Negative Constraints

These examples and illustrative results are independently authored teaching materials, not measured model results.

Use case

You need an incident recommendation from configuration evidence. config/service.yml line 4 contains timeout_ms: 500. The incident record reports a timeout but supplies neither a latency distribution nor a record of the configuration actually loaded. Avoid generic advice and an unsupported increase of the timeout.

Mechanism

Name the observed failure in the instruction, then supply an allowed replacement. Here, prohibit configuration advice without a parameter and evidence. The replacement cites the known value, lists missing evidence and identifies the next read. Unknown values stay unknown.

Each prohibition should address a concrete failure in this task and explain what to do instead.

Bad example

Write an incident recommendation from config/service.yml and the incident record above. Make it useful and careful. Do not make mistakes.

Good example

Write an incident recommendation from the configuration and incident record above. Do not merely say 'check the configuration', and do not recommend increasing a timeout without evidence. Cite the parameter, observed value and material location. If latency or loaded-configuration records are missing, list those gaps and name the next record to read and what to inspect. Do not invent a replacement value.

Why the change matters

Useful and careful do not specify how to recognize an acceptable recommendation. The improved instruction makes the prohibition observable and supplies a fallback for missing evidence. The agent need not choose between vague advice and an invented fix.

Observable expectation

An illustrative recommendation identifies timeout_ms=500 at config/service.yml:4, states that the loaded value and latency distribution are unknown, and asks to inspect the startup configuration record and latency for the incident window.

Check for a real location, both missing inputs and no invented timeout. A list of prohibited phrases without the next inspection step is still incomplete.

Limits

Use bans for identifiable failure modes rather than building an exhaustive list that hides the task. The located source pairs forbidden responses with alternatives; this incident fixture and inspection sequence are independent teaching constructions. They do not establish that changing a timeout will resolve the incident.