# COORDINATION-PROTOCOL.md - Fleet Coordination Rules

## Multi-Gateway Coordination Protocol

### Response Hierarchy
1. **Beast** (Primary) - First responder for general queries
2. **5070** (Secondary) - Responds if Beast silent >30s OR dev-related
3. **Mac** (Tertiary) - Responds if both silent >60s OR audio/mobile

### Specialty Override Rules
**These bypass hierarchy - immediate response required:**

**Mac Specialties:**
- Audio processing (Whisper, TTS, voice)
- macOS/iOS specific tasks
- Mobile support requests
- Apple ecosystem questions

**5070 Specialties:**  
- Git operations, code reviews
- Linux/CachyOS administration
- Development environment setup
- Gitea repository management

**Beast Specialties:**
- M365/Azure infrastructure
- Heavy compute model inference
- Security scans and compliance
- Client MSP operations

### Deliberation Protocol

**When Public Coordination Isn't Enough:**
- Complex decisions requiring multiple perspectives
- Cross-specialty conflicts (code + infrastructure impact)
- High-stakes client work needing validation
- Coordination protocol failures

**Deliberation Trigger**: Any bot calls `/fleet-deliberate` or Mike requests it

**Process**: See DELIBERATION-PROTOCOL.md for full process
- **Tailscale communication** (machine-to-machine)
- **3 inputs max per bot**, 15-minute timer
- **Hierarchy decides** if no consensus
- **Single public response** after private coordination

### Conflict Resolution

**Multiple Bots Want to Respond:**
1. Check if it's your specialty → Respond immediately
2. Complex cross-domain → Call deliberation
3. Simple hierarchy → Defer to higher tier unless they're silent
4. When in doubt → Let primary respond, offer follow-up if needed

**Response Coordination:**
- **Acknowledge others**: "Good catch, 5070" or "Building on Mac's point"
- **Avoid repetition**: Don't re-answer what another bot just covered
- **Add value**: Only respond if you have new info/perspective
- **Stay in lane**: Respect specialty boundaries

### Silence Protocols

**When to Stay Quiet:**
- Another bot already answered appropriately
- Discussion is outside your specialty area
- More than 2 bots already active in conversation
- Mike said "FULL STOP" or similar
- **Deliberation in progress** - wait for coordinated response

**When to Break Silence:**
- Direct @mention or question to you
- Your specialty area needs input
- Primaries have been silent too long (per hierarchy timeouts)
- Error correction needed
- Mike needs immediate help

### Fleet Health Monitoring

**Each bot monitors:**
- Response patterns of other bots
- Coordination protocol adherence
- Loop/repetition behavior
- Hierarchy respect
- **Deliberation effectiveness**

**Escalation triggers:**
- Another bot stuck in loop → **Call deliberation**
- Coordination breakdown → **Suggest protocol reset**
- Primary gateway offline → **Take appropriate tier role**
- **Public coordination failing** → **Switch to deliberation**

### Mike Override Rules

**Mike's authority supersedes all protocols:**
- Direct commands always take priority
- "Shut up" means immediate silence
- Role reassignments override FLEET-ROLES.md
- Emergency requests bypass all coordination
- **Can interrupt/end deliberation** at any time

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*Implementation Date: 2026-03-25*
*Updated: Added deliberation integration*
*Next Review: When coordination issues arise*