Incident File for Score Timing Etiquette
Waiting for a friend to post their daily game result before posting yours is unspoken policy in three group chats.
Incident Report Subject: Score Timing Etiquette Classification: Behavioral Infrastructure
Incident Summary
On September 8, 2023, at 8:47 a.m., the subject completed the daily word game with a result of four attempts. The subject did not post the result immediately. The subject waited.
The wait was eleven minutes.
During those eleven minutes, the subject checked the group chat twice. The usual first-poster had not yet appeared. The subject determined that posting before the usual first-poster would constitute a minor protocol violation. No protocol exists. This is the finding.
Consequence 1
Score Timing Etiquette occupies one protected pocket of the day. The pocket is not scheduled. It is maintained through awareness. The subject knows when the first-poster usually posts. The subject adjusts their own timing accordingly. This is not discussed.
Consequence 2
Other routines start moving around the pocket. The subject has begun delaying their second cup of tea until after the game result is posted. The tea and the game are not related. They are now coordinated.
Consequence 3
A tiny game becomes a daily obligation. This is the incident finding. The game is voluntary. Missing it for one day generates a mild awareness of absence. Missing it for three days generates a mild social explanation requirement.
Governing Rule
Under the governing rule, score timing etiquette becomes procedure once repetition feels safer than reconsidering it. The protocol is four months old. Nobody established it.
The game is called casual while missing it feels like a small failure. Both descriptions remain accurate.
A tiny game becomes a daily obligation.