Marcos Paulo
3.9 KiB
3.9 KiB
Slop Tells
A worked catalogue of the phrases that mark prose as AI-generated. The
unslop skill greps the draft for each row and reports a fix.
The list is heuristic. A page can match several tells and still read well; a page can match none and still feel corporate. Use this as a checklist, not a verdict.
High-frequency tells
| Tell | Example | Default fix |
|---|---|---|
| Ornamental hedging | "It's important to note that…" | Delete the preamble |
| Breathless transition | "Let's dive in!", "Now, let's explore…" | Replace with the next fact |
| Vague intensifier | "really", "very", "quite", "rather" (when not load-bearing) | Delete |
| Symmetric padding | "X is Y. X is also Z. Both X's are…" | Pick the one that matters |
| AI résumé | "With over X years of experience…" | Replace with the actual fact |
| Performative caveat | "It's worth mentioning that…" | Delete or move to the conclusion |
| Marketing tone | "seamlessly", "robust", "powerful", "leverage", "cutting-edge" | Replace with the specific capability |
| Triplet | "fast, reliable, and scalable" | Pick the one that is actually true |
| Heading question | "Why is X important?" | State the answer, not the question |
| Sign-off | "Hope this helps!", "Let me know if you have questions!" | Delete |
| Throat-clearing | "In this article, we will…" | Delete the article and start with the subject |
| Mirror transition | "As we have seen…" | Replace with the actual finding |
| Manufactured urgency | "In today's fast-paced world…" | Delete |
| Generic closer | "To learn more, contact…" | Replace with the actual link or contact |
Mid-frequency
| Tell | Example | Default fix |
|---|---|---|
| Bureaucratic noun | "perform a verification of" | "verify" |
| Nominalised verb | "the implementation of the feature" | "implementing the feature" |
| Possessive hedge | "in our experience" | Drop unless backed by data |
| Padded qualifier | "essentially", "basically", "fundamentally", "literally" | Delete |
| Redundant pair | "each and every", "first and foremost", "any and all" | Pick one |
| Process name as action | "we will be performing a build" | "we will build" |
| Apology | "Apologies for the inconvenience" | Replace with the fix |
| Hyperbole | "game-changer", "revolutionary", "paradigm shift" | Replace with the actual claim |
| Cult of positivity | "We are excited to announce…" | Replace with the news |
| Generic advice | "Best practices include…" | Replace with the specific practice |
Low-frequency (still flag)
| Tell | Example | Default fix |
|---|---|---|
| Anachronism | "in the year 2026" | Drop the year unless it disambiguates |
| Self-reference | "this article", "this section", "as stated above" | Replace with the thing |
| Passive that hides the actor | "It was decided that…" | "We decided…" |
| Telegraphic metaphor | "drowning in data", "needle in a haystack" | Replace with the literal state |
| Fake precision | "in 90% of cases" | Replace with the source |
What is NOT slop
- Technical jargon used precisely (
asynchronous,idempotent,backpressure). - Repetition for emphasis that the reader actually needs.
- Headings that match a list of canonical section titles (
Overview,Steps,Verification). - Code, command output, error messages, customer-quoted text.
- Acronyms and abbreviations the audience knows.
Cluster detection
Slop tends to cluster. A single slop line in 30 is a minor fix. Five slop
lines in 10 means the author wrote the paragraph by stream-of-prompting; the
whole section should be rewritten by hand. The unslop skill flags cluster
sections as rewrite-block rather than proposing per-line fixes.
When to escalate
A draft that reads well but uses a non-AAVE corporate voice should not be unslopped into something else; flag it for the author. The skill rewrites slop, not voice.