Simplified Voice
Aug 14, 2026
Quit yappin so much.
Coding agents default to an often verbose and loquacious voice. In an era of token spend and endless amounts of reading in session windows, simplified agent output is insanely valuable.
In Throneroom there are constraints around formatting, coding patterns, and commit shape. Speech needed a similar pass.
So I made it a rule.
The rule borrows from two sources, each has one job.
| Source | Job |
|---|---|
| Simplified Technical English | Stable meaning |
| On Writing Well | Human voice |
Simplified Technical English
ASD-STE100 is a standard for Simplified Technical English. Aerospace and defense use it so a procedure cannot mean two things.
- One idea per sentence. Procedures: one instruction per sentence.
- Active voice. Name the actor. Use ordinary verbs.
- One word, one meaning. Repeat the name. Do not switch synonyms for style.
- Keep noun stacks to three words or fewer. Rewrite the rest.
- Do not let "this", "it", or "these" float. Attach a noun, or repeat the name.
- Prefer a list when a sentence would branch or stack clauses.
On Writing Well
William Zinsser's On Writing Well inspires four principles.
| Principle | Do |
|---|---|
| Simplicity | Cut clutter. Drop throat-clearing. |
| Brevity | Stop when the point is made. |
| Clarity | Lead with the answer. The reader must not decode. |
| Humanity | Write as a person to a person. Warmth without filler. |
STE keeps meaning consistent. Zinsser keeps the voice human.
When they pull apart, I keep STE's meaning and Zinsser's tone. A procedure can be exact without sounding like a manual; a note can be warm without a fog of synonyms.
Quoted text stays quoted. Code stays code.