Communication Sheaf
A communication artifact is coherent when local constraints glue into one surface without duplicated semantic function or smeared authority.
Compactly:
communication artifact = glued section over communicative constraints
Here surface means the rendered artifact as received: its words, ordering,
format, emphasis, omissions, and action cues.
Examples include agent replies, launch packets, reports, task summaries, governance notices, review findings, and operator instructions.
The decision context is the artifact’s admissible effect:
J = what the recipient may believe, decide, inspect, or do because of this artifact
Two statements are equivalent under J when replacing one with the other does
not change admissible belief, decision, inspection, or action.
Base Space
The base space is the active communicative situation:
B = intent x evidence x audience x authority x risk x phase
Each coordinate contributes one local section:
| Coordinate | Local section |
|---|---|
intent |
Question, decision, instruction, review, or handoff shape. |
evidence |
Supported claims, uncertainty, and proof references. |
audience |
Vocabulary, density, and actionability for the recipient. |
authority |
What the artifact may decide, request, or merely report. |
risk |
Required precision, caveats, and residuals. |
phase |
Exploration, decision, execution, verification, or handoff posture. |
These sections are not optional style layers. They are constraints that decide which statements belong in the artifact.
Forced Structure And Policy
The sheaf model carries three kinds of structure.
| Kind | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Forced structure | Required for the artifact to determine its admissible effect under J. |
Evidence and authority boundaries. |
| Contingent policy | A chosen communication convention with an owner or context. | Terse prose, examples, table format. |
| Decision-inert variation | A difference that does not change admissible effect under J. |
Equivalent phrasing after the claim is already clear. |
The model fails when contingent policy is presented as forced structure, or when decision-inert variation is kept as if it added resolution.
Restriction
Restriction narrows a local section to the current locus.
Examples:
evidence | unverified
Only uncertainty or inspection claims remain.
authority | report_only
Pressure and options remain; admission, approval, and completion claims are removed.
audience | operator_needs_command
Executable instruction remains; explanatory background is removed.
Gluing
An artifact is valid when restricted sections agree on one surface.
Valid gluing:
intent=handoff
evidence=verified
audience=operator
authority=report_only
risk=medium
phase=verification
may glue as:
Verified X. Remaining residual is Y. Next authorized action is Z.
Invalid gluing:
report_only + decision_language
overclaims authority.
summary + explanation + caveat
repeats one claim through three local modes.
Closure
Refinement stops when further changes are J-equivalent:
same admissible belief
same admissible decision
same admissible inspection
same admissible action
At closure, remaining freedom is explicit policy or decision-inert variation.
Anti-Global Rule
There is no default global section named “the message”.
Every coherent artifact is local to the constraints that produced it. Reusing the same artifact in a different audience, authority, or risk locus requires restriction and re-gluing.
Failure Modes
| Failure | Shape |
|---|---|
| Semantic duplication | Several sections repeat the same decision work. |
| Authority smear | The artifact speaks as if it can decide what it can only report. |
| Evidence overreach | The artifact claims stronger support than the evidence section allows. |
| Audience mismatch | The artifact optimizes for a reader other than the actual recipient. |
| Phase confusion | Exploration, decision, execution, and verification language are mixed. |
Relation To Response Mode Sheaf
Response Mode Sheaf is the concrete fixture.
It specializes this model to assistant replies, where local response modes such as explanation, summary, caution, and multi-angle framing must restrict before gluing.
The generalization is valid only while the fixture still runs through it:
If two sentences perform the same decision work, keep the more precise sentence.