enforced in code, not suggested in a style guide

the blacklist

107 patterns our generator kills or flags: the machine tells, the linkedin formula, the corporate filler. every other AI-writing blog tells you to "avoid clichΓ©s". we can show you the regex.

generated at build time from the sanitizer's own pattern table, so it cannot drift from the code. the box runs that same table in your browser.

house rule: every public page on this site must pass the slop detector with a grade a. including this one. specimens like exhibit a are quoted as evidence and excluded, the way a courtroom quotes the crime.

slop score 100/100pure slop. the em-dash called, it wants royalties.

after the sanitizer

Thrilled to announce a truly transformative milestone πŸš€ In today's fast-paced world, we leverage cutting-edge AI to unlock synergies across the entire ecosystem - a robust, scalable, game-changing paradigm shift. this journey will empower every stakeholder to delve deeper and elevate their impact - because growth isn't luck. It's math.

rewrites and deletions applied. flags stay for a human to judge.

107 of 107
cause of death: machine fingerprints

ai tells

the shapes a language model falls into when nobody stops it. the words and punctuation get rewritten or deleted before you ever see them. the sentence shapes (it's not x, it's y) get flagged: a regex can't rewrite an argument, so it shows you where yours went limp.

the em-dash

fired Γ—2auto-rewritten

chatgpt's favorite key. real people press comma.

a β€” ba - b

the semicolon

auto-rewritten

nobody has ever typed one into a social post on purpose.

a; ba. b

"not just about x"

auto-rewritten

false modesty for sentences. say what it is.

it's not just about growth, it's about peopleit's people

the negate-then-reveal

firedflagged, not touched

"x isn't y. it's z." the single most machine-shaped sentence in english.

growth isn't luck. it's math.

the negate-then-reveal, compact

auto-rewritten

same trick squeezed into one sentence. still a tell.

growth isn't luck, it's mathgrowth is math

"less about x, more about y"

auto-rewritten

a dichotomy nobody asked for.

less about output and more about opticsabout optics

"it's not x. it's y."

flagged, not touched

the sentence that taught a whole industry to argue with itself.

it's not a tool. it's a teammate.

"it is not x. it is y."

flagged, not touched

same trick in a suit.

it is not a tool. it is a teammate.

"we never x. the market did."

flagged, not touched

a twist ending nobody asked to watch.

we never planned this. the market did.

"x isn't y. x is z."

flagged, not touched

saying the noun twice does not make it a point.

talent isn't scarce. talent is everywhere.

"it was never about x"

flagged, not touched

it was about the money.

it was never about the money. it was always about the people.

"you're not x. you're y."

flagged, not touched

a horoscope with a call to action.

you're not lazy. you're tired.

"i'm not x. i'm y."

flagged, not touched

pick one. you are typing a post.

i'm not a writer. i'm a builder.

"we're not x. we're y."

flagged, not touched

you are an agency.

we're not an agency. we're a partner.

"they're not x. they're y."

flagged, not touched

they would like a refund.

they're not customers. they're family.

"this isn't x. it's y."

flagged, not touched

it is a newsletter.

this isn't a newsletter. it's a movement.

"essentially"

deleted on sight

the throat-clear. delete it and nothing is lost.

essentially,

"fundamentally"

deleted on sight

a philosophy degree clearing its throat.

fundamentally,

"arguably"

deleted on sight

then argue it.

arguably,

"interestingly"

deleted on sight

the reader decides what's interesting.

interestingly,

"undoubtedly"

deleted on sight

doubt.

undoubtedly,

"importantly"

deleted on sight

if you have to label it important, it wasn't.

importantly,

"significantly"

deleted on sight

compared to what.

significantly,

"moreover"

fireddeleted on sight

no human has ever said this out loud.

moreover,

"furthermore"

deleted on sight

moreover's attorney.

furthermore,

the staccato "no x. no y."

flagged, not touched

three fragments in a trench coat pretending to be a point.

no dev team. no timeline. no budget.

the then-vs-now couplet

flagged, not touched

a before-and-after photo with no photo.

a year ago this cost 40k. now it costs a saturday.

"a laptop and a dream"

flagged, not touched

the dream was a series a.

a laptop and a dream
cause of death: overuse

the formula

the openers, closers, and engagement bait that ate linkedin. each of these once worked. then everyone used them, and now they read as a template with your name on it. most get deleted on sight. the few that can be honest in context get flagged instead.

"let's be real"

deleted on sight

we were already being real.

let's be real: nobody reads these

"unpopular opinion:"

deleted on sight

it has 40,000 likes. it's popular.

unpopular opinion: water is wet

"hot take:"

deleted on sight

label removed. takes must survive at room temperature.

hot take: water is wet

"confession:"

deleted on sight

father, forgive the format.

confession: i did it

"true story:"

deleted on sight

suspicious that you have to say it.

true story: it happened

"is it just me or"

deleted on sight

it's never just you. 9,000 posts this week.

is it just me or is it loud

"i've noticed that"

deleted on sight

skip to the noticing.

i've noticed that people post

"here's the thing:"

deleted on sight

just say the thing.

here's the thing: nothing

"let me tell you:"

deleted on sight

you were already telling us.

let me tell you: nothing

"here's what i've learned:"

deleted on sight

the lesson never survives this opener.

here's what i've learned: nothing

"here's why:"

deleted on sight

clickbait's little brother.

here's why: reasons

"spoiler alert:"

deleted on sight

the spoiler is that nothing surprising follows.

spoiler alert: nothing

"plot twist:"

deleted on sight

there was no plot.

plot twist: nothing

"imagine this:"

deleted on sight

we're readers. we were already imagining.

imagine this: nothing

"picture this:"

deleted on sight

no.

picture this: nothing

"and that's okay"

deleted on sight

toxic positivity's signature.

it was fine. and that's okay.

"read that again"

deleted on sight

we read it the first time. once was plenty.

we did it. read that again.

"let that sink in"

fireddeleted on sight

it sank. it drowned. 2019 wants its closer back.

it matters. let that sink in.

"think about that"

deleted on sight

we were, until you asked.

it matters. think about that.

"chew on that"

deleted on sight

spat it out.

it matters. chew on that.

"sit with that"

deleted on sight

stood up.

it matters. sit with that.

"doing the heavy lifting"

auto-rewritten

nobody is lifting. it is a spreadsheet.

ai is doing the heavy liftingai is doing the work

"the ground has shifted"

deleted on sight

same ground. you just looked down.

the ground has shifted

"moved the goalposts"

deleted on sight

retired from the league.

they moved the goalposts

"here's the wild part"

deleted on sight

the part was not wild.

here's the wild part:

"here's what nobody tells you"

deleted on sight

everybody told you. it was the first google result.

here's what nobody tells you:

"the part nobody talks about"

deleted on sight

everyone talks about it. that is how you heard.

the part nobody talks about

"most people haven't noticed"

flagged, not touched

you are not the only one awake.

most people still haven't noticed

"nobody is talking about this"

flagged, not touched

forty thousand people are talking about this.

nobody is talking about this

"while everyone is distracted"

flagged, not touched

everyone is busy. that part is true.

while everyone is distracted

"stop x-ing" openers

flagged, not touched

the format that ate linkedin. yes, our own slogan matches it. one exemption, framed on the wall.

stop hustling and post

"it's safe to say"

flagged, not touched

if it were safe you would just say it.

i think it's safe to say

"what's your take?"

deleted on sight

you don't want a take. you want a comment for the algorithm.

i said it. what's your take?

"what do you think?"

deleted on sight

a question mark doing sales.

i said it. what do you think?

"thoughts?"

deleted on sight

the laziest word in engagement farming.

i said it. thoughts?

"agree?"

deleted on sight

no.

i said it. agree?

"am i wrong?"

deleted on sight

structurally, yes.

i said it. am i wrong?

"am i missing something?"

deleted on sight

an ending.

i said it. am i missing something?

"curious to hear your thoughts"

deleted on sight

curiosity has never once looked like this.

i said it. curious to hear your thoughts

"let me know in the comments"

deleted on sight

we know why you want that.

i said it. let me know in the comments

"fight me"

deleted on sight

nobody is fighting. everyone is scrolling.

i said it. fight me

"change my mind"

deleted on sight

a folding table nobody sat down at.

i said it. change my mind

"tell me i'm wrong"

deleted on sight

fine: the closer is wrong.

i said it. tell me i'm wrong
cause of death: meetings

buzzwords

corporate filler. these get flagged, never auto-rewritten. we used to fix them in post until the sanitizer turned a joke about synergy into a joke about combos and killed it. irony is legal here. the flag is a warning, not a verdict.

"delve"

firedflagged, not touched

no one delved between 1987 and 2023. one model revived it alone.

delve

"tapestry"

flagged, not touched

your q3 review is not a textile.

tapestry

"leverage"

firedflagged, not touched

you mean 'use'. you always meant 'use'.

leverage

"journey"

firedflagged, not touched

it was a signup flow.

journey

"landscape"

flagged, not touched

content is not terrain. stop surveying it.

landscape

"robust"

firedflagged, not touched

a word for software that has never once crashed for you personally.

robust

"seamlessly"

flagged, not touched

the seams are visible from here.

seamlessly

"foster"

flagged, not touched

the metrics are not orphans. stop raising them.

foster

"game-changer"

firedflagged, not touched

the game remains unchanged.

game-changer

"unlock"

firedflagged, not touched

your insights were never locked.

unlock

"elevate"

firedflagged, not touched

it's a blog post, not an elevator.

elevate

"paradigm"

firedflagged, not touched

retired in 2003. exhumed by AI.

paradigm

"synergy"

firedflagged, not touched

legal only as a joke. we checked.

synergy

"holistic"

flagged, not touched

your marketing plan does not have chakras.

holistic

"multifaceted"

flagged, not touched

so is a rock.

multifaceted

"nuanced"

flagged, not touched

calling it 'nuanced' is the least nuanced move available.

nuanced

"pivotal"

flagged, not touched

nothing pivoted.

pivotal

"groundbreaking"

flagged, not touched

the ground is fine.

groundbreaking

"resonate"

flagged, not touched

it got four likes.

resonate

"empower"

firedflagged, not touched

nobody received any power.

empower

"transformative"

firedflagged, not touched

nothing transformed.

transformative

"ecosystem"

firedflagged, not touched

there is no pond.

ecosystem

"stakeholder"

firedflagged, not touched

people. they're people.

stakeholder

"actionable"

flagged, not touched

the word is 'useful'.

actionable

"impactful"

flagged, not touched

not a word. never was.

impactful

"scalable"

firedflagged, not touched

your anecdote does not need to scale.

scalable

"innovative"

flagged, not touched

if it were, you wouldn't need the adjective.

innovative
layer zero

banned before the model speaks

some patterns never reach the sanitizer because the model is forbidden from writing them at all. the prompt carries dozens more bans than fit on one page. these are the ones the public detector also checks.

"in today's [anything]"

firedbanned upstream

today's date is available. use it.

in today's world

"thrilled to announce"

firedbanned upstream

nobody thrilled has ever typed 'thrilled'.

thrilled to announce our seed round

"let's dive in"

banned upstream

there is no water.

let's dive in

"without further ado"

banned upstream

the ado was you.

without further ado

the rocket emoji

firedbanned upstream

that rocket has carried more bad news than nasa.

launch day πŸš€

"let that sink in" + hashtags

firedbanned upstream

hiding it behind a hashtag did not help.

it matters. let that sink in. #leadership

"thoughts?" + hashtags

banned upstream

the hashtag does not make it a question.

i said it. thoughts? #growth

"drop it in the comments"

banned upstream

the comments section is not a drop box.

i said it. drop yours in the comments

your last post is on this list somewhere

paste it into the detector and find out which entries it trips. free, no signup, runs in your browser.

want posts that never trip it in the first place? senpai writes clean by default