Open Mic
Open Mic guidelines.
Open Mic is where readers share prompts that worked for them. It is curated, not a feed. Every submission is read by a person before it appears. These are the standards we read against.
What makes a prompt worth sharing
- It is about the reader. A question about someone’s own life, work or mind.
- It is short. Roughly 25 to 160 words, asking for one thing.
- It says where it ends. One answer, three options, a table, a message under 100 words.
- It gives context, not a costume. No “Act as a world-class expert,” no tips or threats, no capitals for emphasis.
- It travels. Plain language that works in any assistant, with personal details left as blanks in [square brackets].
- It teaches a habit. One sentence on why it works goes in the form.
- You have run it. Share what gave you an answer you used.
The five-question test
Ask these of your prompt before you submit.
The five-question test5 questions/all 5 must pass
Would I send this question to a friend, with no explanation?
Does the answer depend on the reader, so two people get two different answers?
If the assistant could simply agree, is there a line that stops it?
Can I say in one sentence what habit it teaches?
Would a sample of the answer make someone want to run it?
What we decline
- Jailbreaks, or anything written to get around an assistant’s safety rules.
- Sexual content.
- Impersonation of real people. Named methods are fine. “Answer as” a real person is not.
- Cheating on coursework or exams.
- Manipulating, deceiving or monitoring other people.
- Prompts that diagnose, prescribe, pick investments or stand in for a doctor, therapist or lawyer. Prompts that help someone prepare to see one are welcome.
- Prompts that ask for passwords, account or ID numbers, or someone else’s private details.
- Spam and self-promotion, including prompts that exist to sell something.
- Copied work. Popular ideas are fair inspiration. The wording has to be yours.
After you submit
Automatic checks look at length, links and duplicates. Then a person reads the prompt and approves it, edits it for clarity and house style, or declines it. Approved prompts appear in Open Mic, separate from house prompts.
Credit and license
You keep the credit. If you give a name and a link, they appear with your prompt. By submitting, you confirm the prompt is yours to share, and you agree to share it under CC BY 4.0, the same license as house prompts. Others may use, share and adapt it with credit to you.
What a vote means
The vote button says “Worked for me,” and it means that: you ran the prompt and the answer was useful. It is not a like. Vote once per prompt, after you have tried it. Counts start at zero and we never seed them, so please do not inflate them.