Do real work first. When gaps block the work, fill them — then resume. Document neutrally.
What this means
The emsemioverse develops its infrastructure by using it. We do not build complete systems before applying them. We attempt the work, and when we discover that a term is undefined, a method is unencoded, a directory is missing, or a planning structure does not exist — we pause, fill that gap, and resume the original work.
This is the pragmatic complement to policy 003 (ground in discipline practice). Policy 003 says: draw on established methods. This policy says: discover which methods you need by trying to do something and noticing what is missing.
The gaps discovered this way are genuine needs, not speculative infrastructure. A term file created because a text needed to reference it is more grounded than a term file created because it seemed like a good idea. A planning structure created because we needed to plan something is more grounded than one created from abstract principles.
Document neutrally
When filling a gap, write about the subject itself — not about the context that revealed the gap. A term file for “methodology” should define methodology as a concept, not explain that we needed the term while writing a policy. A planning spec should describe how planning works, not narrate the session that prompted it.
The git history records when and why something was created. The content records what it is. These are separate concerns.
This neutrality makes the content composable. A neutrally written term can be linked from any context. A term written as “we needed this because…” is anchored to one context and resists reuse.
Operational implications
- When a task reveals a gap (missing term, missing method, missing directory, missing planning structure), pause the task.
- Fill the gap: create the term, encode the method, make the directory, write the spec.
- Write the gap-filling content about its subject, not about the task that revealed it.
- Resume the original task.
- If filling the gap is itself complex enough to need planning, create a plan (in the plans/ directory) for it and return to the original task.
- The working-notes.md file is the place to record that a gap was discovered and how it was resolved. The content itself does not carry this narrative.