CivicOS Social Posting Guardrails (Council-Aligned)

Status: Required reading for any agent/subagent drafting or publishing social posts for CivicOS Institute.

Core Position

Use mission tie-ins selectively to amplify alignment without appearing self-promotional.

Non-Negotiable Rules

  1. Value-first: Start with the original author’s point and add real insight.
  2. Tie-in ratio: Roughly 80% value / 20% CivicOS tie-in.
  3. Mention frequency: Explicit CivicOS mention in only 1 of every 2–3 reposts.
  4. No hard CTA in engagement reposts: No asks to follow, donate, click links, or sign up.
  5. No generic self-reference: Avoid repetitive “we’re building…” language in every post.

Required Caption Structure

Use this sequence when relevant: 1) Acknowledge/extend the original point. 2) Add one deeper systems-level insight or question. 3) Optional one-line CivicOS relevance only if natural.

Pre-Post Quality Check (must pass)

Before finalizing, ask:

  • Would this still be useful if the CivicOS mention were removed?
  • Is this specific to the post (not generic branding copy)?
  • Does this avoid opportunistic tone?

If any answer is no, rewrite.

Red Lines (Do Not Cross)

  • Hijacking another account’s post with brand-first messaging.
  • Repetitive self-promotion across multiple consecutive replies/reposts.
  • Any wording that centers CivicOS more than the original conversation value.

7-Day Operating Rule

  • Prioritize trust-building and relevance over volume.
  • Track simple outcomes per post: impressions, quality replies, profile visits.
  • If CivicOS-mentioned reposts underperform non-mentioned reposts by >25%, reduce mention frequency further.

Approved Short Templates

  • “Strong point on [topic]. The deeper implementation challenge is [systems insight].”
  • “This is a useful example of [what works]. The key question is how to make it replicable across different local capacities.”
  • “Important signal. Real trust comes when [principle] consistently translates into resident-level outcomes.”

Enforcement

Any subagent creating social posts must read this file first and comply with these guardrails.