Give relogin-needed its plain words: it needs the operator and offers no button, since only their new login can end it (hq ADR 0253, ADR 0254)

The operator could not tell from a notification whether to act, and was told to
have an agent do it. Each condition now says "Nothing for you to do." or
"Needs you:" with one thing they can do themselves, and carries the actions the
operator channel performs when chosen (hq ADR 0253).

cmd/mesh-controller/delivery_conditions.go

@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ func stalledObservations(lines []stalledLine) []conditions.Observation {
 		if l.operatorsOnly() {
 			o.Resolver = conditions.ResolverOperator
 		}
+		o.Headline, o.Explanation, o.Resolved, o.Needs, o.Actions = stalledWords(l, o)
 		out = append(out, o)
 	}
 	return out

cmd/mesh-controller/machine_units.go

@@ -90,8 +90,9 @@ func machineUnitsObservation(node string, u *link.UnitsHealth) (conditions.Obser
 	if len(u.Failed) == 0 {
 		return o, false
 	}
-	var names, said []string
+	var names, said, plain []string
 	for _, f := range u.Failed {
+		plain = append(plain, unitPlainWords(f.Unit))
 		where := ""
 		if f.Scope == "user" {
 			where = " (the account's own manager)"
@@ -111,6 +112,16 @@ func machineUnitsObservation(node string, u *link.UnitsHealth) (conditions.Obser
 		"Each is the machine's own: mend or remove it there, or have a module place it",
 		node, len(u.Failed), strings.Join(names, ", "))
 	o.Said = strings.Join(said, "; ")
+	failed := "1 failed service"
+	if len(u.Failed) > 1 {
+		failed = fmt.Sprintf("%d failed services", len(u.Failed))
+	}
+	o.Headline = fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s", conditions.Capital(failed), node)
+	o.Needs = fmt.Sprintf("mend or remove them on %s, or silence this if they do not matter.", node)
+	o.Explanation = fmt.Sprintf("On %s, %s failed. No module manages them, so the mesh does not repair them.",
+		node, namesWords(plain, 3))
+	o.Actions = []conditions.Action{conditions.SilenceAction(o.Key())}
+	o.Resolved = "No failed services on " + node + " any more"
 	return o, true
 }
 

cmd/mesh-controller/module_health.go

@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ func judgeModuleHealth(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, k *conditi
 				o.Severity = conditions.Urgent
 				o.Said += "; " + waitingWords(waiters)
 				o.Summary += fmt.Sprintf("; %d consumer(s) wait on it", len(waiters))
+				o.Explanation += fmt.Sprintf(" %d module(s) that depend on it wait for it.", len(waiters))
 			}
 		}
 		seen[o.Key()] = true
@@ -255,18 +256,34 @@ func sayWaiters(ctx context.Context, k *conditions.Keeper, hold *holding, p cata
 }
 
 // reloginObservation is a module waiting for a person's new login on a machine (novox/hq ADR 0254): the
-// operator's, a warning, its summary the one sentence that says what to do; the resources are evidence.
+// operator's, a warning, its summary the one sentence that says what to do; the resources are evidence. Its
+// plain words (ADR 0253) are the kind's: it needs the operator, and offers no answer — no verb can log a
+// person in again, and a restart of the module's service would start it in the same session.
 func reloginObservation(module, node, said string, rs []inventory.ResourceHealth) conditions.Observation {
 	o := moduleUnhealthyObservation(module, node, rs)
 	o.Token, o.Kind, o.Resolver, o.Summary = kindReloginNeeded, kindReloginNeeded, conditions.ResolverOperator, said
+	w := reloginWords(module, node)
+	o.Headline, o.Explanation, o.Resolved, o.Needs, o.Actions = w.Headline, w.Explanation, w.Resolved, w.Needs, nil
 	return o
 }
 
+// reloginWords is what the operator reads of a module waiting for their new login on a machine (ADR 0253,
+// ADR 0254): never quiet, since only the operator can do it, and no button, since nothing else can.
+func reloginWords(module, node string) words {
+	return words{Headline: fmt.Sprintf("%s waits for a new login on %s", module, node),
+		Needs: fmt.Sprintf("log out of %s completely and log in again, or restart it.", node),
+		Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s put your account in a group it needs. You logged in before that, so %s "+
+			"cannot run until you log in again. Its update is in place and nothing was undone.", conditions.Capital(module), module),
+		Resolved: fmt.Sprintf("%s runs on %s after your new login", module, node)}
+}
+
 // moduleUnhealthyObservation is a module unhealthy on a machine, in words: the summary names the module,
 // the machine and what is wrong with each resource; the detail — targets, streaks, since — is evidence.
 func moduleUnhealthyObservation(module, node string, rs []inventory.ResourceHealth) conditions.Observation {
-	var words, said []string
+	var words, said, plain []string
+	needs, actions := moduleNeeds(node, rs)
 	for _, r := range rs {
+		plain = append(plain, resourcePlainWords(r))
 		if r.Kind == link.KindUnit {
 			// A failed unit is named by the unit, which is what a person looks for (issue 315); the
 			// resource that places it — a package, a file — is evidence.
@@ -282,8 +299,14 @@ func moduleUnhealthyObservation(module, node string, rs []inventory.ResourceHeal
 	}
 	return conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeModule, ID: module + "." + node, Token: "unhealthy",
 		Kind: kindModuleUnhealthy, Machine: node, Severity: conditions.Warning, Source: sourceHealth,
-		Summary: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s is not healthy: %s", module, node, strings.Join(words, "; ")),
-		Said:    strings.Join(said, "; ")}
+		Summary:  fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s is not healthy: %s", module, node, strings.Join(words, "; ")),
+		Said:     strings.Join(said, "; "),
+		Headline: fmt.Sprintf("%s not working on %s", module, node),
+		Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s is not healthy: %s. It clears as soon as it runs again.", module, node,
+			namesWords(plain, 3)),
+		Needs:    needs,
+		Actions:  actions,
+		Resolved: fmt.Sprintf("%s works again on %s", module, node)}
 }
 
 // reasonWords is why a resource is unhealthy, as a person reads it.

cmd/mesh-controller/person_wait_test.go

@@ -193,3 +193,22 @@ func TestAModuleHealthyOnItsOwnKeepsItsPassWhenItsSendFails(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("the walk does not say what kept its pass: %s", p.Note)
 	}
 }
+
+// What the operator reads of the wait (ADR 0253, ADR 0254): it needs them, so it is never quiet, and it offers
+// no button, since nothing but their own new login can do it.
+func TestTheReloginConditionNeedsTheOperatorAndOffersNoButton(t *testing.T) {
+	o := reloginObservation("openrazer", "g14", "relogin needed on g14: …", []inventory.ResourceHealth{
+		relogin("openrazer", "operator"), userUnit("openrazer", "operator")})
+	plainExample(t, o, "openrazer waits for a new login on g14",
+		"Needs you: log out of g14 completely and log in again, or restart it. Openrazer put your account in a "+
+			"group it needs. You logged in before that, so openrazer cannot run until you log in again. Its "+
+			"update is in place and nothing was undone.")
+	if len(o.Actions) != 0 || o.Needs == "" {
+		t.Errorf("relogin: needs %q, actions %+v; want needs and no button", o.Needs, o.Actions)
+	}
+	// The kind's own wording, for a condition raised without words, says the same.
+	if w := plainWordings[kindReloginNeeded](conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopeModule, ID: "openrazer.g14", Machine: "g14"}); w.Needs != o.Needs ||
+		w.Headline != o.Headline || len(w.Actions) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("the kind's wording: %+v", w)
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/plain_words.go

@@ -0,0 +1,776 @@
+package main
+
+// The plain words of every condition kind the controller raises (novox/hq ADR 0253): what the operator
+// reads — a headline, one or two sentences on what it means and whether to act, and the line said when it
+// clears. The summary beside them keeps the ids, commits and verbs for whoever looks closer.
+//
+// A kind whose words need more than the condition's subject (a walk's modules, a unit's name, a hand-act's
+// cause) is worded where it is raised, and its kind here is the fallback. Every kind raised in the test
+// suite is held to having words, and to their being plain (plain_words_test.go).
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"sort"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+type words = conditions.Words
+
+// worded is a wording that needs only the condition's subject.
+func worded(fn func(o conditions.Observation) words) func(conditions.Observation) words { return fn }
+
+func init() {
+	for kind, fn := range plainWordings {
+		conditions.Wording(kind, fn)
+	}
+}
+
+// machineOr is the machine a condition concerns, or what to say when none is named.
+func machineOr(o conditions.Observation, none string) string {
+	if o.Machine != "" {
+		return o.Machine
+	}
+	return none
+}
+
+// idPart is the n-th dotted part of a condition's id, or "".
+func idPart(o conditions.Observation, n int) string {
+	parts := strings.Split(o.ID, ".")
+	if n < len(parts) {
+		return parts[n]
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// dataWords is "<item> of <module>" for a data condition keyed by machine, module and item.
+func dataWords(o conditions.Observation) (what, module string) {
+	module, item := idPart(o, 1), strings.Join(strings.Split(o.ID, ".")[min(2, len(strings.Split(o.ID, "."))):], " ")
+	switch {
+	case module != "" && item != "":
+		return item + " of " + module, module
+	case module != "":
+		return "data of " + module, module
+	}
+	return "data", "a module"
+}
+
+var plainWordings = map[string]func(conditions.Observation) words{
+	// Machines and their node-engine.
+	"silent": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		w := words{Headline: m + " is not answering",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The mesh has not heard from %s for several minutes. A machine asleep or away is "+
+				"normal.", m),
+			Resolved: m + " answers again"}
+		if o.Severity == conditions.Urgent {
+			w.Needs = fmt.Sprintf("check that %s is on and online.", m)
+			w.Explanation = fmt.Sprintf("The mesh has not heard from %s for half an hour, and the mesh is run from it: "+
+				"nothing changes anywhere until it is back.", m)
+		}
+		return w
+	}),
+	"sent-not-reported": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " has not confirmed a change",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The mesh sent %s new instructions and %s has not said it applied them yet. "+
+				"It usually catches up by itself.", m, m),
+			Resolved: m + " applied the change"}
+	}),
+	"tools-silent": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "Tools on " + m + " are not answering",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The tool runner on %s has not checked in, so nothing can be done on %s through "+
+				"the mesh until it does. A machine asleep is normal.", m, m),
+			Resolved: "Tools on " + m + " answer again"}
+	}),
+	kindAwaitingPush: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " waits for new instructions",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s's new instructions go out with the next push. Nothing is broken meanwhile.",
+				conditions.Capital(m)),
+			Resolved: m + " got its new instructions"}
+	}),
+	"declaration-refused": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeMesh {
+			return words{Headline: "No machine can get new instructions",
+				Needs: "decide whether to undo the last catalogue change; the details say what fails.",
+				Explanation: "The mesh cannot work out its private network, so no machine's instructions can be " +
+					"made. Machines keep running what they have.",
+				Resolved: "Machines can get new instructions again"}
+		}
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " cannot get new instructions",
+			Needs: "decide whether to undo the last catalogue change; the details say what fails.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("What the mesh would send %s is wrong and would be refused, so nothing new "+
+				"reaches it. It keeps running what it has.", m),
+			Resolved: m + " can get new instructions again"}
+	}),
+	"own-address-banned": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " has banned the mesh",
+			Needs: fmt.Sprintf("lift the ban on %s, or wait for it to expire.", m),
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The intrusion protection on %s banned one of the mesh's own addresses, so the "+
+				"mesh is locked out of it.", m),
+			Resolved: m + " no longer bans the mesh"}
+	}),
+	"core-behind": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " runs an old node-engine",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s runs an older build of the mesh's own software than the mesh holds. It "+
+				"works, and gets the newer one with a later delivery.", conditions.Capital(m)),
+			Resolved: m + " runs the current node-engine"}
+	}),
+	kindMachineUnits: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "Failed services on " + m,
+			Needs:       fmt.Sprintf("mend or remove them on %s, or silence this if they do not matter.", m),
+			Explanation: "No module manages them, so the mesh does not repair them.",
+			Resolved:    "No failed services on " + m + " any more", Actions: []conditions.Action{conditions.SilenceAction(o.Key())}}
+	}),
+	kindMachineNetwork: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " has a network problem",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s's own network check failed: its name lookups, tunnel, bus connection or "+
+				"route. It often passes again once a network change settles.", conditions.Capital(m)),
+			Resolved: m + "'s network is fine again"}
+	}),
+	kindNetworkRewritten: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + "'s network settings were changed",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("Something other than the mesh rewrote %s's network settings, often a VPN "+
+				"client. Mesh names may not resolve there until it is undone.", m),
+			Resolved: m + "'s network settings are the mesh's again"}
+	}),
+	kindNetworkUnreachable: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: m + " cannot be reached",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("Other machines cannot reach %s over the mesh's network. A machine away or "+
+				"asleep is normal.", m),
+			Resolved: m + " can be reached again"}
+	}),
+	kindBindingKept: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "A module's data source is held on " + m,
+			Needs: "decide where its data lives; the details name both places.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("A module on %s should switch to another provider of its data, and the mesh "+
+				"kept the old one because switching would leave the data behind.", m),
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the data source on " + m + " is decided"}
+	}),
+	kindBindingMoving: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "A module's data source moves on " + m,
+			Needs:       "move its data to the new provider before the next push.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("At the next push a module on %s switches to another provider of its data.", m),
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the data source move on " + m + " is settled"}
+	}),
+	kindBindingMoved: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "A module's data source moved on " + m,
+			Needs:       "check that it found its data.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("A module on %s switched to another provider, and its data may still be with the old one.", m),
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the data source move on " + m + " is settled"}
+	}),
+
+	// Modules and providers.
+	kindModuleUnhealthy: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		thing := conditions.ThingWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(thing) + " is not working",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s is not healthy. It clears as soon as it runs again.", conditions.Capital(thing)),
+			Resolved:    conditions.Capital(thing) + " works again"}
+	}),
+	kindReloginNeeded: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		module := ""
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeModule {
+			module = idPart(o, 0)
+		}
+		return reloginWords(orModule(module), machineOr(o, "a machine"))
+	}),
+	kindProviderFailing: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		thing, consumer := conditions.ThingWords(o), idPart(o, 2)
+		if consumer == "" {
+			consumer = "a module"
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(thing) + " keeps failing " + consumer,
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s provides something %s needs, such as a database, and keeps failing to set "+
+				"it up. It tries again by itself.", conditions.Capital(thing), consumer),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(thing) + " serves " + consumer + " again"}
+	}),
+	kindProviderSilent: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		thing := conditions.ThingWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(thing) + " went quiet",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s said it keeps failing a module that depends on it, and then stopped "+
+				"reporting.", conditions.Capital(thing)),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(thing) + " reports again"}
+	}),
+	kindRetireWaiting: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		thing := conditions.ThingWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: "Retiring data on " + thing + " waits for you",
+			Needs: "approve or reject retiring it; the details list what would go.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s keeps data the mesh no longer asks for, too much to retire on its own.",
+				conditions.Capital(thing)),
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the retirement on " + thing + " is decided"}
+	}),
+	kindRetireRejected: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		thing := conditions.ThingWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: "Unused data kept on " + thing,
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("You chose to keep data on %s that the mesh no longer asks for; it is still there.", thing),
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the unused data on " + thing + " is gone"}
+	}),
+	kindCleanupWaiting: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		var where string
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeProvider {
+			where = conditions.ThingWords(o)
+		} else {
+			what, _ := dataWords(o)
+			where = what + " on " + machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		}
+		return words{Headline: "Retired data waits for cleanup",
+			Needs:       "delete it or keep it; nothing is deleted without your word.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("Retired data of %s has been kept for over thirty days.", where),
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the retired data is dealt with"}
+	}),
+
+	// Data.
+	kindDataUnmeasured: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "Data on " + m + " could not be measured",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The backup holder on %s did not say what it measured, so nothing is known about "+
+				"the data there. The next measurement may settle it.", m),
+			Resolved: "Data on " + m + " is measured again"}
+	}),
+	kindProtectionMissing: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		what, _ := dataWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(what) + " is unprotected",
+			Needs: "check the storage it is on.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s is said to be protected by redundant storage, and it is not on any "+
+				"the mesh can see.", conditions.Capital(what), machineOr(o, "its machine")),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(what) + " is protected again"}
+	}),
+	kindDataMissing: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		what, _ := dataWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(what) + " is gone",
+			Needs:       "restore it from a backup, or silence this if you removed it.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("Where %s is kept on %s, nothing exists any more.", what, machineOr(o, "its machine")),
+			Resolved:    conditions.Capital(what) + " is back", Actions: []conditions.Action{conditions.SilenceAction(o.Key())}}
+	}),
+	kindDataShrank: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		what, _ := dataWords(o)
+		m := machineOr(o, "its machine")
+		if idPart(o, 1) == "dataset" {
+			what = "a dataset"
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(what) + " shrank on " + m,
+			Needs:       "if you meant it, silence this; if not, restore the last good copy from a backup.",
+			Explanation: "More than half of what it held is gone within a week.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the shrinking on " + m + " is explained", Actions: []conditions.Action{conditions.SilenceAction(o.Key())}}
+	}),
+	kindDataQuiet: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		what, _ := dataWords(o)
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(what) + " stopped changing",
+			Needs: "check that what writes it still runs.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s is normally written all the time and has not been for longer than "+
+				"usual.", conditions.Capital(what), machineOr(o, "its machine")),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(what) + " is written again"}
+	}),
+	kindBackupStale: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		what, _ := dataWords(o)
+		m := machineOr(o, "its machine")
+		return words{Headline: "No recent backup of " + what,
+			Needs: fmt.Sprintf("check that backups run on %s.", m),
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s has no good backup recent enough. If the machine failed now, what "+
+				"changed since would be lost.", conditions.Capital(what), m),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(what) + " is backed up again"}
+	}),
+	kindArrayDegraded: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "Storage on " + m + " is degraded",
+			Needs:       fmt.Sprintf("check the disks of %s.", m),
+			Explanation: "Its redundant storage lost a disk or is rebuilding; the data on it is less protected until it is whole.",
+			Resolved:    "Storage on " + m + " is whole again"}
+	}),
+	kindEmptyReplacement: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		module := idPart(o, 1)
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeProvider {
+			module = idPart(o, 2)
+		}
+		if module == "" {
+			module = "a module"
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(module) + " runs on empty data",
+			Needs: "decide where its data lives: move the data, or move it back.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s on %s is using an empty copy of its data while the full copy is kept "+
+				"elsewhere.", conditions.Capital(module), machineOr(o, "its machine")),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(module) + " has its data again"}
+	}),
+	kindDataHeldTwice: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		consumer := idPart(o, 1)
+		if consumer == "" {
+			consumer = "a module"
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(consumer) + "'s data is on several machines",
+			Needs:       "decide which copy to keep.",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("%s has live data on more than one machine and uses only one.", conditions.Capital(consumer)),
+			Resolved:    conditions.Capital(consumer) + "'s data is in one place again"}
+	}),
+
+	// Deliveries and walks.
+	"stalled": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeDelivery {
+			return words{Headline: "A delivery is held too long",
+				Explanation: "A delivery has been held past its time limit.", Needs: conditions.ResolverNeeds(o),
+				Resolved: "Resolved: the delivery moves again"}
+		}
+		return words{Headline: "A delivery is stuck halfway",
+			Explanation: "Its walk across the machines has not moved for longer than usual. Nothing is lost.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the delivery moves again"}
+	}),
+	kindWalkWaiting: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A delivery is waiting to start",
+			Explanation: "A merged change is built, and mesh-delivery (the module that decides when a delivery goes " +
+				"out) has not let it start yet.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the delivery is no longer waiting"}
+	}),
+	"merge-not-acted": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A merge was never picked up",
+			Explanation: "A pull request was merged, and the controller never heard of it, so nothing was built or " +
+				"sent. The mesh catches up on missed merges by itself.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: the merge was picked up"}
+	}),
+	"ask-lost": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A build has no result",
+			Explanation: "A build was asked for and never answered. It is asked again with the next delivery.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the build has its result"}
+	}),
+	kindRolledBack: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		module := idPart(o, 0)
+		if o.Scope != conditions.ScopeBuild && o.Scope != conditions.ScopeCore {
+			module = "a module"
+		}
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeCore {
+			return words{Headline: "A core update was put back on " + m,
+				Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("A new build of the mesh's own %s did not become healthy on %s, so the build "+
+					"before was put back and runs.", module, m),
+				Resolved: "Resolved: the core on " + m + " is healthy"}
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(module) + " update put back on " + m,
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The new build of %s did not become healthy on %s, so the mesh put back the one "+
+				"before, which runs. The change is not delivered until it is fixed.", module, m),
+			Resolved: "Resolved: " + module + " on " + m + " is settled"}
+	}),
+	kindRollbackFailed: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "Putting back an update failed on " + m,
+			Needs:       fmt.Sprintf("check what runs on %s; the details say which build.", m),
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("A build that failed on %s could not be put back to the one before.", m),
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: " + m + " runs a good build again"}
+	}),
+	"release-held": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Updates wait for your release",
+			Needs:       "release them, or leave them held.",
+			Explanation: "Some module updates wait for a person to release them, and are not delivered until then.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the held updates are released"}
+	}),
+	"facts-stale": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Merge checks use outdated facts",
+			Explanation: "The facts a merge check judges a change against are out of date; they are gathered again " +
+				"by themselves.",
+			Resolved: "Merge checks use current facts again"}
+	}),
+
+	// The controller and the core.
+	"controller-deaf": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The controller stopped listening",
+			Needs: "restart the controller if this stays.",
+			Explanation: "The controller, which coordinates the mesh, has taken no messages for minutes while some " +
+				"wait. Changes and repairs do not happen until it recovers.",
+			Resolved: "The controller listens again"}
+	}),
+	"self-check-silent": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The mesh's self-check stopped",
+			Needs: "restart the controller if this stays.",
+			Explanation: "The self-check, which looks over the whole mesh every few minutes, has not finished a run. " +
+				"Problems may go unnoticed until it runs again.",
+			Resolved: "The self-check runs again"}
+	}),
+	"watchdogs-silent": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The mesh's watchdogs stopped",
+			Needs: "restart the controller if this stays.",
+			Explanation: "The watchdogs, which notice when something expected does not happen, have not run, so " +
+				"missed signals are not noticed.",
+			Resolved: "The watchdogs run again"}
+	}),
+	"lease-lost": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The controller lost its lease",
+			Needs: "make sure only one controller runs; the details say which machines claim it.",
+			Explanation: "The controller holds a lease so that only one copy of it acts at a time. It lost or could " +
+				"not renew it, so two could act at once, or none.",
+			Resolved: "The controller holds its lease again"}
+	}),
+	"lease-split": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Two controllers may be acting",
+			Needs:       "make sure only one controller runs; the details say which machines claim it.",
+			Explanation: "The lease that lets one controller act at a time does not agree with its record.",
+			Resolved:    "One controller acts again"}
+	}),
+	"stale-writer": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Outdated instructions are being sent",
+			Explanation: "Something kept sending instructions older than what the machines already hold, and they " +
+				"were refused, which is harmless.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: no more outdated instructions"}
+	}),
+	"status-slow": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The mesh answers slowly",
+			Explanation: "Asking the mesh for its status took longer than ten seconds. It still works, only slowly.",
+			Resolved:    "The mesh answers quickly again"}
+	}),
+	kindCoreUnhealthy: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		if o.Scope == conditions.ScopeBus {
+			return words{Headline: "The bus is not healthy",
+				Needs: "check the machine the bus runs on; the details say what fails.",
+				Explanation: "The bus, which carries every message in the mesh, is not healthy. Instructions, builds " +
+					"and tool calls may fail until it recovers.",
+				Resolved: "The bus is healthy again"}
+		}
+		m := machineOr(o, "its machine")
+		return words{Headline: "The mesh's own software fails on " + m,
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("A part of the mesh's own software on %s is not healthy; it is restarted by itself.", m),
+			Resolved:    "The mesh's own software on " + m + " is healthy again"}
+	}),
+	"call-hung": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A tool call is hanging",
+			Explanation: "A call to one of the mesh's tools has run far past its time limit; it is ended by itself.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the tool call ended"}
+	}),
+	"probe-failed": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A check of the mesh could not run",
+			Explanation: "One of the mesh's own checks could not run, so what it watches is unknown for now. It runs " +
+				"again every few minutes.",
+			Resolved: "The check runs again"}
+	}),
+	kindHealersBraked: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "All automatic repairs stopped",
+			Needs: "read the details and decide whether the repairs may run again.",
+			Explanation: "The healers (the mesh's automatic repairs) acted more often in an hour than allowed, which " +
+				"looks like a loop, so all of them stopped.",
+			Resolved: "Automatic repairs run again"}
+	}),
+	"healer-wanted": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		cause := strings.TrimPrefix(o.ID, "hand-acts.")
+		if o.Scope != conditions.ScopeMesh {
+			cause = "something"
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(strings.ReplaceAll(cause, ".", " ")) + " keeps being fixed by hand",
+			Explanation: "A person keeps repairing this by hand, and an automatic repair is wanted for it. Nothing is " +
+				"broken now.",
+			Resolved: "Resolved: no more hand repairs of " + strings.ReplaceAll(cause, ".", " ")}
+	}),
+
+	// The bus and seats.
+	"resolver-wrong": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		return words{Headline: "Name lookups fail on " + m,
+			Needs: fmt.Sprintf("check that %s is on and online.", m),
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The mesh's name resolver on %s does not answer machine names correctly, so "+
+				"machines that rely on it may not find each other.", m),
+			Resolved: "Name lookups work on " + m + " again"}
+	}),
+	"holder-silent": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		m := machineOr(o, "a machine")
+		seat := idPart(o, 0)
+		if o.Scope != conditions.ScopeSeat {
+			seat = "a seat"
+		}
+		return words{Headline: conditions.Capital(seat) + " on " + m + " is not answering",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("Whatever serves %s on %s does not answer, so its tools do nothing there. A "+
+				"machine asleep is normal.", seat, m),
+			Resolved: conditions.Capital(seat) + " on " + m + " answers again"}
+	}),
+	kindBusObjectsUnasserted: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The bus could not be fully set up",
+			Explanation: "When instructions were sent, the bus's queues could not all be checked; they are checked " +
+				"again with the next send.",
+			Resolved: "The bus is fully set up again"}
+	}),
+	kindBusMaintenance: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The bus is being upgraded",
+			Explanation: "The mesh's message system is being upgraded; some things pause until it is done.",
+			Resolved:    "The bus upgrade is done"}
+	}),
+	kindBusUpgradeFailed: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The bus upgrade failed",
+			Needs:       "decide whether to put the bus back to the version before; the details say how.",
+			Explanation: "The upgrade of the mesh's message system did not end healthy in time.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the bus is healthy after its upgrade"}
+	}),
+	kindConsumerBehind: worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Messages pile up for a listener",
+			Explanation: "One of the mesh's listeners on the bus is far behind, so what it handles happens late. A " +
+				"healer restarts it if it stays.",
+			Resolved: "The listener caught up"}
+	}),
+	"consumer-wrong": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A listener on the bus is set up wrong",
+			Explanation: "One of the mesh's listeners on the bus is missing or not as defined; the next send sets " +
+				"it up again.",
+			Resolved: "The listener is set up right again"}
+	}),
+	"consumer-lost": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A listener on the bus is gone",
+			Explanation: "One of the mesh's listeners is no longer on the bus; the next send sets it up again.",
+			Resolved:    "The listener is back"}
+	}),
+	"slow-consumer": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A listener on the bus is too slow",
+			Explanation: "The bus reports a listener too slow to keep up, so messages to it are late.",
+			Resolved:    "The listener keeps up again"}
+	}),
+	"max-deliveries": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "A message could not be handled",
+			Explanation: "The bus gave up on a message after trying to hand it over too many times.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: messages are handled again"}
+	}),
+	"refused": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "The bus refuses some messages",
+			Explanation: "The bus refused messages from a part of the mesh, so what they carried did not happen.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the bus takes the messages again"}
+	}),
+	"stream-wrong": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Part of the bus's storage is wrong",
+			Needs:       "check the machine the bus runs on; the details say what is missing.",
+			Explanation: "A store the controller keeps on the bus is missing or not as defined, so what it keeps there may be lost.",
+			Resolved:    "The bus's storage is right again"}
+	}),
+	"archives-unheld": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Kept builds are about to be cleaned up",
+			Explanation: "Some kept builds are not claimed by any module, so the store's cleanup would delete them.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: every kept build is claimed"}
+	}),
+	"archives-missing": worded(func(o conditions.Observation) words {
+		return words{Headline: "Kept builds are missing",
+			Explanation: "Some builds the mesh relies on are no longer in the store; they are built again when needed.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the kept builds are back"}
+	}),
+}
+
+// humanDuration is a duration as a person says it: "56 minutes", "36 hours", "3 days".
+func humanDuration(d time.Duration) string {
+	switch {
+	case d < 2*time.Minute:
+		return "a minute"
+	case d < 2*time.Hour:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d minutes", int(d.Minutes()))
+	case d < 48*time.Hour:
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d hours", int(d.Hours()))
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%d days", int(d.Hours()/24))
+}
+
+// repoName is a repository as a person says it: its name without its owner.
+func repoName(repository string) string {
+	if i := strings.LastIndex(repository, "/"); i >= 0 {
+		return repository[i+1:]
+	}
+	return repository
+}
+
+// namesWords lists names as a person says them: "a", "a and b", "a, b and 2 more".
+func namesWords(names []string, most int) string {
+	switch {
+	case len(names) == 0:
+		return ""
+	case len(names) == 1:
+		return names[0]
+	case len(names) <= most:
+		return strings.Join(names[:len(names)-1], ", ") + " and " + names[len(names)-1]
+	}
+	return strings.Join(names[:most], ", ") + fmt.Sprintf(" and %d more", len(names)-most)
+}
+
+// planModules are the modules a walk moves, sorted.
+func planModules(p inventory.Plan) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(p.Modules))
+	for m := range p.Modules {
+		out = append(out, m)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out
+}
+
+// deliveryWhat is what a delivery changes, as a person names it: its modules when they are few, else
+// their count and the repository.
+func deliveryWhat(modules []string, repository string) string {
+	if len(modules) > 0 && len(modules) <= 2 {
+		return namesWords(modules, 2)
+	}
+	if len(modules) > 2 {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d modules of %s", len(modules), repoName(repository))
+	}
+	return repoName(repository)
+}
+
+// deliveryName is a delivery's name in a headline: "openrazer delivery", "mesh-catalog delivery".
+func deliveryName(modules []string, repository string) string {
+	if len(modules) > 0 && len(modules) <= 2 {
+		return namesWords(modules, 2) + " delivery"
+	}
+	return repoName(repository) + " delivery"
+}
+
+// walkWaitingWords explains a walk waiting for its delivery's word.
+func walkWaitingWords(w waitFacts, in time.Duration, severity conditions.Severity) string {
+	what := deliveryWhat(w.modules, w.repository)
+	if severity == conditions.Urgent {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("The change to %s is merged and built, and mesh-delivery (the module that decides when a "+
+			"delivery goes out) has not let it start for %s, so mesh-delivery may be stuck.", what, humanDuration(in))
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("The change to %s is merged and built, and has waited %s for mesh-delivery (the module that "+
+		"decides when a delivery goes out) to let it start. It becomes a question for you if it still waits after %s.",
+		what, humanDuration(in), humanDuration(waitUrgentAfter))
+}
+
+// waitingNeeds is what the operator does about a walk waiting past its urgent bound: nothing before it.
+func waitingNeeds(severity conditions.Severity) string {
+	if severity == conditions.Urgent {
+		return "start it, or stop it."
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// waitingActions are the answers to a walk waiting past its urgent bound: the controller's own verb, since
+// the module that should have said go is the one not answering.
+func waitingActions(w waitFacts, severity conditions.Severity) []conditions.Action {
+	if severity != conditions.Urgent {
+		return nil
+	}
+	return []conditions.Action{
+		{Label: "Start", Verb: "mesh-controller.plans", Arguments: map[string]string{"go": w.id, "why": ""}},
+		{Label: "Stop", Verb: "mesh-controller.plans", Arguments: map[string]string{"stop": w.id, "why": ""}},
+	}
+}
+
+// moduleNeeds is what the operator can do about a module unhealthy on a machine: log in again where its
+// account's groups wait for it (ADR 0252), restart a failed service, or nothing where the mesh restarts it.
+func moduleNeeds(node string, rs []inventory.ResourceHealth) (string, []conditions.Action) {
+	var actions []conditions.Action
+	for _, r := range rs {
+		if strings.Contains(r.Reason, "relogin needed") {
+			return fmt.Sprintf("log out of every session on %s and log in again.", node), nil
+		}
+		if r.Kind == link.KindUnit && len(actions) < 2 {
+			scope := "system"
+			if strings.Contains(r.Reason, "account's own") {
+				scope = "user"
+			}
+			label := "Restart"
+			if len(actions) > 0 {
+				label = "Restart " + unitPlainWords(r.Target)
+			}
+			actions = append(actions, conditions.Action{Label: label, Verb: "node-service-manager.restart",
+				Machine: node, Arguments: map[string]string{"unit": r.Target, "scope": scope}})
+		}
+	}
+	if len(actions) > 0 {
+		return "restart it; if it fails again, the details say why.", actions
+	}
+	return "", nil
+}
+
+// stalledWords are the plain words of a delivery held past its bound, as mesh-delivery says it.
+func stalledWords(l stalledLine, o conditions.Observation) (headline, explanation, resolved, needs string,
+	actions []conditions.Action) {
+	repository, _, _ := strings.Cut(l.ID, "@")
+	name := repoName(repository)
+	held := l.State
+	if held == "" {
+		held = "held"
+	}
+	long := "too long"
+	if d, err := time.ParseDuration(l.For); err == nil {
+		long = "for " + humanDuration(d)
+	}
+	if o.Resolver == conditions.ResolverOperator {
+		switch held {
+		case "held":
+			needs = "release it, or stop it."
+			actions = []conditions.Action{
+				{Label: "Release", Verb: "mesh-delivery.release", Arguments: map[string]string{"id": l.ID, "why": ""}},
+				{Label: "Stop", Verb: "mesh-delivery.stop", Arguments: map[string]string{"id": l.ID, "why": ""}},
+			}
+		case "ready", "checked":
+			needs = "merge its pull request, or close it."
+		default:
+			needs = "stop it, or read the details to see what it waits for."
+			actions = []conditions.Action{{Label: "Stop", Verb: "mesh-delivery.stop", Arguments: map[string]string{"id": l.ID, "why": ""}}}
+		}
+	}
+	return fmt.Sprintf("Delivery of %s %s %s", name, held, long),
+		fmt.Sprintf("A delivery of %s has been %s %s, past its limit.", name, held, long),
+		fmt.Sprintf("Delivery of %s is no longer %s", name, held), needs, actions
+}
+
+// causeWords is a hand-act's cause as a person says it.
+func causeWords(cause string) string {
+	return strings.NewReplacer(".", " ", "_", " ").Replace(cause)
+}
+
+// unitPlainWords is a unit as a person names it: "greenclip", "storage-media (a mount)".
+func unitPlainWords(unit string) string {
+	for suffix, what := range map[string]string{".service": "", ".mount": "a mount", ".timer": "a timer",
+		".socket": "a socket", ".path": "a path unit", ".automount": "an automount", ".scope": "a scope"} {
+		if name, ok := strings.CutSuffix(unit, suffix); ok {
+			if what == "" {
+				return strings.ReplaceAll(name, ".", " ")
+			}
+			return strings.ReplaceAll(name, ".", " ") + " (" + what + ")"
+		}
+	}
+	return strings.ReplaceAll(unit, ".", " ")
+}
+
+// resourcePlainWords is what is wrong with one of a module's resources, as a person says it.
+func resourcePlainWords(r inventory.ResourceHealth) string {
+	if r.Kind == link.KindUnit {
+		return "its service " + unitPlainWords(r.Target) + " " + unitReasonWords(r.Reason)
+	}
+	what := "its " + strings.ReplaceAll(r.Kind, "-", " ")
+	switch r.Reason {
+	case "restarting":
+		return what + " keeps restarting"
+	case "down":
+		return what + " is not running"
+	}
+	if r.Check != "" {
+		return what + " fails its " + r.Check + " check"
+	}
+	return what + " is not healthy"
+}
+
+// unitReasonWords is how a unit failed, as a person says it, from the node-engine's words (which may be
+// systemd's result, such as exit-code, or a sentence carrying it).
+func unitReasonWords(reason string) string {
+	switch {
+	case strings.Contains(reason, "start-limit"):
+		return "failed too often to be started again"
+	case strings.Contains(reason, "exit-code"):
+		return "stopped with an error"
+	case strings.Contains(reason, "core-dump"), strings.Contains(reason, "signal"):
+		return "crashed"
+	case strings.Contains(reason, "timeout"):
+		return "timed out"
+	}
+	return "failed"
+}
+
+// orModule is a module's name, or "a module" when none is known.
+func orModule(m string) string {
+	if m == "" {
+		return "a module"
+	}
+	return m
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/plain_words_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/conditions"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/inventory"
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/link"
+)
+
+// The conditions the operator read on 2026-10-08, raised again from the same facts (novox/hq ADR 0253):
+// each keeps its summary for whoever looks closer, and now carries a headline, an explanation and a
+// resolved line the operator reads at a glance — no plan id, commit, key, verb or clock time in them.
+
+// plainExample checks one finding's words as the keeper will keep them: plain, within their bounds,
+// opened by the verdict, and saying what the operator needs; and its actions by label.
+func plainExample(t *testing.T, o conditions.Observation, headline, explanation string, actions ...string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	machines := append([]string{o.Machine}, o.Also...)
+	w := conditions.Words{Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation, Resolved: o.Resolved, Needs: o.Needs,
+		Actions: o.Actions}
+	if why, ok := conditions.PlainWords(w, machines...); !ok {
+		t.Errorf("%s: not plain: %s\n  %+v", o.Key(), why, w)
+	}
+	said := conditions.Verdict(o.Needs, o.Explanation)
+	if o.Headline != headline || said != explanation {
+		t.Errorf("%s: says\n  %q\n  %q\nwant\n  %q\n  %q", o.Key(), o.Headline, said, headline, explanation)
+	}
+	var labels []string
+	for _, a := range o.Actions {
+		labels = append(labels, a.Label)
+	}
+	if strings.Join(labels, ",") != strings.Join(actions, ",") {
+		t.Errorf("%s: actions %v, want %v", o.Key(), labels, actions)
+	}
+	quiet := ""
+	if o.Needs == "" && o.Severity == conditions.Warning {
+		quiet = "   (needs nothing and is a warning: no popup; it stays in conditions and the history)"
+	}
+	t.Logf("\nBEFORE: %s\nAFTER:  %s%s\n        %s\n        actions %v\nCLEARS: %s", o.Summary, o.Headline, quiet,
+		said, labels, o.Resolved)
+}
+
+// **A delivery waiting**: the popup read "the walk of novox/mesh-catalog a6385479 has waited 56m0s for
+// mesh-delivery's word to start: `mesh-delivery.show` for the delivery that landed as a6385479 says why;
+// `plans go plan-1791454185265004861 --why …` starts it by hand". Under four hours it needs nothing — no
+// popup; past them, the operator starts or stops it from the notification.
+func TestADeliveryWaitingNeedsNothingUntilItsBoundThenOffersStartAndStop(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 8, 11, 36, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	f := calm(now)
+	f.waits = []waitFacts{{id: "plan-1791454185265004861", repository: "novox/mesh-catalog", commit: "a6385479c0ffee",
+		awaits: "mesh-delivery", since: now.Add(-56 * time.Minute), modules: []string{"openrazer"}}}
+	got := watchWaits(f)
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+	plainExample(t, got[0], "openrazer delivery waiting to start",
+		"Nothing for you to do. The change to openrazer is merged and built, and has waited 56 minutes for "+
+			"mesh-delivery (the module that decides when a delivery goes out) to let it start. It becomes a question "+
+			"for you if it still waits after 4 hours.")
+	if !strings.Contains(got[0].Summary, "plans go plan-1791454185265004861") {
+		t.Errorf("the summary lost the way on for whoever looks closer: %q", got[0].Summary)
+	}
+
+	// Past four hours it is urgent, and offers the controller's own answers.
+	f.waits[0].since = now.Add(-5 * time.Hour)
+	got = watchWaits(f)
+	plainExample(t, got[0], "openrazer delivery waiting to start",
+		"Needs you: start it, or stop it. The change to openrazer is merged and built, and mesh-delivery (the "+
+			"module that decides when a delivery goes out) has not let it start for 5 hours, so mesh-delivery may "+
+			"be stuck.", "Start", "Stop")
+	if a := got[0].Actions[0]; a.Verb != "mesh-controller.plans" || a.Arguments["go"] != "plan-1791454185265004861" {
+		t.Errorf("start: %+v", a)
+	}
+	if a := got[0].Actions[1]; a.Verb != "mesh-controller.plans" || a.Arguments["stop"] != "plan-1791454185265004861" {
+		t.Errorf("stop: %+v", a)
+	}
+
+	// Many modules are counted, not listed in the headline.
+	f.waits[0].modules = []string{"a", "b", "c", "d"}
+	got = watchWaits(f)
+	if got[0].Headline != "mesh-catalog delivery waiting to start" || !strings.Contains(got[0].Explanation, "4 modules of mesh-catalog") {
+		t.Errorf("%+v", got[0])
+	}
+}
+
+// **A module unhealthy**: "openrazer on g14 is not healthy: its unit openrazer-daemon.service failed in the
+// account's own service manager (exit-code)". The operator restarts it from the notification.
+func TestAModuleUnhealthyOffersARestartOfItsService(t *testing.T) {
+	o := moduleUnhealthyObservation("openrazer", "g14", []inventory.ResourceHealth{{Kind: link.KindUnit,
+		Resource: "openrazer-daemon", Target: "openrazer-daemon.service",
+		Reason: "failed in the account's own service manager (exit-code)", Since: time.Now()}})
+	plainExample(t, o, "openrazer not working on g14",
+		"Needs you: restart it; if it fails again, the details say why. openrazer on g14 is not healthy: its "+
+			"service openrazer-daemon stopped with an error. It clears as soon as it runs again.", "Restart")
+	if a := o.Actions[0]; a.Verb != "node-service-manager.restart" || a.Machine != "g14" ||
+		a.Arguments["unit"] != "openrazer-daemon.service" || a.Arguments["scope"] != "user" {
+		t.Errorf("restart: %+v", a)
+	}
+	// An account waiting for a new login (ADR 0252) asks for the login, which no button can give.
+	o = moduleUnhealthyObservation("openrazer", "g14", []inventory.ResourceHealth{{Kind: "account",
+		Resource: "operator-in-group", Target: "jochen", Reason: "relogin needed: the account is in the group"}})
+	if o.Needs != "log out of every session on g14 and log in again." || len(o.Actions) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("relogin: %q %+v", o.Needs, o.Actions)
+	}
+}
+
+// **Failed units on a machine**: "shanks's service manager is degraded: 3 failed unit(s) no module places —
+// mnt-recalbox.mount, storage-media.mount, greenclip.service (the account's own manager). …"
+func TestFailedUnitsOnAMachineAreNamedWithoutTheirSuffixes(t *testing.T) {
+	o, raise := machineUnitsObservation("shanks", &link.UnitsHealth{State: "degraded", Failed: []link.FailedUnit{
+		{Unit: "mnt-recalbox.mount", Result: "exit-code"}, {Unit: "storage-media.mount", Result: "exit-code"},
+		{Unit: "greenclip.service", Scope: "user", Result: "exit-code"}}})
+	if !raise {
+		t.Fatal("not raised")
+	}
+	plainExample(t, o, "3 failed services on shanks",
+		"Needs you: mend or remove them on shanks, or silence this if they do not matter. On shanks, "+
+			"mnt-recalbox (a mount), storage-media (a mount) and greenclip failed. No module manages them, so the "+
+			"mesh does not repair them.", "Silence for a week")
+}
+
+// **A healer wanted**: "\"push\" was repaired by hand 35 times in 14 days, the last by g14.node-tools, through
+// the mesh-controller seat: a healer is wanted for it". Nothing is broken: no popup.
+func TestAHealerWantedNeedsNothingFromTheOperator(t *testing.T) {
+	now := time.Date(2026, 10, 8, 12, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
+	f := calm(now)
+	for i := 0; i < 35; i++ {
+		a := actByHand(now.Add(-time.Duration(i+1)*time.Hour), "push")
+		a.Verb, a.By = "push", "g14.node-tools, through the mesh-controller seat"
+		f.handActs = append(f.handActs, a)
+	}
+	got := watchHandActs(f)
+	if len(got) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("%+v", got)
+	}
+	plainExample(t, got[0], "Push keeps being fixed by hand",
+		"Nothing for you to do. A person repaired push by hand 35 times in 14 days, so an automatic repair is "+
+			"wanted for it. Nothing is broken now.")
+}
+
+// **A delivery held past its bound**, as mesh-delivery says it: "the delivery novox/hq@055550802096 has been
+// held for 36h2m6s, past its bound of 24h0m0s (it waits for the operator): healer H2 may none: …".
+func TestADeliveryHeldOffersReleaseAndStop(t *testing.T) {
+	got := stalledObservations([]stalledLine{{ID: "novox/hq@055550802096", State: "held", For: "36h2m6s",
+		Bound: "24h0m0s", H2: "none: the state is the operator's", Says: "it waits for the operator"}})
+	plainExample(t, got[0], "Delivery of hq held for 36 hours",
+		"Needs you: release it, or stop it. A delivery of hq has been held for 36 hours, past its limit.",
+		"Release", "Stop")
+	if a := got[0].Actions[0]; a.Verb != "mesh-delivery.release" || a.Arguments["id"] != "novox/hq@055550802096" {
+		t.Errorf("release: %+v", a)
+	}
+}
+
+// **Every kind the controller raises has plain words**, and its words are plain for a subject of every
+// shape it is raised with.
+func TestEveryWordingIsPlain(t *testing.T) {
+	subjects := []conditions.Observation{
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeMachine, ID: "ace", Machine: "ace"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeMachine, ID: "ace.immich.library", Machine: "ace"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeModule, ID: "openrazer.g14", Machine: "g14"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeProvider, ID: "postgres.anchor.app_db", Machine: "anchor"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopePlan, ID: "plan-1791454185265004861"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeDelivery, ID: "novox/hq@055550802096"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeCore, ID: "controller.anchor", Machine: "anchor"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeBus, ID: "mesh"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeSeat, ID: "node-backup.ace", Machine: "ace"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeMesh, ID: "hand-acts.disk-load"},
+		{Scope: conditions.ScopeBuild, ID: "openrazer.g14", Machine: "g14"},
+	}
+	for kind, fn := range plainWordings {
+		if !conditions.Worded(kind) {
+			t.Errorf("%s is not registered", kind)
+		}
+		for _, s := range subjects {
+			s.Kind = kind
+			w := fn(s)
+			w.Explanation = conditions.Verdict(w.Needs, w.Explanation)
+			if why, ok := conditions.PlainWords(w, s.Machine); !ok {
+				t.Errorf("%s about %s %s: %s\n  %+v", kind, s.Scope, s.ID, why, w)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}

cmd/mesh-controller/sayable_test.go

@@ -29,7 +29,20 @@ func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
 	conditions.Unsayable = func(o conditions.Observation, field string, r outward.Refusal) {
 		unsaid.note(o, field, r)
 	}
+	conditions.Unworded = func(o conditions.Observation, why string) {
+		if o.Source != "test" { // a kind a test makes up to exercise the keeper
+			unworded.add(o, why)
+		}
+	}
 	code := m.Run()
+	if said := unworded.all(); len(said) > 0 {
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "FAIL: %d condition(s) raised in these tests have no plain words of their own, or "+
+			"words that are not plain (novox/hq ADR 0253: a headline, an explanation and a resolved line the operator "+
+			"reads at a glance — plain_words.go):\n  %s\n", len(said), strings.Join(said, "\n  "))
+		if code == 0 {
+			code = 1
+		}
+	}
 	if said := unsaid.all(); len(said) > 0 {
 		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "FAIL: %d condition(s) raised in these tests say what the operator's channel withholds "+
 			"(an address, a domain, a path or a secret's shape belongs in the evidence, not the summary):\n  %s\n",
@@ -74,6 +87,34 @@ func (u *unsayable) all() []string {
 	return out
 }
 
+// unworded collects, across the suite, every finding said in borrowed words (ADR 0253).
+var unworded wordless
+
+type wordless struct {
+	mu   sync.Mutex
+	seen map[string]bool
+}
+
+func (u *wordless) add(o conditions.Observation, why string) {
+	u.mu.Lock()
+	defer u.mu.Unlock()
+	if u.seen == nil {
+		u.seen = map[string]bool{}
+	}
+	u.seen[fmt.Sprintf("kind %s (scope %s, source %s): %s", o.Kind, o.Scope, o.Source, why)] = true
+}
+
+func (u *wordless) all() []string {
+	u.mu.Lock()
+	defer u.mu.Unlock()
+	var out []string
+	for s := range u.seen {
+		out = append(out, s)
+	}
+	sort.Strings(out)
+	return out
+}
+
 // linted is a producer's findings, held to the content rule as a keeper would hold them: for a test
 // that reads a producer's findings without raising them.
 func linted(obs []conditions.Observation) []conditions.Observation {
@@ -85,6 +126,18 @@ func linted(obs []conditions.Observation) []conditions.Observation {
 		if r, ok := outward.Check(o.Summary, machines...); !ok {
 			unsaid.note(o, "summary", r)
 		}
+		switch {
+		case o.Headline != "":
+			w := conditions.Words{Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation, Resolved: o.Resolved}
+			if w.Resolved == "" {
+				w.Resolved = "Resolved"
+			}
+			if why, ok := conditions.PlainWords(w, machines...); !ok {
+				unworded.add(o, "its source's words are not plain: "+why)
+			}
+		case o.Kind != "" && !conditions.Worded(o.Kind):
+			unworded.add(o, "the kind "+o.Kind+" has no plain words")
+		}
 	}
 	return obs
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/signals.go

@@ -322,6 +322,10 @@ func watchPlans(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
 			continue
 		}
 		out = append(out, conditions.Observation{Scope: conditions.ScopePlan, ID: p.id, Kind: "stalled",
+			Headline: "Delivery of " + repoName(p.repository) + " is stuck halfway",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("Its walk across the machines has been at the same step for %s, longer than "+
+				"usual. Nothing is lost, and the mesh keeps it where it is.", humanDuration(f.now.Sub(p.entered))),
+			Resolved: "Delivery of " + repoName(p.repository) + " moves again",
 			Severity: conditions.Warning,
 			Summary: fmt.Sprintf("the plan for %s %s has been at tier %d of %d since %s (bound %s): %s",
 				p.repository, short(p.commit), p.tier+1, p.tiers, p.entered.UTC().Format("2006-01-02 15:04 MST"),
@@ -353,7 +357,12 @@ func watchWaits(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
 			Summary: fmt.Sprintf("the walk of %s %s has waited %s for %s's word to start: `mesh-delivery.show` for the "+
 				"delivery that landed as %s says why; `plans go %s --why …` starts it by hand", w.repository,
 				short(w.commit), ago(in), w.awaits, short(w.commit), w.id),
-			Said: fmt.Sprintf("waiting since %s for %s", w.since.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339), w.awaits)})
+			Said:        fmt.Sprintf("waiting since %s for %s", w.since.UTC().Format(time.RFC3339), w.awaits),
+			Headline:    deliveryName(w.modules, w.repository) + " waiting to start",
+			Explanation: walkWaitingWords(w, in, severity),
+			Needs:       waitingNeeds(severity),
+			Actions:     waitingActions(w, severity),
+			Resolved:    deliveryName(w.modules, w.repository) + " no longer waiting"})
 	}
 	return out
 }
@@ -681,7 +690,12 @@ func watchHandActs(f *signalFacts) []conditions.Observation {
 			Token: "healer-wanted", Kind: "healer-wanted", Severity: conditions.Warning,
 			Summary: fmt.Sprintf("%q was repaired by hand %d times in %d days, the last by %s: %s", cause,
 				repeated[cause], int(handActsWithin.Hours()/24), newest.By, wanted),
-			Said: strings.Join(acts, "; ")})
+			Said:     strings.Join(acts, "; "),
+			Headline: conditions.Capital(causeWords(cause)) + " keeps being fixed by hand",
+			Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("A person repaired %s by hand %d times in %d days, so an automatic repair is "+
+				"wanted for it. Nothing is broken now.", causeWords(cause), repeated[cause],
+				int(handActsWithin.Hours()/24)),
+			Resolved: "Resolved: no more hand repairs of " + causeWords(cause)})
 	}
 	return out
 }

cmd/mesh-controller/watchdogs.go

@@ -150,6 +150,8 @@ type planFacts struct {
 type waitFacts struct {
 	id, repository, commit, awaits string
 	since                          time.Time
+	// modules are the modules the walk moves, as a person names the delivery.
+	modules []string
 }
 
 type loopFacts struct {
@@ -451,7 +453,7 @@ func gatherPlans(ctx context.Context, inv *inventory.Inventory, now time.Time) (
 		// S16's, whatever mesh-delivery says or does not say.
 		if p.Waiting() {
 			waits = append(waits, waitFacts{id: p.ID, repository: p.Repository, commit: p.Commit,
-				awaits: p.Delivery.Awaits, since: p.Created})
+				awaits: p.Delivery.Awaits, since: p.Created, modules: planModules(p)})
 			continue
 		}
 		_, paused := pausedWaiting(p, pause, now)

internal/conditions/condition.go

@@ -125,8 +125,19 @@ type Condition struct {
 	Kind     string   `json:"kind"`
 	Subject  Subject  `json:"subject"`
 	Severity Severity `json:"severity"`
-	// Summary is one line in the mesh's words.
+	// Summary is one line in the mesh's words, for whoever looks closer: it may name plans, commits and
+	// the verbs that act.
 	Summary string `json:"summary"`
+	// Headline, Explanation and Resolved are what the operator reads, in plain words (novox/hq ADR 0253,
+	// plain.go): a few words naming the thing and what is wrong; one or two sentences on what happened,
+	// what it means and whether to act; the one line said when it clears.
+	Headline    string `json:"headline"`
+	Explanation string `json:"explanation"`
+	Resolved    string `json:"resolved"`
+	// Needs is what the operator does about it, one sentence; empty when nothing (the explanation then
+	// opens "Nothing for you to do."). Actions are the answers a notification offers (plain.go).
+	Needs   string   `json:"needs"`
+	Actions []Action `json:"actions"`
 	// Evidence is the newest observations, at most KeptEvidence, newest first.
 	Evidence []Evidence `json:"evidence"`
 	// Source is the signals-table row, probe or event that raised it: `S1`, `D3`, `provisioner.failing`.
@@ -175,6 +186,13 @@ type Observation struct {
 	Also     []string
 	Severity Severity
 	Summary  string
+	// Headline, Explanation and Resolved are the plain words the operator reads (plain.go). Left empty,
+	// the wording registered for Kind says them.
+	Headline    string
+	Explanation string
+	Resolved    string
+	Needs       string
+	Actions     []Action
 	// Said is this observation's evidence, in the mesh's words; Summary when empty. **Detail goes
 	// here, never in Summary**: an address, a socket's error, a path or a name with its domain is
 	// kept in the condition's evidence, which stays inside the mesh. The summary leaves it — to the

internal/conditions/plain.go

@@ -0,0 +1,341 @@
+package conditions
+
+// Plain words (novox/hq ADR 0253): **a condition carries what the operator reads, in plain words, beside
+// what an agent reads.** The summary is one line in the mesh's words for whoever looks closer — it names
+// plans, commits and the verbs that act, and stays so. The operator reads a notification between other
+// work: a popup that said "the walk of novox/mesh-catalog a6385479 has waited 56m0s for mesh-delivery's
+// word to start: `mesh-delivery.show` …" was a wall of identifiers nobody could act on. So every condition
+// also carries:
+//
+//   - a **headline**: a few plain words naming the thing and what is wrong ("openrazer not running on
+//     g14"), the title of every message about it;
+//   - an **explanation**: one or two plain sentences — what happened, what it means for the operator,
+//     and whether they need to do anything;
+//   - a **resolved line**: the one short line said when it clears ("openrazer runs again on g14");
+//   - a **verdict**, which every explanation opens with: "Nothing for you to do." or "Needs you:" and one
+//     concrete thing the operator can do themselves (needs). Never "have an agent …": the operator is not
+//     asked to open a session to understand or answer a notification;
+//   - **actions**: what the operator may answer from the notification itself (Release, Stop, Restart,
+//     Silence), each the seat verb the operator channel calls when it is chosen, naming the operator.
+//
+// They are made here, where the condition is made, so every channel gets them — the desktop today,
+// others later — and none has to guess what a key means. A producer may say them itself; otherwise the
+// wording registered for its kind says them; otherwise a plain sentence made from its scope does, and a
+// test suite is told (Unworded) so the kind gets words of its own. Each is held to the plain rule (Plain):
+// no identifiers, hashes, keys, verb syntax, markup or clock times — a message names no time of its own,
+// since the channel says when, in the operator's time.
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/novox/mesh-controller/internal/outward"
+)
+
+// Words are what the operator reads of a condition. Explanation is said after the verdict, which
+// plainly writes from Needs: empty is "Nothing for you to do.", else "Needs you: " and Needs.
+type Words struct {
+	Headline    string
+	Explanation string
+	Resolved    string
+	Needs       string
+	Actions     []Action
+}
+
+// Action is one answer the operator may give from a notification: a label, and the seat verb the
+// operator channel calls with these arguments (and a why naming the operator and the label) when it is
+// chosen. Machine is set for a seat every machine holds. An argument "why" given empty is the operator
+// channel's to fill: it names the operator, the channel and the label chosen.
+type Action struct {
+	Label     string            `json:"label"`
+	Verb      string            `json:"verb"`
+	Machine   string            `json:"machine,omitempty"`
+	Arguments map[string]string `json:"arguments,omitempty"`
+}
+
+// The two verdicts an explanation opens with.
+const (
+	NothingToDo = "Nothing for you to do."
+	NeedsYou    = "Needs you:"
+)
+
+// SilenceAction is the action that stops a condition's messages for a week, with the operator's why: the
+// answer to a condition the operator decided to live with.
+func SilenceAction(key string) Action {
+	return Action{Label: "Silence for a week", Verb: "mesh-controller.conditions",
+		Arguments: map[string]string{"silence": key, "for": "7d", "why": ""}}
+}
+
+// Bounds of the plain words: a headline fits a notification's title line, an explanation two sentences.
+const (
+	HeadlineMax    = 60
+	ExplanationMax = 420
+	NeedsMax       = 120
+)
+
+var (
+	wordingsMu sync.RWMutex
+	wordings   = map[string]func(Observation) Words{}
+)
+
+// Wording registers the plain words of one condition kind.
+func Wording(kind string, words func(Observation) Words) {
+	wordingsMu.Lock()
+	defer wordingsMu.Unlock()
+	wordings[kind] = words
+}
+
+// Worded says whether a kind has words of its own.
+func Worded(kind string) bool {
+	wordingsMu.RLock()
+	defer wordingsMu.RUnlock()
+	_, ok := wordings[kind]
+	return ok
+}
+
+// Unworded is told of every observation said in borrowed words: its kind has none registered, or the
+// words it was given break the plain rule. The keeper says it plainly anyway; a test suite sets this to
+// fail the producer.
+var Unworded func(o Observation, why string)
+
+// The plain rule's shapes.
+var (
+	hexID      = regexp.MustCompile(`\b[0-9a-f]{7,40}\b`)
+	numberedID = regexp.MustCompile(`\b[a-z]+-[0-9]{6,}\b`)
+	dotted     = regexp.MustCompile(`\b[a-z][a-z0-9_-]*\.[a-z][a-z0-9_-]*\b`)
+	goDuration = regexp.MustCompile(`\b[0-9]+(h[0-9]+m|m[0-9]+s|h[0-9]+m[0-9]+s)\b|\b[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?(ns|ms|µs)\b`)
+	clockTime  = regexp.MustCompile(`\b[0-9]{1,2}:[0-9]{2}\b|\b[0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}\b|\bUTC\b`)
+	flag       = regexp.MustCompile(`(^|\s)--?[a-z]`)
+	agentWord  = regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)\bagents?\b|\bby hand\b|\bsession\b`)
+	markup     = regexp.MustCompile("[`*<>{}\\[\\]|#]|(^|\\s)_|_(\\s|$)")
+)
+
+// Plain says whether text is plain words the operator reads at a glance, and if not, what is not: an
+// identifier (a hash, a numbered id, a dotted name such as a key or a verb), a Go duration, a clock time
+// or date (the channel says when, in the operator's time), a command's flag, markup, a line break, or
+// anything the operator's channel withholds (ADR 0234 §6). machines are names that may appear.
+func Plain(text string, machines ...string) (string, bool) {
+	if strings.TrimSpace(text) == "" {
+		return "nothing is said", false
+	}
+	if strings.ContainsAny(text, "\n\r\t") {
+		return "a line break", false
+	}
+	if m := markup.FindString(text); m != "" {
+		return "markup (" + m + ")", false
+	}
+	for _, shape := range []struct {
+		re   *regexp.Regexp
+		what string
+	}{{hexID, "a hash"}, {numberedID, "a numbered id"}, {dotted, "a dotted name"}, {goDuration, "a duration in code"},
+		{clockTime, "a clock time or date"}, {flag, "a command's flag"}} {
+		if m := shape.re.FindString(text); m != "" {
+			if shape.re == hexID && !strings.ContainsAny(m, "0123456789") {
+				continue // a word of letters a to f only
+			}
+			return shape.what + " (" + strings.TrimSpace(m) + ")", false
+		}
+	}
+	if r, ok := outward.Check(text, machines...); !ok {
+		return r.String(), false
+	}
+	return "", true
+}
+
+// PlainWords checks all three, with their bounds.
+func PlainWords(w Words, machines ...string) (string, bool) {
+	if why, ok := Plain(w.Headline, machines...); !ok {
+		return "headline: " + why, false
+	}
+	if len(w.Headline) > HeadlineMax {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("headline: longer than %d characters", HeadlineMax), false
+	}
+	if why, ok := Plain(w.Explanation, machines...); !ok {
+		return "explanation: " + why, false
+	}
+	if len(w.Explanation) > ExplanationMax {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("explanation: longer than %d characters", ExplanationMax), false
+	}
+	for _, m := range agentWord.FindAllString(w.Explanation, -1) {
+		if !strings.EqualFold(m, "by hand") { // "repaired by hand" is a fact; telling to act by hand is not
+			return "explanation: sends the operator elsewhere (" + m + ")", false
+		}
+	}
+	if w.Needs != "" {
+		if why, ok := Plain(w.Needs, machines...); !ok {
+			return "needs: " + why, false
+		}
+		if m := agentWord.FindString(w.Needs); m != "" {
+			return "needs: not something the operator does themselves (" + m + ")", false
+		}
+		if len(w.Needs) > NeedsMax || !strings.HasSuffix(w.Needs, ".") {
+			return fmt.Sprintf("needs: one sentence of at most %d characters, ending in a full stop", NeedsMax), false
+		}
+	}
+	for _, a := range w.Actions {
+		if a.Label == "" || len(a.Label) > 24 || a.Verb == "" {
+			return fmt.Sprintf("action %q: a short label and a verb", a.Label), false
+		}
+	}
+	if why, ok := Plain(w.Resolved, machines...); !ok {
+		return "resolved: " + why, false
+	}
+	if len(w.Resolved) > HeadlineMax+20 {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("resolved: longer than %d characters", HeadlineMax+20), false
+	}
+	return "", true
+}
+
+// plainly gives an observation its plain words: its own, its kind's, or its scope's.
+func plainly(o Observation) Observation {
+	machines := append([]string{o.Machine}, o.Also...)
+	given := Words{Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation, Resolved: o.Resolved, Needs: o.Needs,
+		Actions: o.Actions}
+	var w Words
+	from := ""
+	switch {
+	case given.Headline != "":
+		w, from = given, "its source"
+	default:
+		wordingsMu.RLock()
+		fn := wordings[o.Kind]
+		wordingsMu.RUnlock()
+		if fn != nil {
+			w, from = fn(o), "the wording of "+o.Kind
+			if given.Explanation != "" {
+				w.Explanation = given.Explanation
+			}
+			if given.Resolved != "" {
+				w.Resolved = given.Resolved
+			}
+			if given.Needs != "" {
+				w.Needs = given.Needs
+			}
+			if len(given.Actions) > 0 {
+				w.Actions = given.Actions
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if w.Headline != "" && w.Resolved == "" {
+		w.Resolved = "Resolved: " + lowerFirst(w.Headline)
+	}
+	if from == "" {
+		if Unworded != nil {
+			Unworded(o, "the kind "+o.Kind+" has no plain words")
+		}
+		w = scopeWords(o)
+	} else if why, ok := PlainWords(w, machines...); !ok {
+		if Unworded != nil {
+			Unworded(o, from+" is not plain: "+why)
+		}
+		w = scopeWords(o)
+	}
+	o.Headline, o.Resolved, o.Needs, o.Actions = w.Headline, w.Resolved, w.Needs, w.Actions
+	o.Explanation = Verdict(w.Needs, w.Explanation)
+	return o
+}
+
+// Verdict is an explanation opened by its verdict.
+func Verdict(needs, explanation string) string {
+	if needs == "" {
+		return strings.TrimSpace(NothingToDo + " " + explanation)
+	}
+	return strings.TrimSpace(NeedsYou + " " + needs + " " + explanation)
+}
+
+// Escalated is what a condition needs once a healer gave up on it, where its words needed nothing.
+const Escalated = "the mesh tried to repair this and could not; read the details to decide what to do."
+
+// escalatedWords turns "Nothing for you to do." into "Needs you:" once a healer gave up.
+func escalatedWords(c *Condition) {
+	if c.Escalated() && c.Needs == "" {
+		c.Needs = Escalated
+		c.Explanation = Verdict(c.Needs, strings.TrimSpace(strings.TrimPrefix(c.Explanation, NothingToDo)))
+	}
+}
+
+// scopeWords is what is said of a kind with no words of its own: what kind of thing, and which one
+// where its name is a name (a machine, a module), never an id.
+func scopeWords(o Observation) Words {
+	thing := ThingWords(o)
+	what := strings.ReplaceAll(o.Kind, "-", " ")
+	w := Words{
+		Headline:    Capital(thing) + " needs a look",
+		Explanation: fmt.Sprintf("The mesh noticed a problem it calls %q with %s.", what, thing),
+		Resolved:    "Resolved: " + thing + " is fine again",
+		Needs:       ResolverNeeds(o),
+	}
+	if _, ok := PlainWords(w, append([]string{o.Machine}, o.Also...)...); !ok {
+		w = Words{Headline: "Something in the mesh needs a look",
+			Explanation: "The mesh noticed a problem it has no plain words for yet.",
+			Resolved:    "Resolved: the mesh is fine again", Needs: ResolverNeeds(o)}
+	}
+	return w
+}
+
+// ThingWords is what a condition is about, in plain words: "the machine ace", "openrazer on g14", "a
+// delivery". An id that is not a name (a plan's, a delivery's, a call's) is never said.
+func ThingWords(o Observation) string {
+	switch o.Scope {
+	case ScopeMachine:
+		if o.Machine != "" {
+			return o.Machine
+		}
+		return "a machine"
+	case ScopeModule:
+		module := strings.TrimSuffix(o.ID, "."+o.Machine)
+		if o.Machine != "" && module != "" && !strings.Contains(module, ".") {
+			return module + " on " + o.Machine
+		}
+		return "a module"
+	case ScopeProvider:
+		if module, _, _ := strings.Cut(o.ID, "."); module != "" && o.Machine != "" {
+			return module + " on " + o.Machine
+		}
+		return "a provider"
+	case ScopePlan:
+		return "a walk"
+	case ScopeDelivery:
+		return "a delivery"
+	case ScopeBuild:
+		return "a build"
+	case ScopeCall:
+		return "a tool call"
+	case ScopeMerge:
+		return "a merge"
+	case ScopeSeat:
+		return "a seat's holder"
+	case ScopeBus:
+		return "the bus"
+	case ScopeCore:
+		return "the controller"
+	case ScopeProbe:
+		return "the self-check"
+	}
+	return "the mesh"
+}
+
+// ResolverNeeds is what the operator needs to do, from who resolves it: nothing, unless only a person can.
+func ResolverNeeds(o Observation) string {
+	if o.Resolver == ResolverOperator {
+		return "the mesh does not repair this by itself; read the details to decide what to do."
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// Capital is s with its first letter upper case.
+func Capital(s string) string {
+	if s == "" {
+		return s
+	}
+	return strings.ToUpper(s[:1]) + s[1:]
+}
+
+func lowerFirst(s string) string {
+	if s == "" || (len(s) > 1 && strings.ToUpper(s[:2]) == s[:2]) {
+		return s
+	}
+	return strings.ToLower(s[:1]) + s[1:]
+}

internal/conditions/plain_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+package conditions
+
+import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// **The plain rule** (novox/hq ADR 0253): what the operator reads names no identifier, no code and no time
+// of its own; the words conditions are made of pass.
+func TestThePlainRuleRefusesIdentifiersCodeAndTimes(t *testing.T) {
+	refused := map[string]string{
+		"the walk of novox/mesh-catalog a6385479 waits": "a hash",
+		"plan plan-1791454185265004861 is waiting":      "a hash",
+		"see `mesh-delivery.show` for why":              "markup",
+		"call mesh-delivery.show for why":               "a dotted name",
+		"key plan.x.waiting":                            "a dotted name",
+		"waited 56m0s":                                  "a duration in code",
+		"since 10:40":                                   "a clock time",
+		"since 2026-10-08":                              "a clock time",
+		"raised at noon UTC":                            "a clock time",
+		"start it with plans go --why":                  "a command's flag",
+		"one line\nand another":                         "a line break",
+		"the resolver at 10.77.0.1 is silent":           "",
+		"":                                              "nothing",
+		"**bold**":                                      "markup",
+		"storage-media.mount failed":                    "a dotted name",
+		"the store at /var/lib/mesh is full":            "",
+		"a commit 0123abc landed":                       "a hash",
+	}
+	for text, want := range refused {
+		why, ok := Plain(text, "g14")
+		if ok {
+			t.Errorf("%q passed", text)
+			continue
+		}
+		if want != "" && !strings.HasPrefix(why, want) {
+			t.Errorf("%q: refused for %q, want %q", text, why, want)
+		}
+	}
+	for _, text := range []string{
+		"openrazer delivery waiting to start",
+		"The change to openrazer is merged and built, and has waited 56 minutes for mesh-delivery to let it start.",
+		"3 failed services on shanks",
+		"On shanks, mnt-recalbox (a mount), storage-media (a mount) and greenclip failed.",
+		"Name lookups fail on g14",
+		"Retired data of postgres on anchor waits for app_db",
+		"Push keeps being fixed by hand",
+	} {
+		if why, ok := Plain(text, "g14", "shanks", "anchor"); !ok {
+			t.Errorf("%q refused: %s", text, why)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// **A condition carries its plain words**: a producer's own; else its kind's; else its scope's — and the
+// event says them beside the summary, for every channel.
+func TestAConditionCarriesItsPlainWords(t *testing.T) {
+	k, _, told, _ := keeper(t)
+	before := Unworded
+	var unworded []string
+	Unworded = func(o Observation, why string) { unworded = append(unworded, why) }
+	t.Cleanup(func() { Unworded = before })
+
+	Wording("test-silent", func(o Observation) Words {
+		return Words{Headline: o.Machine + " is not answering", Explanation: "The mesh has not heard from it.",
+			Resolved: o.Machine + " answers again"}
+	})
+	c, err := k.Observe(t.Context(), Observation{Scope: ScopeMachine, ID: "ace", Kind: "test-silent", Machine: "ace",
+		Severity: Warning, Source: "S1", Summary: "ace has not been heard from since 12:00 UTC (bound 3m0s)"})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if c.Headline != "ace is not answering" || c.Resolved != "ace answers again" || c.Explanation == "" {
+		t.Fatalf("the kind's words were not kept: %+v", c)
+	}
+	if c.Summary != "ace has not been heard from since 12:00 UTC (bound 3m0s)" {
+		t.Errorf("the summary was changed: %q", c.Summary)
+	}
+	said := settled(t, told, 1)
+	body, _ := json.Marshal(said[0])
+	for _, field := range []string{`"headline":"ace is not answering"`, `"explanation":"Nothing for you to do. The mesh has not heard from it."`,
+		`"resolved":"ace answers again"`} {
+		if !strings.Contains(string(body), field) {
+			t.Errorf("the event does not carry %s: %s", field, body)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// A producer's own words win; a resolved line it leaves out is made from its headline.
+	c, _ = k.Observe(t.Context(), Observation{Scope: ScopeModule, ID: "openrazer.g14", Kind: "test-silent",
+		Machine: "g14", Severity: Warning, Source: "health", Summary: "openrazer on g14 is not healthy",
+		Headline: "openrazer not working on g14", Explanation: "Its service stopped with an error."})
+	if c.Headline != "openrazer not working on g14" || c.Resolved != "Resolved: openrazer not working on g14" {
+		t.Errorf("the producer's words: %+v", c)
+	}
+	if len(unworded) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("words that were plain were reported: %v", unworded)
+	}
+
+	// Words that are not plain, and a kind with none, are said from the scope — and reported.
+	c, _ = k.Observe(t.Context(), Observation{Scope: ScopeModule, ID: "openrazer.g14", Token: "x", Kind: "test-unworded",
+		Machine: "g14", Severity: Warning, Source: "health", Summary: "openrazer on g14 is not healthy"})
+	if c.Headline != "Openrazer on g14 needs a look" || !strings.HasPrefix(c.Explanation, NothingToDo) {
+		t.Errorf("the scope's words: %+v", c)
+	}
+	c, _ = k.Observe(t.Context(), Observation{Scope: ScopePlan, ID: "plan-1791454185265004861", Kind: "test-silent",
+		Severity: Warning, Source: "S16", Summary: "the walk waits", Headline: "plan-1791454185265004861 waits"})
+	if strings.Contains(c.Headline, "plan-") || c.Headline != "A walk needs a look" {
+		t.Errorf("an id reached the headline: %+v", c)
+	}
+	if len(unworded) != 2 || !strings.Contains(unworded[0], "no plain words") || !strings.Contains(unworded[1], "not plain") {
+		t.Errorf("what was said in borrowed words was not reported: %v", unworded)
+	}
+}
+
+// **An explanation opens with its verdict, and never sends the operator to an agent.**
+func TestEveryExplanationOpensWithItsVerdict(t *testing.T) {
+	if got := Verdict("", "It may be asleep."); got != "Nothing for you to do. It may be asleep." {
+		t.Errorf("%q", got)
+	}
+	if got := Verdict("release it, or stop it.", "It is held."); got != "Needs you: release it, or stop it. It is held." {
+		t.Errorf("%q", got)
+	}
+	for _, w := range []Words{
+		{Headline: "x waits", Explanation: "Have an agent start it.", Resolved: "x started"},
+		{Headline: "x waits", Explanation: "It waits.", Needs: "start it by hand.", Resolved: "x started"},
+		{Headline: "x waits", Explanation: "It waits.", Needs: "open a session and start it.", Resolved: "x started"},
+		{Headline: "x waits", Explanation: "It waits.", Needs: "start it", Resolved: "x started"},
+		{Headline: "x waits", Explanation: "It waits.", Resolved: "x started", Actions: []Action{{Label: "Start"}}},
+	} {
+		if _, ok := PlainWords(w); ok {
+			t.Errorf("passed: %+v", w)
+		}
+	}
+	if why, ok := PlainWords(Words{Headline: "push keeps being fixed by hand", Explanation: "A person repaired " +
+		"push by hand 35 times.", Resolved: "Resolved", Needs: "release it, or stop it.",
+		Actions: []Action{{Label: "Release", Verb: "mesh-delivery.release"}}}); !ok {
+		t.Errorf("refused: %s", why)
+	}
+}
+
+// **A healer that gave up says so in the explanation**: the words of the kind said "nothing to do"; once the
+// budget is spent, the operator is needed.
+func TestAnEscalatedConditionSaysItNeedsTheOperator(t *testing.T) {
+	k, _, _, _ := keeper(t)
+	ctx := t.Context()
+	o := Observation{Scope: ScopeMachine, ID: "ace", Kind: "silent", Machine: "ace", Severity: Warning, Source: "S1",
+		Summary: "ace is silent", Headline: "ace is not answering", Explanation: "It may be asleep."}
+	if _, err := k.Observe(ctx, o); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	c, _, err := k.Escalate(ctx, o.Key(), Attempt{What: "budget spent", Outcome: "escalated", By: "healer H1"})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if want := "Needs you: " + Escalated + " It may be asleep."; c.Explanation != want || c.Needs != Escalated {
+		t.Fatalf("escalated: %q, want %q", c.Explanation, want)
+	}
+	c, _ = k.Observe(ctx, o)
+	if strings.Count(c.Explanation, Escalated) != 1 || strings.Contains(c.Explanation, NothingToDo) {
+		t.Errorf("seen again after escalation: %q", c.Explanation)
+	}
+}

internal/conditions/store.go

@@ -175,6 +175,7 @@ func (k *Keeper) Observe(ctx context.Context, o Observation) (Condition, error)
 		return Condition{}, err
 	}
 	o = k.sayable(o)
+	o = plainly(o)
 	key := o.Key()
 	for i := 0; i < tries; i++ {
 		now := k.now().UTC()
@@ -188,7 +189,8 @@ func (k *Keeper) Observe(ctx context.Context, o Observation) (Condition, error)
 		}
 		if !found {
 			c := Condition{Key: key, Kind: o.Kind, Subject: Subject{Scope: o.Scope, ID: o.ID, Machine: o.Machine, Also: o.Also},
-				Severity: o.Severity, Summary: o.Summary, Evidence: []Evidence{{At: now, Said: said}},
+				Severity: o.Severity, Summary: o.Summary, Headline: o.Headline, Explanation: o.Explanation,
+				Resolved: o.Resolved, Needs: o.Needs, Actions: o.Actions, Evidence: []Evidence{{At: now, Said: said}},
 				Source: o.Source, Raised: now, LastObserved: now, Observations: 1, Count: 1,
 				Resolver: orSelf(o.Resolver)}
 			change := ChangeRaised
@@ -238,6 +240,8 @@ func (k *Keeper) Observe(ctx context.Context, o Observation) (Condition, error)
 		// The kind as the source says it now: a source that gave the same key a kind of its own since
 		// (a probe's finding split out for a healer) is read by that kind from its next observation.
 		c.Kind, c.Summary, c.Source, c.LastObserved = o.Kind, o.Summary, o.Source, now
+		c.Headline, c.Explanation, c.Resolved, c.Needs, c.Actions = o.Headline, o.Explanation, o.Resolved, o.Needs, o.Actions
+		escalatedWords(&c)
 		if o.Machine != "" {
 			c.Subject.Machine = o.Machine
 		}
@@ -335,6 +339,7 @@ func (k *Keeper) Escalate(ctx context.Context, key string, a Attempt) (Condition
 			changes = append(changes, Event{Change: ChangeResolver, Was: c.Resolver, Why: a.Outcome})
 			c.Resolver = ResolverOperator
 		}
+		escalatedWords(c)
 		return changes
 	})
 }