Update README.md

README.md

@@ -194,4 +194,40 @@ We can probably discuss some sub-sections which might be good to list out as a s
 
 If you want your character to stick to a specific way of interacting with others, and help differentiate better in group chats for the AI, then I'd say yes. You could probably get away with just the starting message and those listings above if you want a simple chat, but I've found example messages, if detailed and tailored in the way you prefer for the chat/RP/writing session, will help immensely with getting certain results. Its one thing to list something for the bot to get a grasp of its persona, but having an actual example with all of the little nuances and formatting choices within said chat, will net you better results on average. Prose choice is one big factor in helping the bot along, like the flick of a tail, or the mechanical whirl of a piston arm, can help shape more fantastical characters of course, but subtle things for more grounded characters is of course good too.
 
-Me personally, I like to have multiple example messages, say in the 3~7 range, and this is for two reasons. One is so the character can express multiple emotions and scenarios that would be relevant to them, and just having to cram it all inside one message might make it come across as schizo in structure, or become a big wall of text that could lead to bloat. And the second is varying message length itself, in order to ensure the bot doesn't get comfortable in a certain range when interacting.
+Me personally, I like to have multiple example messages, say in the 3~7 range, and this is for two reasons. One is so the character can express multiple emotions and scenarios that would be relevant to them, and just having to cram it all inside one message might make it come across as schizo in structure, or become a big wall of text that could lead to bloat. And the second is varying message length itself, in order to ensure the bot doesn't get comfortable in a certain range when interacting.
+
+# Messages/Conversations With a Bot
+
+## What are some things I should know before chatting with my bots?
+
+There are quite a few things to discuss, but perhaps one trick we should discuss is something that should happen before you go into any sort of creative endeavor with your bots, and that is doing some Q&A testing with your model of choice. Notice that I said "model" specifically, and not bot/character? Well that's because not all LLMs will have the same amount of data on certain subjects, even if they are the same size or brand. This is probably obvious to most people who've used more than one model/service, but it's important to consider still for newcomers.
+
+The basic idea of this activity is to use a blank slate card, typically with something simple like "you/me" as the names of the user/assistant with no other details added, and find out how accurate the depths of its knowledge pool is in certain field that you think are important for your specific case.
+
+While dry in actual practice, if you want to be the most accurate with your cases, then you should have your settings/samplers turned off or at extremely low to ensure the model doesn't hallucinate too much about any given scenario. If using any settings besides 0, then you should probably swipe a few times to see if the info remains consistent. This goes for both asking the bot about its information, and testing creative models as well, since you might get lucky the first time around.
+
+As an aside from the last point, I've found some model creator/reviewers can be misleading when it comes to marketing their own material. Saying the model can do X scenario, but is inconsistent in actual practice. Benchmaxing leaderboards is one field some users have had an issue with, but this extends outside that scope as well, such as saying their model captures the character or writes the scene out very well, but instead personally finding out later that these are most likely cherry picked examples through the use of many swipes. And my preference in determining a model's quality is both creativity AND consistency. It's a shame that a scientific field like LLMs have been infested with grifters wanting to make a name for themselves to farm upvotes/likes, uninformed prompters willfully spreading misinformation because of their own ego, or just those trying to get easy Ko-Fi donations through their unskilled work. But it is what it is I suppose... Now, enough of my personal displeasures; let us get back on track with things to consider before you engage with your model.
+ 
+### What should I ask my bot specifically when it comes to its knowledge?
+
+To start, world and character knowledge of existing IPs and archetypes, or history and mythology, are big ones for anyone with creative aspirations. As an example, your model probably knows some info about The Legend of Zelda series and fantasy tropes in general, but maybe it doesn't quite get the finer details of the situation or task you are asking about: Wrong clothes or colors, incorrect methodology or actions, weird hallucinations in general, etc.
+
+The main reason you'd want to know this is to try and save context space with your character cards or world info. If they already know how to play out your character or scene out intrinsically, then that's one potential area you can most likely leave out and skip when writing stuff down. This goes for archetypes as well, such as weird creatures or robots, landmarks, history, culture, or personalities that you want to inject into your story.
+
+You can either ask the bot directly what X thing is, or instead ask it to write a brief scenario/script where the things you are asking about in the first place are utilized within a narrative snippet. This will help give you a better idea on what areas the model excels at, and what it doesn't. You could even ask the bot to make a template of your character or archetype to see what it gets right or wrong. Though you should be on the look out for how it formats things as well.
+
+### What should I be on the look out for when a bot formats stuff?
+
+If you decide to engage with a blank bot, then here is an area if you want to incrementally squeeze out better results from a model: How it formats the story in question and the preferences inside. Does it use quotes or asterisks more often? Does it use regular dashes or em dashes? How does it highlight things if asking for a profile list for your character? Taking into consideration the natural flow of how the model writes things down will inform you better on how it operates, and lets you work better with it, instead of against. Of course this should mostly be considered if you are sticking to a specific model or brand, but there are some the are similar enough in nature to where you won't have to worry about swapping.
+
+### Is there formatting inside the actual chat/rp that I should take into consideration?
+
+Yes, and these will be more impactful when actually conversing with your bots. Now, formatting isn't just about how it initially starts out with blank bots, but also how the chat develops with actual characters/scenarios. The big one I've noticed is message length. If you notice your bot going on longer then it should, or not long enough, then its possible that the previous messages have made your model get into a groove that will be hard for it to naturally break out of. This is why in the beginning you should have some variance in both the bot's messages and yourself. Even if you are a basic chatter or storyteller, you should still incorporate special symbols beyond basic word characters and the comma/period.
+
+You should also be mindful of how many times it uses commas as well, since if it only uses one in each sentence it can then get into a groove where it will only use one comma going forward. Once you notice it not being able to use more than one comma in any given sentence, you will never not see it: "I said hello to them, waving as I did. We walked for awhile in the park, looking at the scene around us. It was a pleasant experience, one that was tranquil in nature." This is an example of how the structure has become solidified for the model. Some models are better then others at breaking out, but you should still avoid this if possible. Sometimes having Author's Notes will help, but it's still a crap shoot.
+
+### Can I do anything useful with Author's Notes?
+
+The Author's Note, if your api has one, is one of the more effective ways of getting around bad practices besides the system prompt if tuned to the recent message. If it doesn't, then using a special example container like OOC might work too. Anyway, giving it advice for message length, or guiding it down a certain path is obviously helpful to steer the conversation, but it also helps as a reminder of sorts once the chat gets longer.
+
+Since it's at the front and easier to access then the initial system prompt, you can think of Author's Notes as miniature version of the system prompt for instructions that are more malleable in nature. You can give it choices to consider going forward, shift the tone with genre tags, remind them of past events, or novel mechanics that are more game centric like current quests or inventory.