Closer/seed/questions/QUESTION_CONTENT_GUIDE.md

# Closer Question Content Guide

## Purpose

This guide defines how Closer question packs should be written, reviewed, and validated.

Closer is a private couples app. The questions should help two people feel closer through honest, warm, simple conversation. The app should not sound robotic, clinical, cheesy, judgmental, overly sexual, or like therapy homework.

Use this guide before writing or rewriting any question JSON file.

---

# 1. The Closer Voice

Closer should sound:

- Warm
- Private
- Plainspoken
- Emotionally honest
- Lightly playful when appropriate
- Easy to answer
- Respectful of both partners
- Safe and non-pressuring

Closer should not sound:

- Robotic
- Overly formal
- Fake-deep
- Preachy
- Judgmental
- Clinical
- Like a therapist worksheet
- Like a corporate wellness app
- Sexually pushy
- Repetitive
- Awkwardly generated

## Voice Rule

A good Closer question should sound like something a real person could comfortably ask their partner.

Bad:

```text
What boundary around money boundaries would help you feel respected?
```

Better:

```text
What money boundary would help you feel more respected?
```

Best:

```text
What is one money habit we could agree on that would make things feel calmer between us?
```

---

# 2. Core Writing Standard

Every question should pass this test:

- Would a real couple actually answer this?
- Is it clear in one read?
- Does it sound natural out loud?
- Does it invite honesty without blaming either partner?
- Does it fit the pack topic?
- Does it avoid sounding like AI-generated filler?

If the answer is no, rewrite it.

---

# 3. Product Goal

Questions should create moments like:

```text
Oh, that is easy to answer.
That actually sounds like us.
I never thought to ask that.
That feels safe to say.
That could start a good conversation.
That makes me want to see my partner's answer.
```

Questions should not create moments like:

```text
What does this even mean?
Why is this worded so strangely?
This feels like therapy homework.
This sounds too intense.
This sounds too sexual too fast.
This feels repetitive.
This makes me feel accused.
```

---

# 4. Pack Purpose

Every pack needs a clear job.

Before writing a pack, define:

- Pack name
- Pack purpose
- How the user should feel while answering
- What kind of connection the pack should create
- What free users should get from the pack
- What premium users should get from the pack

Example:

```md
Pack name: Date Night

Pack purpose:
Help couples plan, enjoy, and remember time together.

User feeling:
Playful, wanted, relaxed, connected.

Relationship outcome:
More intentional time together without pressure.

Free value:
Easy, fun, low-pressure date questions.

Premium value:
Deeper romance, planning preferences, rut-breaking, and memory-making prompts.
```

---

# 5. Question Depth Levels

Use depth intentionally.

## Light

Light questions should be easy, fun, and low-pressure.

Examples:

```text
What is a simple date we could do with almost no planning?
What snack would make a movie night feel complete?
Would you rather go out for dessert or stay in with a blanket?
```

## Medium

Medium questions should reveal preferences, needs, feelings, or patterns.

Examples:

```text
What makes a night together feel special instead of routine?
What helps you feel like I really want to spend time with you?
What is one thing that would make date night easier for us to follow through on?
```

## Deep

Deep questions should invite vulnerability without pressure or blame.

Examples:

```text
When have you felt most wanted by me, and what made it feel that way?
What kind of attention from me makes you feel closest?
What do you miss about the way we used to spend time together?
```

## Depth Rules

- Light questions should not feel shallow or useless.
- Medium questions should not feel like a confrontation.
- Deep questions should not feel like a trap.
- Sensitive questions should never pressure a partner to disclose, forgive, explain, or perform.

---

# 6. Question Types

Each question type should have a purpose.

## written

Use written questions for stories, memories, reflection, emotional honesty, and open-ended answers.

Good examples:

```text
What is one small thing I do that makes you feel cared for?
What is a memory of us that still makes you smile?
What is something you wish we made more time for?
```

Avoid written questions that are too vague:

```text
How can we deepen our connection?
```

Better:

```text
What is one thing we could do this week that would make us feel more like a team?
```

---

## single_choice

Use single-choice questions for preferences and simple decisions.

Good example:

```json
{
  "type": "single_choice",
  "text": "Which kind of date sounds best this week?",
  "options": [
    { "id": "cozy_at_home", "text": "Cozy at home" },
    { "id": "dinner_out", "text": "Dinner out" },
    { "id": "something_playful", "text": "Something playful" },
    { "id": "something_outside", "text": "Something outside" },
    { "id": "surprise_me", "text": "Surprise me" }
  ]
}
```

Rules:

- Options should be short.
- Options should not overlap too much.
- Options should sound like real choices.
- Avoid more than 6 options unless truly needed.
- Option IDs should be clean, neutral, and stable.

---

## multi_choice

Use multi-choice questions when more than one answer can be true.

Good example:

```json
{
  "type": "multi_choice",
  "text": "What helps you feel relaxed on a date with me?",
  "options": [
    { "id": "no_rushing", "text": "Not feeling rushed" },
    { "id": "phones_away", "text": "Putting phones away" },
    { "id": "good_food", "text": "Good food" },
    { "id": "easy_conversation", "text": "Easy conversation" },
    { "id": "physical_affection", "text": "Physical affection" },
    { "id": "clear_plan", "text": "Having a plan" }
  ]
}
```

Rules:

- Multi-choice prompts should say or imply that multiple answers are okay.
- Options should not shame either partner.
- Include practical and emotional options when possible.
- Avoid options that are almost the same thing.

---

## scale

Use scale questions for comfort level, closeness, energy, readiness, satisfaction, or frequency.

Good example:

```json
{
  "type": "scale",
  "text": "How much do you feel like we need a real date soon?",
  "scale": {
    "min": 1,
    "max": 5,
    "min_label": "Not much",
    "max_label": "Very much"
  }
}
```

Rules:

- Scale labels should be gentle and neutral.
- Do not make the low end sound bad or shameful.
- Scale questions should measure one thing only.
- Avoid loaded or accusatory wording.

Bad:

```text
How badly are we failing at making time for each other?
```

Better:

```text
How much would some intentional time together help us right now?
```

---

## this_or_that

Use this-or-that questions for fast, playful, low-pressure choices.

Good examples:

```text
Planned date or spontaneous date?
Dress up or stay cozy?
Cook together or order in?
Sunset walk or late-night drive?
```

Rules:

- This-or-that prompts should be quick.
- Avoid choices that imply one partner is wrong.
- Use this type most often in fun, date, intimacy, home, and lifestyle packs.
- Do not overuse it in serious conflict or trust packs.

---

# 7. Free vs Premium Strategy

Free questions should prove the app is worth using.

Premium questions should feel deeper, more specific, more personalized, more playful, or more valuable.

## Free Questions Should Be

- Easy to answer
- Warm and useful
- Good enough to create trust
- Low-pressure
- Representative of the pack
- Strong enough that the app feels valuable before payment

## Premium Questions Should Be

- More specific
- More thoughtful
- More emotionally useful
- More creative
- More likely to start a meaningful conversation
- Worth paying for

Premium must not be only “more of the same.”

Bad premium strategy:

```text
Free: What date sounds fun?
Premium: What date sounds really fun?
```

Better premium strategy:

```text
Free: What is a simple date we could do this week?
Premium: What kind of date would make you feel pursued, not just scheduled?
```

---

# 8. Phrases to Avoid

Avoid these unless there is a very good reason:

```text
What boundary around...
hold space
emotional container
relationship dynamic
intentional intimacy
deepen our connection
in this season
needs met
love language
safe space
show up for you
lean into
create space for
feel seen and heard
navigate conflict
honor your needs
```

These phrases are not always wrong, but they quickly make the app sound generic, clinical, or AI-written.

Use natural language instead.

Instead of:

```text
How can I hold space for your needs?
```

Use:

```text
When you are having a hard day, what helps you feel supported by me?
```

Instead of:

```text
How can we deepen intentional intimacy?
```

Use:

```text
What is one small thing that makes you want to be closer to me?
```

---

# 9. Tone Rules by Pack Type

## Fun Packs

Fun packs should feel light, playful, and easy.

Use:

```text
What is a tiny adventure we could do without spending much?
What inside joke of ours still makes you laugh?
What would make an ordinary night feel more fun?
```

Avoid:

```text
How can we optimize shared leisure experiences?
```

---

## Date Night Packs

Date Night packs should feel romantic, playful, practical, and low-pressure.

Use:

```text
What kind of date would feel easy but still special?
What would make you feel like I planned the night with you in mind?
What is one date we keep talking about but never actually do?
```

Avoid:

```text
What date structure would best support our connection goals?
```

---

## Boundaries Packs

Boundaries packs should feel respectful, calm, and non-accusing.

Use:

```text
What is one thing you wish we handled more gently?
When you need alone time, what helps you feel understood instead of distant?
What is a small boundary that would make our home feel calmer?
```

Avoid:

```text
What boundary around boundaries would support emotional safety?
```

---

## Conflict Packs

Conflict packs should feel safe, repair-focused, and not blaming.

Use:

```text
When we disagree, what helps you stay open instead of shutting down?
What is one thing I can do during an argument that would help us slow down?
What helps you feel like we are on the same team again?
```

Avoid:

```text
What do I always do wrong during conflict?
```

---

## Trust Packs

Trust packs should feel careful, honest, and non-punishing.

Use:

```text
What small action helps you trust me more?
What makes an apology feel real to you?
What helps you feel reassured without feeling like you had to ask too much?
```

Avoid:

```text
What have I done to make you unable to trust me?
```

---

## Sex, Desire, and Physical Intimacy Packs

Sex, desire, and physical intimacy packs should feel adult, consent-based, respectful, optional, and never pushy.

Use:

```text
What kind of affection helps you feel wanted without feeling pressured?
What helps you feel comfortable talking about desire with me?
What is one way I can make physical closeness feel safer and more relaxed?
```

Avoid:

```text
What should I do to make sure you give me more sex?
What fantasy do you have to tell me tonight?
Why do you not want me more?
```

Sensitive packs should include:

- Consent-first wording
- No pressure
- No shame
- No assumptions about gender roles
- No assumptions about sex drive
- No coercive language
- No questions that pressure disclosure of trauma

---

# 10. Safety Rules

Closer is not therapy, counseling, crisis support, or medical advice.

Questions must not:

- Encourage staying in unsafe relationships
- Pressure forgiveness
- Minimize abuse
- Encourage sexual pressure
- Ask users to disclose trauma before they are ready
- Diagnose a partner
- Tell a partner what they owe
- Encourage monitoring, control, or isolation
- Frame controlling behavior as love or boundaries

## Abuse-Sensitive Rule

Avoid questions that frame controlling behavior as a normal boundary.

Bad:

```text
What rule should we have about who your partner can talk to?
```

Better:

```text
What helps you feel secure in our relationship while still respecting each other's independence?
```

## Consent Rule

Bad:

```text
How can I get you to be more physically affectionate?
```

Better:

```text
What kind of affection feels good to you when you are open to closeness?
```

---

# 11. Wording Rules

## Keep Questions Short

Aim for 8 to 22 words when possible.

Longer questions are okay only when the topic needs softness or context.

## Ask One Thing at a Time

Bad:

```text
What boundary do you need around family, money, friends, work, and rest so you feel loved and respected?
```

Better:

```text
What family boundary would make our relationship feel more protected?
```

## Avoid Stacked Emotional Words

Bad:

```text
What would help you feel safe, seen, valued, loved, respected, and emotionally connected?
```

Better:

```text
What helps you feel respected by me?
```

## Avoid Vague “More” Questions

Bad:

```text
How can we be more connected?
```

Better:

```text
What is one thing we could do tonight to feel closer?
```

## Avoid Blame

Bad:

```text
What do I do that makes date night feel bad?
```

Better:

```text
What tends to make date night harder for you to enjoy?
```

---

# 12. JSON Quality Rules

Every JSON file should pass these checks:

- Valid JSON
- Category ID matches file purpose
- Category title sounds user-facing
- Category access matches actual free/premium strategy
- Metadata counts match actual question counts
- All question IDs are unique
- All question texts are unique
- No near-duplicate blocks
- Type counts match metadata
- Free/premium counts match metadata
- Depth values are valid
- Access values are valid
- Options have unique IDs inside each question
- Option IDs are neutral and clean
- Scale labels are present when needed
- No malformed keys like `m a x _ l e n g t h`
- No placeholder text
- No accidental old gendered IDs unless intentionally used

Recommended access values:

```text
free
premium
```

Recommended category access values:

```text
free
premium
mixed
```

Recommended depth values:

```text
light
medium
deep
```

Recommended question types:

```text
written
single_choice
multi_choice
scale
this_or_that
```

---

# 13. Pack Structure Recommendation

For a 250-question pack:

```text
Total questions: 250
Free questions: 75
Premium questions: 175
Written: 150
Single choice: 40
Multi choice: 20
Scale: 25
This-or-that: 15
```

This structure is acceptable if the current app expects those counts.

Quality matters more than exact counts. If a pack cannot support 250 good questions without filler, reduce the pack or split it.

---

# 14. Content Batching Process

Do not write all 250 questions in one creative pass.

Use this process:

1. Define the pack purpose.
2. Define subtopics.
3. Write 40 to 50 high-quality questions.
4. Review tone and repetition.
5. Write the next batch.
6. Add choice, scale, and this-or-that questions.
7. Assign free/premium.
8. Assign depth.
9. Validate JSON.
10. Read the full file like a user.

---

# 15. Subtopic Planning

Each pack should have subtopics to prevent repetition.

## Example: Date Night

```text
easy dates
low-cost dates
at-home dates
going out
planning preferences
romance style
fun and play
food and drinks
music and movies
seasonal dates
surprises
feeling wanted
getting out of a rut
busy-life dates
date-night stress
memories
future date dreams
```

## Example: Boundaries

```text
alone time
phone privacy
social media
family involvement
friendships
money
work time
rest
chores
home space
conflict
tone of voice
physical affection
private conversations
parenting or family roles
emotional bandwidth
plans and scheduling
personal belongings
sleep
stress
```

---

# 16. Repetition Check

A pack fails if it has blocks like this:

```text
What boundary around alone time would help you feel respected?
What boundary around phone privacy would help you feel respected?
What boundary around family involvement would help you feel respected?
What boundary around friendships would help you feel respected?
```

Instead, each question should have its own angle.

Better:

```text
When you need alone time, how should I respond so it does not feel personal?
What phone privacy boundary would help us feel trusted instead of watched?
How involved should family be in decisions that affect just the two of us?
What helps friendships feel healthy without making our relationship feel pushed aside?
```

---

# 17. Human Read-Aloud Test

Before finalizing, read 25 random questions out loud.

Reject questions that:

- Sound stiff
- Sound embarrassing for the wrong reason
- Sound like a therapy script
- Sound too much like another question
- Take too long to understand
- Would make a normal couple roll their eyes

---

# 18. Claude Instructions for Rewriting JSON Packs

When Claude rewrites a pack:

1. Read this guide first.
2. Read the existing JSON file.
3. Preserve the required schema unless told otherwise.
4. Preserve required counts unless told otherwise.
5. Improve wording, variety, and product feel.
6. Do not create repetitive template blocks.
7. Do not use weird phrasing.
8. Do not overuse therapy language.
9. Do not make sensitive prompts coercive.
10. Validate the final JSON.
11. Report count totals.
12. Report any schema changes.

Claude should not say a file is done unless:

- The JSON parses.
- The counts match.
- IDs are unique.
- Question texts are unique.
- Free/premium counts match.
- Type counts match.
- The tone guide was followed.

---

# 19. Good Question Examples by Category

## Date Night

```text
What is a date we could plan this month that would feel easy but special?
What makes you feel like I really wanted time with you?
What kind of date helps you relax the fastest?
What is one date we should bring back?
What would make a regular night feel romantic?
```

## Boundaries

```text
When you need space, what helps you feel understood instead of distant?
What is one small boundary that would make our home feel calmer?
What topic do you wish we handled more gently?
What helps you feel trusted instead of checked up on?
What is one way we can protect our time together from outside stress?
```

## Communication

```text
What helps you open up when something is bothering you?
When do you feel easiest to talk to me?
What is one thing I could say more often?
What makes a hard conversation feel safer?
What helps you know I am really listening?
```

## Fun

```text
What is something silly we should do together soon?
What little adventure would make this week better?
What is an inside joke of ours that you still love?
What would make tonight feel less boring?
What is something we should try just because it sounds fun?
```

## Trust

```text
What small action helps you trust me more?
What makes an apology feel real to you?
What helps you feel reassured without having to ask twice?
What is one promise that matters a lot to you?
What helps us feel like we are on the same team?
```

## Physical Intimacy

```text
What kind of affection helps you feel closest to me?
When do you feel most comfortable being physically close?
What helps touch feel relaxed instead of expected?
What small affectionate habit would you like more of?
What makes cuddling or closeness feel safe and easy?
```

---

# 20. Final Standard

A finished Closer question pack should feel:

```text
Human.
Warm.
Private.
Clear.
Useful.
Specific.
Respectful.
Worth paying for.
```

If a question does not help a couple feel closer, understand each other, laugh together, plan something, repair something, or feel safer with each other, it probably does not belong in Closer.