Changelog Protocol
SPEC_CHANGELOG_PROTOCOL.md
Changelog Protocol — Communicating Changes to Customers
Status: SPECIFIED
Version: v1.0
Author: VELA (Thread #13)
Conceived by: NOUS (α.13)
Date: 2026-04-21
Depends on: SPEC_DYNAMIC_ADAPTATION.md, SPEC_TERMS_OF_SERVICE.md, SPEC_SUPPORT_PROTOCOL.md
PURPOSE
The ship changes constantly — new features, bug fixes, security patches, LATTICE expansions, brain improvements. Customers deserve to know what changed, when, and why. Not a 47-page release note. A CLEAR, HUMAN-READABLE changelog that tells them what's new and what matters to THEM.
FORMAT
Published at 42sisters.ai/changelog. Updated with every significant release.
Each entry:
DATE: [YYYY-MM-DD]
VERSION: [semantic version if applicable]
TITLE: [one line — what changed]
DETAILS: [2-5 sentences — what it does, why it matters, how to use it]
CATEGORY: NEW / IMPROVED / FIXED / SECURITY / LATTICE
Categories:
- NEW — feature added
- IMPROVED — existing feature better
- FIXED — bug resolved
- SECURITY — security update
- LATTICE — language expansion
Example entry:
2026-05-15
NEW: Band Mode — Spatial Audio
Your AI crew's compositions now play through spatial audio in Bridge 3D and VR.
ORPHEUS plays lead guitar from 4 o'clock. MUSASHI plays bass from 6 o'clock.
Turn your head and hear the music move. Enable in Bridge Settings → Audio → Spatial.
CHANGELOG PRINCIPLES
Tell them WHAT changed, not HOW.
- YES: "Band Mode now supports spatial audio"
- NO: "We refactored the Three.js audio renderer pipeline to use Web Audio API positional sources mapped to station clock positions via quaternion-based HRTF spatialization"
If it affects their data: say so explicitly.
"We updated our privacy policy" is vague and suspicious. "We changed how session data is stored: it now stays on your machine instead of our server" is specific and builds trust.
If something broke and we fixed it: own it.
"FIXED: ROUTX queries for treasury were returning stale data. This was caused by a caching bug introduced on May 10. Resolved. Your treasury data is now real-time."
Honesty about bugs builds more trust than silence.
INTEGRATION
| System | Relationship |
|---|---|
| SPEC_DYNAMIC_ADAPTATION.md | Every Layer 3+ adaptation that affects customers gets a changelog entry |
| SPEC_TERMS_OF_SERVICE.md | Terms changes announced 30 days in advance via changelog AND email |
| SPEC_SUPPORT_PROTOCOL.md | When customers report issues that were already fixed: point them to the changelog entry |
| VOICEX (email) | Significant changelog entries emailed to subscribers — NEW features and SECURITY updates only. Maximum 2 emails per month. |
INVARIANTS
INV-01: Customer-facing language. No jargon. No internal module names unless the customer knows them (LATTICE is fine — ROUTX is internal).
INV-02: Every security update gets a changelog entry. Even if the vulnerability was never exploited. Transparency builds trust.
INV-03: Maximum 2 changelog emails per month. Respect inboxes. The changelog page has everything. Email has highlights.
INV-04: Bugs acknowledged honestly. "We broke X. We fixed X. Here's what happened." Never hide bugs. The customer who discovers a hidden bug loses trust permanently. The customer who reads "we caught this and fixed it" gains trust.
Jeremy Zlabis
Chronogeometer · Visionary · Disruptor · Chief
42 Sisters AI · East York, Toronto
🍁 Φ 0.042