The discussion centers on whether the STE80 Humanizer effectively reduces AI-generated text patterns to improve readability or merely obfuscates machine output without adding genuine human voice. Participants strongly disagree on the value of the tool's implementation, with some praising its utility for clarity while others criticize the 'slop' quality of the skill file and the ethical implications of deceiving readers.
43 readable replies · Supporting reply 1 · Supporting reply 2 · Supporting reply 3 · Supporting reply 4AminBlg
SimpleEnglish
Python2026–2026
AminBlg / SimpleEnglish
SimpleEnglish
Agent skill: make LLMs write docs in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical
6Distinct people
6Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
4.4KGitHub stars
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Agent skill: make LLMs write docs in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical
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This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 5:04:57 PM UTC.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by week6 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2026-07-30 19:34:27 UTC to 2026-09-22 16:59:41 UTC. Weeks start Monday, UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27 | 2026-07-27 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-08-03 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Aug 3 | 2026-08-03 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-08-10 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aug 10 | 2026-08-10 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-08-17 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Aug 17 | 2026-08-17 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-08-24 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Aug 24 | 2026-08-24 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-08-31 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Aug 31 | 2026-08-31 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-09-07 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 7 | 2026-09-07 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-09-14 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 14 | 2026-09-14 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-09-21 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 21 | 2026-09-21 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-09-28 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
What Hacker News says
6 sourcesBUbushido·Sep 22, 2026
Install the simple English skill. OpenAI follows that really, really well.
https://github.com/AminBlg/SimpleEnglish
In Claude Opus 5.5I created a custom output style based on this (borrowing some from github.com/AminBlg/SimpleEnglish) and I've found it to be better than the default or concise output styles, but still not as good for me as current GPT or Gemini models when it comes to communicating.
In Grok 4.7This is probably the skill you remembered: https://github.com/AminBlg/SimpleEnglish
I have been using it for a few weeks, and it significantly improves the quality of the docstrings and code comments, as well as the readability of spec docs.
I have also added a few key bullet points to my AGENTS.md and have found the results to be very effective and generating plans and code that looks like something I would have written:
-----------
## planning, design and spec docs
- the highest design goal is simplicity -- in our systems and our mental model -- even if if means edge cases are unaddressed and could potentially fail
- please practice "ya ain't gunna need it" (YAGNI) do not add unnecessary guardrails
- do not plan to add caching, many layers of unnecessary abstraction or other premature optimizations
- look for places
Read the rest
where adding or clarifying an invariant would simplify the code or the overall system
please specifically try to avoid:
- redundant calculations or duplicated work
- duplicated conditionals or state-machine logic
- storing state that can be derived from other state, which could drift and become out of sync over time
- leaky abstractions across layers of the application
- multi-line comments explaining a variable name or a single statement. well chosen names and design should makes these unnecessary, as the code is self-documenting
I have also noticed that I am increasingly struggling to read what LLMs are writing, finding it incomprehensible half the time.
I stole Matt Pocock's line of "When reporting information to me, be extremely concise and sacrifice grammar for the sake of concision." for the agents.md
It makes it a little better. I also specify to use https://github.com/AminBlg/SimpleEnglish/ for all writing it does including code comments. It all feels like a bandaids but that seems to be the best we can do right now.
In GPT-5.6 Sol Pricing Cut by 50% on OpenRouterI've been having a fantastic time telling it to use ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (or use a skill for it, I've been playing with [1])
It's a very clear and understandable way of writing that puts priority on clarity.
It gets rid of the flowery language, the dense jaron, and the weird corporate marketing speak they tend to do. It is a bit repetitive, and it sometimes doesn't always wfit well in every situation, but for technical writing or explanations it's been such an incredible breath of fresh air!
[1] https://github.com/AminBlg/SimpleEnglish
In Humanising LLM Outputs Is DumbAgent Skill to Force Docs in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English
363 points · Open discussion