Repository source: docs/plans/extension_improvement_cookbook/extension_improvement_cookbook_step1_solution_assessment.md
Extension/Improvement Cookbook Step 1 Solution Assessment
Problem Statement
Developers cannot readily see how the site’s existing architecture supports safe, practical feature extensions, especially LLM- and agent-assisted workflows.
Option A: Architecture tour
Pros:
Explains the system’s extension points in one place.
Low documentation-maintenance cost.
Cons:
Leaves developers to translate abstractions into a working feature.
Does not demonstrate the lifecycle or safety boundaries of agentic work.
Option B: Four standalone example features
Pros:
Makes the requested moderation, synthesis, feature-request, and bug-report outcomes concrete.
Lets readers adopt one example without reading a broad guide.
Cons:
Repeats common workflow and safety guidance.
Risks presenting divergent patterns rather than a coherent extension model.
Option C: Cookbook with a shared extension pattern and progressive recipes
Pros:
Shows one reusable lifecycle: trigger, eligibility, durable work, bounded agent task, guarded result, and audit/disable path.
Uses progressive recipes: agent reply extensions first; developer-workflow and cross-post synthesis extensions later.
Makes existing facilities discoverable while keeping each example outcome-focused.
Cons:
Requires careful scope to remain a cookbook rather than a second architecture reference.
Aggregate/synthesis guidance needs especially clear provenance and human-review expectations.
Recommendation
Recommend Option C.
Brief justification:
Pair a short map of the existing extension facilities with four concise recipes: NVC reply for high moderation signal, high-signal synthesis, feature-proposal handoff, and structured bug-report follow-up.
Treat classification as advisory; make canonical writes reviewed or explicitly guarded, and require provenance, idempotency, bounded cost/work, auditability, and a disable path in every recipe.
Candidate Cookbook Recipes
NVC rewrite/reply for posts with a high moderation signal.
High-signal post aggregation and synthesis into a reviewed post.
Feature-proposal extraction into a feature-request/Codex handoff.
Short bug-report expansion into reproduction steps, expected behavior, and actual behavior.
Favorite — Duplicate/related-post concierge: draft links to the closest earlier discussion and summarize the difference.
Claim/evidence extractor: identify factual claims and draft a neutral verification checklist.
Favorite — Decision log builder: draft the decision, rationale, dissent, owner, and follow-ups from a converged thread.
Favorite — FAQ candidate generator: identify recurring questions and draft an FAQ entry with source links.
Accessibility/plain-language companion: offer an author-approved clearer, shorter version of dense text.
Thread title/tag suggester: propose a concise title and normalized tags for author approval.
Onboarding responder: draft a welcoming first-response with relevant guides and discussions.
Stale issue follow-up: draft a status-check on unresolved bug or feature threads from visible activity.
Contradiction finder: draft a neutral note when new content may conflict with earlier decisions or documentation.
Release-note synthesizer: turn completed development discussions into a reviewed release-note draft.