Presentation Creator — Guardrails

This file defines the guardrail check structure — what to check, how to check it, and how to report results.

Thresholds and speaker-specific rules come from the vault at runtime:

• Slide budget tables → speaker-profile.json → guardrail_sources.slide_budgets[]
• Act 1 ratio limits → speaker-profile.json → guardrail_sources.act1_ratio_limits[]
• Recurring issues → speaker-profile.json → guardrail_sources.recurring_issues[]
• Branding checklist → speaker-profile.json → design_rules.footer
• Profanity rules → speaker-profile.json → rhetoric_defaults
• Confirmed intents → speaker-profile.json → confirmed_intents[]

If the speaker profile is not available, fall back to the rhetoric vault summary Sections 15 (Areas for Improvement) and 16 (Speaker-Confirmed Intent) for prose rules.

Run these checks after Phase 3 delivery and after each Phase 4 revision.

1. Slide Budget

Read guardrail_sources.slide_budgets[] from the speaker profile for the thresholds. Match the talk's duration to the closest budget entry.

Progressive-reveal slides count toward the budget. If you show the same chart 3 times with different bars highlighted, that's 3 slides, not 1. Flag progressive reveals as budget-expensive and ask if the emphasis is worth the cost.

Demo-driven talks are the exception. If the selected mode is demo-driven, apply a much lower slide count (the live demo IS the content).

Check

[PASS/FAIL] Slide count: {actual}/{budget} for {duration}-minute slot

If over budget, suggest specific cuts. Prioritize cutting:

1. Progressive reveals that could be combined into one slide
2. Meme-only slides in Act 1 (meme accretion is a common pattern)
3. Redundant evidence slides (keep the strongest 2-3)

2. Act 1 Ratio (Problem Section Balance)

Read guardrail_sources.act1_ratio_limits[] from the speaker profile for the limits.

Check

[PASS/WARN/FAIL] Act 1 ratio: {act1_slides}/{total_slides} = {percentage}%
                 (limit: {max}% for {duration}-min slot)

WARN if within 5% of limit. FAIL if over.

3. Conference Branding Checklist

Read design_rules.footer from the speaker profile for the footer elements. Generate the checklist dynamically from footer.elements[]:

• Each footer element matches THIS venue
• Co-presenter element correct (if applicable, per footer.co_presented_extra)
• No stale conference names in slides
• No stale conference logos
• Shownotes URL slug matches this talk

Check

[PASS/FAIL] Branding: Footer elements specified for {conference}
[WARN] Branding: Conference hashtag not yet confirmed — flag for author

4. Profanity Audit

Read rhetoric_defaults.profanity_calibration and rhetoric_defaults.on_slide_profanity from the speaker profile.

The key rule (common across speakers): keep profanity verbal-only by default. On-slide profanity limits deck reuse across venues.

Check

[PASS/FAIL] Profanity register: {spec_register} applied consistently
[WARN/FAIL] On-slide profanity: {count} instances found — {approved/not approved}

If on-slide profanity is present without explicit approval, flag it: "Slide {N} has baked-in profanity: '{text}'. This limits reuse at corporate/ family-friendly events. Keep it verbal-only, or explicitly approve for this talk?"

5. Data Attribution

Survey data without visible source attribution creates credibility risk.

Check every data slide for:

• Source name visible
• Citation ID if available
• No orphaned percentages without context ("84% of developers..." — 84% of what survey?)

[PASS/FAIL] Data attribution: {N} data slides checked, {M} missing sources
            Slides needing sources: {list}

6. Time-Sensitive Content

Expired dates, deadlines, and promotional material appear on reused slides.

Check for:

• Registration deadlines
• Early-bird pricing
• "Coming soon" for things already launched
• Conference-specific dates
• Version numbers that may be outdated
• Cultural references that have expired (memes have a half-life)

[PASS/FAIL] Time-sensitive content: {count} items found
            {list with slide numbers and content}

7. Closing Completeness

Even compressed formats need a structured close. Read rhetoric_defaults.three_part_close from the speaker profile for whether the speaker defaults to a full three-part close.

Minimum viable close:

• Summary: At least 2-3 bullet points crystallizing the argument
• CTA: At least one specific, actionable next step
• Social: Speaker handles + shownotes URL

Check

[PASS/FAIL] Closing: {summary present?} | {CTA present?} | {social present?}
[WARN] Closing: Missing {component} — intentional or oversight?

8. Modular Cut Lines

Read rhetoric_defaults.default_duration_minutes and rhetoric_defaults.modular_design from the speaker profile. If modular design is enabled, the outline should include explicit cut lines:

• [CUT LINE] markers for shorter slot adaptation
• [EXPAND ZONE] markers for sections that can grow for longer slots

Check

[PASS/FAIL] Cut lines: {present/missing} for sub-default adaptation
[PASS/FAIL] Expand zones: {present/missing} for longer adaptation

9. Anti-Pattern Flags

This check has two layers: speaker-specific recurring issues from the vault, and taxonomy-based antipattern scanning from the Presentation Patterns reference.

9A. Speaker-Specific Recurring Issues

Read guardrail_sources.recurring_issues[] from the speaker profile. Each entry describes a known weakness and its specific guardrail check.

For each recurring_issues entry, run the check described in its guardrail field and report at the severity level in its severity field.

Common anti-patterns (may or may not apply to a given speaker):

• Meme accretion: If Act 1 has more than 60% meme/image-only slides, flag it
• Theoretical framing delay: If an opening framework section exceeds 10% of time, flag it
• Missing anti-sell beat: If commercial intent + applicable mode but no anti-sell
• Edgy humor overshoot: Flag culturally sensitive humor targets

9B. Presentation Patterns Taxonomy Scan

Read references/patterns/_index.md (Phase 4 section of the phase-grouped lookup table) and profile → pattern_profile.antipattern_frequency if available.

Speaker-specific antipatterns — scan pattern_profile.antipattern_frequency for patterns with severity: "recurring". These are flagged as [RECURRING] with the speaker's historical frequency and trend.

Contextual antipatterns — scan the outline against ALL antipatterns from the taxonomy. For each match, read the individual pattern file for detection heuristics and scoring criteria. These are flagged as [CONTEXTUAL] (new detection, not historically tracked).

Contextual detection rules:

• Bullet-Riddled Corpse — flag slides with 5+ bullet points or complete sentences
• Ant Fonts — flag text descriptions suggesting small or cramped content
• Cookie Cutter — flag ideas awkwardly split across slide boundaries
• Shortchanged — flag if duration is shorter than speaker's default with no cut lines
• Dual-Headed Monster — flag if co-presented with no handoff protocol
• Slideuments — flag if outline suggests dual-purpose slides (handout + presentation)
• Borrowed Shoes — flag if adapting another speaker's materials
• Dead Demo — flag demos without clear narrative purpose
• Alienating Artifact — flag humor/references that could exclude audience segments
• Tower of Babble — flag unexplained jargon for the stated audience level

Report format:

[RECURRING] Shortchanged (8/24, decreasing) — plan cut lines for the 20-min slot
[RECURRING] Meme accretion (5/24, stable) — Act 1 meme ratio at 55%
[CONTEXTUAL] Bullet-Riddled Corpse — slides 14, 22 have 6+ bullet points
[CONTEXTUAL] Dual-Headed Monster — co-presented talk, handoff points not defined

Guardrail Summary Template

Use this template after each check:

GUARDRAIL CHECK — {talk title} — {date}
================================================
[PASS] Slide budget: {actual}/{max} for {duration}-min slot
[PASS/WARN/FAIL] Act 1 ratio: {%} (limit: {max}%)
[PASS/FAIL] Branding: {status}
[PASS/FAIL] Profanity: {register} applied, {on-slide count} on-slide
[PASS/FAIL] Data attribution: {N} slides checked, {M} issues
[PASS/FAIL] Time-sensitive: {count} items
[PASS/FAIL] Closing: summary={y/n} CTA={y/n} social={y/n}
[PASS/FAIL] Cut lines: {present/missing}
[INFO] Anti-patterns: {any flags from recurring_issues}
[RECURRING/CONTEXTUAL] Presentation Patterns: {taxonomy-based antipattern flags}
================================================