Paradigm investigation files — author / assistant instructions

Purpose: Capture how paradigm-threat-files investigations are written and maintained so sessions stay consistent.

Structure (typical)

Title — topic + scope in one line.
Optional header image — path under repo; keep alt text short.
TL;DR — one blockquote: thesis, strongest cites, cross-links to other investigations. Avoid duplicating the whole Limits list here.
Status — Open / closed; one sentence.
Guide (read order) — optional numbered list: “if you want X → section Y”. Use for long files so everyday readers can skip to militainment, money, clues, etc.
Body — numbered sections with stable anchors. Prefer one interpretive synthesis per theme (avoid repeating the same Russia/Iran contrast in §2 and again in §6). Do not scatter limits / disclaimer boilerplate through the body; one sentence of in-section nuance where analytically necessary is OK.
Weak points / TODOs — table + short checkbox list.
Keywords — hashtags for index/search.
Date line — last substantive update; trim verbose changelog if git history suffices.
Limits and disclaimers — one consolidated block at end of file, after Keywords and before Investigator notes (fiction vs evidence, cross-links thematic, evidence tiers, assistant bias, etc.). Everyday readers who skip to substance can stop before this section; it still satisfies repo-wide evidence discipline. TL;DR should not paste the full Limits list (thesis + strongest cites only).
Investigator notes (optional) — after Limits; maintainers and LLMs only: local machine paths, subtitle file locations, grep/session hints. Do not put these in the body or duplicate Limits here. See Online vs local content below.

Online vs local content

Online readers (static site, GitLab browse, strangers cloning the repo) have no access to the author’s OS paths (/home/…, /media/…, C:\…, etc.). Those paths do not belong in the main investigation text, Limits, Related table, or scattered footnotes.
Keep the body to repo-relative links (/docs/…, /governance/…), public URLs, and citable secondary sources.
Put machine-local paths and assistant-only reminders in Investigator notes at the very end of the .md file (after Limits and disclaimers). Casual readers typically stop after Keywords; Limits is the repo-wide evidence discipline block.

Reorganization (when asked to simplify)

Do not lose data. Merge sections by moving paragraphs and tables into the surviving heading; never drop citations, URLs, or checklist rows without pasting them elsewhere.
Reduce redundancy. One Limits block at file end (before Investigator notes); one Related investigations table (do not duplicate the same links in a separate “Cross-links” section). One interpretive “premise” statement — cross-reference earlier sections instead of restating.
Everyday readers: Keep a short Guide (read order) as a numbered list (reliable on all renderers). Prefer plain sentences; bold for emphasis and labels, not every entity name.
Closing a session: Refresh governance/war/investigations/page.md row if scope changed; add/update docs/INVESTIGATIONS_DEEP_DIVE.md row and §2 validation block when the file has material open TODOs; run final pass on the investigation’s § weak points / TODOs; commit and push all remotes when the author asks for repo sync.

Evidence and tone

Tiers: Primary > secondary press > social. Flag FOIA-derived figures and wiki-as-convenience vs peer-reviewed claims.
Cross-investigations: Links are thematic rhymes, not proof that fictional plots equal documented history.
Clue threads (e.g. fiction foreshadowing, casting irony): label as clues, not closed findings. When the author asks for no disclaimer boilerplate in a clue block, keep the clue language; the file-level Limits still govern evidence tiers for the repo.
Bolding: Use sparingly — emphasis and section labels, not every proper noun.

Money / engines / militainment

When discussing defense budgets vs commercial games: cite parallel ecosystems (America’s Army, VBS, DARWARS, DARPA programs) separately from publisher AAA budgets (Activision, platform deals, court filings). Do not collapse into “Pentagon funded Call of Duty” without a specific line-item source.

Git

Commit investigation changes with a clear one-line message.
Push to all configured remotes (origin, atlanta2, atlanta3) when the author requests repo sync.

Index maintenance

governance/war/investigations/page.md (and similar page.md files): update the investigation row blurb when the scope or thesis changes materially.
docs/INVESTIGATIONS_DEEP_DIVE.md: add or refresh a row when an investigation has substantial open TODOs worth tracking repo-wide.

Date: 2026-04-18 — Initial instructions from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare investigation session (reorg, citations, clue threads, funding sections). Updates: reorganization rules (no data loss, deep dive + page.md on close, push all remotes); online vs local — no absolute OS paths in body; optional Investigator notes appendix at file end for LLM/maintainer paths. 2026-04-19 — Limits/disclaimers placement: consolidated at end of file (after Keywords, before Investigator notes); body sections stay lean.

Structure (typical)

Title — topic + scope in one line.

Optional header image — path under repo; keep alt text short.

TL;DR — one blockquote: thesis, strongest cites, cross-links to other investigations. Avoid duplicating the whole Limits list here.

Status — Open / closed; one sentence.

Guide (read order) — optional numbered list: “if you want X → section Y”. Use for long files so everyday readers can skip to militainment, money, clues, etc.

Body — numbered sections with stable anchors. Prefer one interpretive synthesis per theme (avoid repeating the same Russia/Iran contrast in §2 and again in §6). Do not scatter limits / disclaimer boilerplate through the body; one sentence of in-section nuance where analytically necessary is OK.

Weak points / TODOs — table + short checkbox list.

Keywords — hashtags for index/search.

Date line — last substantive update; trim verbose changelog if git history suffices.

Limits and disclaimers — one consolidated block at end of file, after Keywords and before Investigator notes (fiction vs evidence, cross-links thematic, evidence tiers, assistant bias, etc.). Everyday readers who skip to substance can stop before this section; it still satisfies repo-wide evidence discipline. TL;DR should not paste the full Limits list (thesis + strongest cites only).

Investigator notes (optional) — after Limits; maintainers and LLMs only: local machine paths, subtitle file locations, grep/session hints. Do not put these in the body or duplicate Limits here. See Online vs local content below.

Online vs local content

Online readers (static site, GitLab browse, strangers cloning the repo) have no access to the author’s OS paths (/home/…, /media/…, C:\…, etc.). Those paths do not belong in the main investigation text, Limits, Related table, or scattered footnotes.

Keep the body to repo-relative links (/docs/…, /governance/…), public URLs, and citable secondary sources.

Put machine-local paths and assistant-only reminders in Investigator notes at the very end of the .md file (after Limits and disclaimers). Casual readers typically stop after Keywords; Limits is the repo-wide evidence discipline block.

Reorganization (when asked to simplify)

Do not lose data. Merge sections by moving paragraphs and tables into the surviving heading; never drop citations, URLs, or checklist rows without pasting them elsewhere.

Reduce redundancy. One Limits block at file end (before Investigator notes); one Related investigations table (do not duplicate the same links in a separate “Cross-links” section). One interpretive “premise” statement — cross-reference earlier sections instead of restating.

Everyday readers: Keep a short Guide (read order) as a numbered list (reliable on all renderers). Prefer plain sentences; bold for emphasis and labels, not every entity name.

Closing a session: Refresh governance/war/investigations/page.md row if scope changed; add/update docs/INVESTIGATIONS_DEEP_DIVE.md row and §2 validation block when the file has material open TODOs; run final pass on the investigation’s § weak points / TODOs; commit and push all remotes when the author asks for repo sync.

Evidence and tone

Tiers: Primary > secondary press > social. Flag FOIA-derived figures and wiki-as-convenience vs peer-reviewed claims.

Cross-investigations: Links are thematic rhymes, not proof that fictional plots equal documented history.

Clue threads (e.g. fiction foreshadowing, casting irony): label as clues, not closed findings. When the author asks for no disclaimer boilerplate in a clue block, keep the clue language; the file-level Limits still govern evidence tiers for the repo.

Bolding: Use sparingly — emphasis and section labels, not every proper noun.

Money / engines / militainment

Index maintenance

governance/war/investigations/page.md (and similar page.md files): update the investigation row blurb when the scope or thesis changes materially.

docs/INVESTIGATIONS_DEEP_DIVE.md: add or refresh a row when an investigation has substantial open TODOs worth tracking repo-wide.