# Session 0042.0 — Transcript

> Date: 2026-05-29
> Start: 2026-05-29T06-51 (PST implied) · End: 2026-05-29T07-12
> Goal: Tune OHM's philosophy (the `/philosophy` About page) per the
> operator's edits, then ship the operator-requested header change and
> deploy.
>
> Outcome: **OHM's About page rewritten (`PHILOSOPHY.md`): the unit of
> definition is now a *concept* (not a *word*) — a word/phrase is just
> its handle; the "shared understanding" framing made normative +
> ethical ("how things *should* work, ethically"); title "Words first"
> → "Meaning first"; closer "Build the dictionary first." → "Define the
> concepts first." A new closing names the concrete system the concepts
> are for — Ben's open-source social/content/commerce platform (alt to
> Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Etsy; wise speech + informed
> consent first, money last), motivated by the "Wiggling Through the
> World" manifesto, plus an rfc-app framework attribution footer. The
> header nav label reverts "Philosophy" → "About" via rfc-app v0.30.2.
> Shipped + deployed: deploys.id=44, v0.30.2 live, all markers
> verified.**
>
> Highlights:
> - rfc-app **v0.30.2** (patch) — header nav label Philosophy → About.
>   Pushed origin + benstull mirror; tag v0.30.2.
> - ohm-rfc `PHILOSOPHY.md` "Meaning first" rewrite + pin → 0.30.2.
> - Discovered + documented: meta-content (`PHILOSOPHY.md`) refresh is
>   **NOT** part of the flotilla deploy — it needs a manual `git pull`
>   on the VM. Saved as a durable memory.

---

## Launch prompt

_(launch prompt not captured at claim time — this session began as a
philosophy-tuning conversation in the flotilla repo and escalated to a
full OHM driver session when it shipped rfc-app v0.30.2 + deployed.)_

---

## Pre-session state

- ohm-rfc pin: rfc-app **0.30.1**; OHM live on 0.30.1 (healthy,
  deploys.id=43 from session 0040.0).
- rfc-app main at `732b23b` (v0.30.1).
- ohm-rfc main at `470251b`.
- Parallel/in-progress sessions visible at claim time: 0026.0, 0027.0,
  0041.0 (0041 started 05:45 same day) — so hands-on git was done in
  isolated worktrees per the parallel-session rule.

---

## Turn-by-turn arc

### Arc 1 — Philosophy: concept, not word; and ethical framing

Operator: *"Each RFC doesn't define one word — it defines one concept."*
Reworked `PHILOSOPHY.md` to thread "concept" through every spot where
"word" meant the *unit of definition* (intro, the meaning/relationships/
protocol triad, `A concept is "defined" when…`, the meta-repository
catalog, super-drafts, the invitation, the closer). Deliberately **kept
"word"** where it's the programming-language analogy (`every word in the
language has a definitive meaning`, keywords) — that contrast is what
the argument runs on. Added the spine sentence: a word/short phrase is
only a *handle*; what the RFC pins down is the *concept* behind it
(example list now includes the phrase *informed consent*).

Second operator edit, same arc: make the "shared understanding"
passages normative — *"how things **should** work, **ethically**, in the
physical and digital realms."*

Surfaced two identity choices via a question (the doc leaned hard on the
"word/dictionary" metaphor): title and closer. Operator chose **"Meaning
first"** (from "Words first") and **"Define the concepts first."** (from
"Build the dictionary first."). Updated the OHM-framing memory to match.
Committed on branch `philosophy/concept-not-word` (ohm-rfc).

### Arc 2 — Header "Philosophy" → "About" + rfc-app attribution

Operator: revert the header nav label to "About"; also note the site is
an implementation of Ben Stull's rfc-app and link the repo. Triaged
(per ohm-rfc's two-repo pattern):
- **Label** = framework concern. Hardcoded in `rfc-app`
  `frontend/src/App.jsx`. Reverting to "About" actually *re-aligns* with
  the framework-native label — the CSS class is still `header-about` and
  the code comment still calls it "the About link"; ROADMAP #24 (v0.21.0)
  had swapped only the display text. So this de-OHM-ifies the default.
- **Attribution** = deployment content → `ohm-rfc/PHILOSOPHY.md` (the
  `/philosophy` page renders it verbatim via `PHILOSOPHY_PATH`). Operator
  picked the "framework + author" wording.

### Arc 3 — Platform vision + the wiggle manifesto

Operator: also say the software Ben will build on these concepts is an
open-source social/content/ecomm platform (alt to FB/IG/YT/TikTok/Etsy)
where wise speech and informed consent come first and money comes last;
then: tie it to *the way he wiggles through the world* and link that
doc. Wove both into the closing of `PHILOSOPHY.md`. The link reuses the
one RFC-0001 already cites:
`git.wiggleverse.org/ben/benstull/.../docs/how-i-wiggle-through-the-world.md`.
It threads nicely — "informed consent" mirrors the intro's concept
example; "wise speech" echoes Panel 2's "wise definitions."

### Arc 4 — Architecture: where does the About page content live?

Read `rfc-app/backend/app/philosophy.py`: it serves a **local file**
(`PHILOSOPHY_PATH`), not the Gitea API (SPEC §6.3 describes the latter as
intent; the code reads disk). OHM's overlay points `PHILOSOPHY_PATH` at
`/opt/ohm-rfc-app/meta-content/PHILOSOPHY.md` — a clone of the ohm-rfc
content repo. The flotilla deploy's 9 phases only fetch/checkout the
rfc-app tag → **the deploy does not refresh meta-content.** So the
landing plan became: push content to ohm-rfc → pull the VM clone → let
the deploy's restart re-read it.

### Arc 5 — Ship rfc-app v0.30.2 (isolated worktree)

Claimed session 0042. With 0041 active, did the rfc-app release in a
fresh worktree (`~/git-worktrees/rfc-app-0042` off `origin/main`):
`App.jsx` label Philosophy → About; `VERSION` + `frontend/package.json`
→ 0.30.2; CHANGELOG entry (patch, per SPEC §20.2 — cosmetic, no
deployment action). Pushed the branch straight to `main` (ff), tagged
**v0.30.2**, mirrored commit + tag to **benstull** (the VM's deploy
fetch source). Worktree removed.

### Arc 6 — ohm-rfc: content + pin, and a namespace scare

Bumped `.rfc-app-version` → 0.30.2 on the branch; pushed
`philosophy/concept-not-word` → `main` (ff, `470251b..39c3b0a`).

Then a scare: the VM's meta-content clone has origin
`https://git.wiggleverse.org/ben.stull/ohm-rfc.git`, but my push
target / flotilla pin source is `ben/ohm-rfc` (ssh :2222) — looked
like two different repos, and the VM's local clone was far behind (at
`d79ce46`). Resolved by `git ls-remote` on **both** paths: identical
main SHA (`39c3b0a`). They are the **same repo via two valid paths**;
the VM clone was simply stale. (Saved as memory.)

### Arc 7 — Refresh meta-content on the VM

`gcloud compute ssh … --tunnel-through-iap` into the VM. First attempt
ran git as root → git "dubious ownership" guard (dir owned by
`ohm-rfc-app`). Re-ran as `sudo -u ohm-rfc-app git pull --ff-only origin
main` → fast-forwarded `d79ce46 → 39c3b0a`; new `PHILOSOPHY.md` (with the
"Meaning first" closer + attribution) on disk.

### Arc 8 — Deploy + verify

The `deploy` command group exposes no obvious trigger — the real verb is
`deploy run` (`hidden=True` in the CLI). Dry-run confirmed target
v0.30.2, pin `ben/ohm-rfc`, all 19 overlay keys + 8 secret refs
resolved. Real deploy: all 9 phases green, **deploys.id=44, v0.30.2**.
Verified live:
- `/api/health` = `0.30.2`.
- `/api/philosophy` body markers all true: title "Meaning first",
  concept reframe, ethical framing, "Define the concepts first.",
  platform vision ("wise speech and informed consent come first"),
  wiggle link, rfc-app attribution.
- Served JS bundle: the §14.3 link renders `children:\`About\`` (label
  shipped).

---

## Cut state (end of session)

| | |
| --- | --- |
| rfc-app | `d581010` **v0.30.2** — header nav label Philosophy → About; pushed origin + benstull; tag v0.30.2 |
| OHM live | deploys.id=44, **v0.30.2**, healthy |
| ohm-rfc | `39c3b0a` — `PHILOSOPHY.md` "Meaning first" rewrite (concept-not-word, ethical framing, platform vision + wiggle link + rfc-app attribution); pin → 0.30.2; pushed |
| VM meta-content | pulled to `39c3b0a` (manual; not part of deploy) |

| Wave ledger | Status |
| --- | --- |
| Philosophy tune (concept-not-word, ethical, vision) | ✅ live on the About page |
| Header label Philosophy → About | ✅ rfc-app v0.30.2 shipped + deployed (deploys.id=44) |

---

## §19.2 / process candidates surfaced

1. **meta-content refresh is out-of-band.** Editing the About page
   (`PHILOSOPHY.md`) or any meta-content requires a manual `git pull` of
   `/opt/ohm-rfc-app/meta-content` on the VM (as `ohm-rfc-app`, via
   IAP) — the flotilla deploy never touches it. Candidate: a flotilla
   verb (`content sync`?) or a deploy phase that pulls the meta-content
   clone, so content changes land through the same gesture as code.
2. **ohm-rfc `CLAUDE.md` pin line is stale.** "Current pin: 0.2.2" —
   actual `.rfc-app-version` is now 0.30.2. Many sessions have drifted
   past it; either keep it current or drop the hardcoded number and
   point at the file.
3. **Personal-doc link on a public OHM page.** The About page now links
   the "Wiggling Through the World" manifesto at
   `git.wiggleverse.org/ben/benstull/...`. ROADMAP item 5 says personal
   Ben docs should live in Ben's own namespace on `git.benstull.org`;
   if/when that move happens, this link (and RFC-0001's) needs updating.

---

## What lands on the operator's plate

1. **Nothing blocking** — the About page and label are live and verified.
2. **Future About-page edits:** remember the manual meta-content pull
   (memory `project-meta-content-refresh`), or build the §19.2 verb.
3. **Optional cleanup:** refresh the stale `ohm-rfc/CLAUDE.md` pin line.

---

## Prompt the operator can paste into the next Claude Code session

```
OHM driver session. Reserve your own session ID first
(~/git/ohm-infra/scripts/claim-session-id.sh --start <YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM>).

Context from session 0042.0:
- OHM live: rfc-app v0.30.2 (deploys.id=44). rfc-app main d581010;
  ohm-rfc main 39c3b0a.
- The /philosophy About page was rewritten ("Meaning first"): each RFC
  defines one *concept* (word/phrase is just the handle); framing made
  normative + ethical; it now names the concrete platform Ben is
  building (open-source social/content/commerce; wise speech + informed
  consent first, money last) and links the "Wiggling Through the World"
  manifesto. The header nav label is "About" again (was "Philosophy").
- IMPORTANT operational gotcha: editing the About page or any
  meta-content (ohm-rfc/PHILOSOPHY.md, etc.) does NOT land via the
  flotilla deploy. After pushing to ohm-rfc main you must refresh the
  VM clone:
    gcloud compute ssh ohm-rfc-app --zone us-central1-a \
      --project wiggleverse-ohm --tunnel-through-iap \
      --command "cd /opt/ohm-rfc-app/meta-content && \
        sudo -u ohm-rfc-app git pull --ff-only origin main"
  then deploy (the restart re-reads the file). Run git as ohm-rfc-app,
  not root (dubious-ownership guard).
- ben/ohm-rfc and ben.stull/ohm-rfc are the SAME Gitea repo (two paths);
  ben.stull/rfc-app mirrors to git.benstull.org/benstull/rfc-app (the
  VM's deploy fetch source — push tags there before deploying).
- Loose ends (non-blocking): (a) stale "Current pin: 0.2.2" line in
  ohm-rfc/CLAUDE.md; (b) a §19.2 candidate to fold meta-content refresh
  into a flotilla verb / deploy phase.
```

---

## Session close

Transcript was first published mid-wrap at `ef977b5` (verify-complete
state), then re-finalized here at the operator's "that's a wrap"
signal. No material work happened between the two — the deploy
(deploys.id=44, v0.30.2) was the last actuation; the handoff prompt was
delivered in chat before publish. Clean close.
