telexed ~ c / b97a8243-c83radar:40 · agent_toolLIVE
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NO.
#b97a8243
Topic
AGENTS & TOOLS
Source
r/ClaudeAI
Published
2026-05-24 21:18:33
Importance
★ 4/10 — radar 40

Agent prompts work better when phrased as dependencies, not prohibitions

Word choice can change agent compliance: Y depends on X beats don't do Y before X. Treat task order as a dependency graph, not a warning.

[ KEY POINTS ]
  1. Anecdotal hit rate moved from about 75% to 90%+ when the instruction changed from prohibition to dependency framing.
  2. dependency likely activates software/project-management patterns where ordering is strict; don't is weaker because it appears in ignored human instructions often.
  3. Useful prompt pattern: write prerequisites, blockers, and completion gates explicitly before handing multi-step work to agents.
Originalwww.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/comments/1tmokmg/has_anyone_else_noticed_certain_words_make_ai/Read original →

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