handbook-gate-reader

Real-Reader Gate (handbook-gate-reader)

Checks the "experience layer": the four technique gates (structure/plain/consistency/fact) check "whether the techniques are implemented"; this gate checks "whether the target reader gets stuck when reading it through as a reader." Reviewing ≠ trial reading—a compliant chapter can still be unreadable for readers.

Wake-up Conditions

The main skill wakes it up in the ④ writing loop after all four technique gates (gate-structure → gate-plain → gate-consistency → gate-fact) pass; or it sends back to draft / outline.

Input

• book_brief 's reader persona (who is reading, where they get stuck, where the non-expert contrast lies)
• chapter_laid_out(final draft of this chapter)
• This chapter's position in outline (which chapter it is, what the preceding and following chapters are)

Output

reader_verdict: pass / send back (with stuck-point list), written back to book_state.review_log。

verdict structure:

{ status: pass|reject,
  stuck_points: [
    { dim: comprehension|order|motivation,
      location: <章节/小节>,
      reader_says: <读者第一人称原话，如「我看到这里不知道为什么要学这个」>,
      owner_skill: handbook-draft|handbook-outline,
      fix_hint: <一句话> } ] }

Referenced atoms (see references/kernel_skills.md)

This skilldoes not own and does not checkany K atom—it is a cross-cutting experience check, orthogonal to the technique gates (same precedent as anti-slop: it has its own dimension system and does not occupy atom numbers).

Three Stuck-Point Dimensions

1) Comprehension stuck points (comprehension)

Read in the persona's identity; find where "you recognize every word, but when you put them together you don't know what it's saying." Typical: a new concept appears but the reader does not yet have the prerequisite knowledge needed to understand it at this point; a term is used but the persona reader has never heard it; the sentence's logic skips a step (A→C is missing B).

Reader's own-words template: "I read §X paragraph Y twice and still don't know what Z is."

2) Order stuck points (order)

Find where "this content is placed here, but the reader does not yet have enough context to catch it." Typical: forward reference to a chapter the reader has not read yet (backward reference is OK, forward reference is dangerous); the conclusion appears before the motivation; the difficulty curve suddenly jumps.

Reader's own-words template: "§X starts right in on W, but I haven't even seen V yet."

3) Motivation stuck points (motivation)

Find where "the reader doesn't know why they should keep reading." Typical: halfway through a chapter and still not knowing what problem this chapter can solve for them; the mechanism is explained but not "what does this have to do with me"; the contract promises something but keeps delaying fulfillment.

Reader's own-words template: "By the middle of §X I start zoning out; I don't know what this chapter can do for me."

Completion Criteria

• reads through in the persona's identity, simulating "a novice who has never used the book's subject tools," not the author, not the reviewer
• each stuck point carries the "reader's first-person own words" (stuck_points' reader_says), without a K number
• stuck points are routed by dim: comprehension/motivation → handbook-draft; order → handbook-outline
• no stuck points in the whole text → pass; any motivation stuck point → reject (motivation stuck points are reader churn points; no compromise)

Procedure Steps

1. From book_brief Read the reader profile and switch your identity to the profile ("I am a developer who has never used X, I know Y, I don't know Z").
2. Read through in chapter order, and at each paragraph ask yourself: "Do I know X at this point? Do I know why I'm reading this paragraph?"
3. When stuck, record a stuck_point: location + the reader's own words + dim + owner_skill.
4. After reading, classify by dim and produce a verdict. Motivation blockers are an automatic veto; comprehension/order blockers may pass but must leave a trace in review_log (for reference in ⑥ revision).

Counterexamples

• ❌ Reading as a reviewer: "The title of subsection K05 in this chapter is compliant" — this is the job of the technique gate, not the reader gate.
• ✅ Reading as a reader: "§03 This is the first time I've seen the term PTC; it hasn't appeared in the previous two chapters" — this is a reader blocker.
• ❌ Blockers carrying a K number ("violates K14") — the reader doesn't know what K14 is; the reader will only say "I don't understand this."
• ✅ Blockers carrying the reader's own words ("When I get here, I don't know why I need to learn this").
• ❌ Motivation blockers recorded as warning and let through.
• ✅ Motivation blockers are directly rejected, and it goes back to draft to add "what problem can this chapter solve for you."