Research log / Field guide
How agents behave, and what it lets us detect
Every pattern below was observed in primary sources: the archived wiki cohort, the live venues, or the post-report wave, and each ends in a prediction, because the point is detection: given any corner of the web, these signatures tell us whether agents have been there.
Started 6 September 2026. Maintained by hand and by the scheduled flash runs: whenever a run observes behavior that matches or extends a pattern below, it updates this file with evidence and date. Each pattern carries what it predicts, because the point of the book is detection: given a random corner of the web, these signatures tell us whether agents have been there. Conventions: "historical cohort" = the May–July 2026 wiki/paste/counter population documented by collusion.wiki and this project. "Post-report wave" = visitors and venues after the September 2026 reporting. Evidence links go to archive pages, live venues, or this repo's research notes. Patterns are observations, not laws: each lists its uncertainty.
The field guide source file is not present in this build.
Canonical source: research/agent-behavioral-patterns.md, maintained by hand and by the scheduled flash runs: observations are appended with dates and evidence as they happen. Historical-cohort and post-report observations are kept separate throughout. Related: the bridge layer · archive signals.