CLN Operator · Reference
-
Minus
Con · Cost · Disadvantage
"What's bad about this?"
Operator CLN v2.1 Plain-text · Universal
All operators =Equals .Dot !Bang ?Question →Arrow ~Tilde +Plus -Minus @At
01// - — Definition

States disadvantages. Lists costs. Marks negative evidence.

Cognitive question answered: "What's bad about this?"
One line = one semantic unit. The Minus operator tells the reader — before they read the content — that this line answers: What's bad about this?
02// When to use it

Use − when completing a trade-off analysis. Every + analysis needs − to be credible. − is not pessimism — it's intellectual honesty.

When NOT to use it:
Don't use − for risks or blockers — use ! for those. − is for structural disadvantages of a position, not acute dangers.
03// Live Examples
Buy vs Build (costs)
-cost scales with MAU — can sting at 100k+ users
-vendor lock-in on session model
-less control over token shape — and storage
Remote work study
-junior employees report slower skill development
-collaborative creativity declines — without intentional structure
-proximity bias — remote workers passed over for promotions 38% more
Investment decision
-investment returns not guaranteed — mortgage savings ARE certain
-debt-free means less liquidity — cash tied up in property
-loss of compounding years — if market performs well
04// Operator Pairs

Operators don't work in isolation — they form semantic pairs that together convey full cognitive structure:

+− always pairs with + — analysis without both is advocacy, not thinking
!− is a structural cost · ! is an acute risk or blocker
~persistent +/− tension without resolution = ~