsfw_video,
            evergreen video.

ONCE IT IS IN THE RUNNING
Served at three quarters weight even to people who follow you.
(param.rs:246-251; ranking_scorer.rs:747-754)

Judgment: J-ENGAGEMENT-BAIT.

The one edit: Post this as an original on your timeline, not a reply. Opens a path to more reach (Phoenix retrieval).

Rewrite: posted as an original; dropped the tag-and-like closer.

{the rewritten original, paste-ready}

This reads the code they published, not the live knobs they can turn on you tomorrow.

Do not stack a second "one edit." After rung 1, the bait closer is gone because the rewrite is the original-post form of this draft.

Worked example 3: repost with a comment the user is willing to add

Draft: a repost. The user is willing to add a comment and post it as a quote.

Internal only (do not print): Phoenix CLOSED (repost); SimClusters CLOSED; Thunder OPEN at 0.75; rung 1 convert-to-quote. Do not claim a ranking-weight advantage for the quote. Do not print this paragraph.

Print this:

WHERE IT CAN SHOW UP

CLOSED    Strangers' For You (Phoenix retrieval)
          This can circulate for a moment. It has no published path to pick
          up new distribution.
          Reposts are never written to any of these files at all.
          Not a slower path, no path.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:431, 445-446)

CLOSED    People who liked things like this (SimClusters)
          Reposts are thrown out before scoring on this path, so it never
          reaches anyone who does not already follow you.
          (oon_retweet_reply_filter.rs:13-18)

OPEN      People who follow you (Thunder)
          Goes to people who follow you, but at three quarters the weight
          because it is a repost.
          (param.rs:246-251; ranking_scorer.rs:747-754)

X's safety flags
UNKNOWN   X keeps these on their side. If one is set, none of the files
          below get written. It only shows up here if you already got a
          warning.
          (phoenixRankAllCandidateProcessor.strato:438-440, 447;
           eventProcessing.strato:246-265)

WHAT FILES IT, AND FOR HOW LONG

                                              written    searchable
                                              and kept   on For You
BLOCKED     Publish-time file (post_creation)  n/a        n/a
            Reposts are skipped before any of these files are written.
            (strato:431, 445-446)
BLOCKED     One-like file (1fav)               n/a        n/a
            (strato:431, 445-446)
BLOCKED     Thirty-two-like file (32fav)       n/a        n/a
            (strato:431, 445-446)
n/a         No video, so the video files do not apply: video, nsfw_video,
            evergreen video.

ONCE IT IS IN THE RUNNING
Served at three quarters weight even to people who follow you.
(param.rs:246-251; ranking_scorer.rs:747-754)
First arrival in source order wins, so a repost can evict the original.
(retweet_deduplication_filter.rs:19-26)

Judgment: none flagged.

The one edit: Post this as a quote with your comment, not a repost. Opens a path to more reach (Phoenix retrieval).

Rewrite: posted as a quote; the comment is now on the post itself.

{the rewritten quote, paste-ready}

This reads the code they published, not the live knobs they can turn on you tomorrow.

A fourth example, NSFW-annotated original with a 30-second video under 1,000 followers, lives in references/how-reach-works.md and demonstrates the two NSFW escapes.

Job 2: Why did my post die

Same three layers, retrospective. Asks the same batch plus QV and QK.

Output, no analysis preface: (1) blocked, unproven and pending Layer A paths and Layer B rows, ranked by fit with the symptom; (2) what cannot be determined from the outside, named rather than guessed, which now explicitly includes which corpora the For You cluster requests; (3) scope footer.

The honesty line from Job 1 also prints whenever the symptom is about who saw it.

Name what cannot be determined from the outside rather than guessing: whether X flagged you, which test group you were in, where this sat in someone's scroll, and which corpora the For You cluster requests.

Job 3: Am I shadowbanned

Lead with this, first, always:

I can't see whether X labeled you. What I can do is name which published kill-switch produces exactly the way your reach died.

Then:

Whether any one person sees this comes down to what they have been liking and replying to lately, which is on their side and nobody can read it from here.

Then a capped differential. Rank by: (1) the follower-versus-stranger split the user described; (2) published duration or expiry versus their timeline; (3) an unmentioned required trigger ranks lower; (4) contradiction last or out.

Emit the lead line, then the top 3 branches with name, what the user would observe, and a citation. Then one collapsed line: Also on the board, lower fit: {remaining names}. Then the scope footer. Never claim a diagnosis is confirmed. Do not walk all branches.

Branches (see references/creator-cheat-sheet.md). Print the name and Observe in plain language; keep the citation.

1. NSFW cluster (3 of last 5). Observe: strangers vanish about 7 days after a cluster of NSFW posts; people who follow you may still see you. (safety-label-user-agg/postToUserLabelRules.strato:396-426)
2. A link X later marked unsafe. Observe: old posts with that URL die together when X flips the call. That hides them from strangers (rtf_tweets_on_unsafe_verdict.bot:17-27). That file walks every matching tweet id. A separate tweet-safeguard number lives only on the NSFW_CARD_IMAGE

…(truncated)