0001: A public standard, and private styles
Decision: A person's own way of presenting stays in a style of their own that overrides this repository, which holds the common ground of any presentation.
Status: accepted, 2026-10-29; extended by 0006. Shape: decision record.
Context
The repository began as the talk half of an academic one and widened step by step to any presentation. The maintainer asked what it is for.
Decision
It holds the common ground of any presentation: principles, contexts, shapes and checks. A person's own way of presenting is a style of their own, kept by them, that overrides this standard, the way a reader style overrides reader-ergonomics.
Alternatives rejected
- A repository for one person's talks: the evidence is general, and a personal deck would hide which rules are evidence and which are taste.
- One repository per context: academic, business and casual talks share most rules, and three copies would drift.
Consequences
A principle enters only with evidence from the review. A personal preference, such as a deck framework or a palette, stays out. A test talk by one person tests the standard; it does not set it.
The cost: a personal style carries no evidence of its own, and it can drift from the standard without anyone seeing it.