---
id: 20261002_185037_faq-04-the-ap
title: AGENT - FAQ - What is the approval loop? Can anything go live without me?
category: FAQ
predicted_narrative_arc: control and responsibility
sentiment: reassuring
emotions:
- confident
- protective
- deliberate
keypoints:
- Nothing goes live without explicit user approval
- 'Two approval paths: Compa desktop or single-word email reply'
- Approval prevents accidental publication of drafts or AI embellishments
- Four-part loop keeps the room grounded in verified deposits
- Every change leaves an inbox and file trail for accountability
summary: 'The transcript explains the strict approval loop in the Asker system: nothing
  is published without explicit user approval, either via Compa at the desk or by
  replying APPROVED to an email draft. It details the four-part cycle of depositing
  truth, answering from approved content, escalating unanswered questions, and growing
  the shelf through verified additions. The design prioritizes authorship control
  and leaves an auditable trail of every change.'
tags:
- faq
- asker
- intelligent-netware
- approval-loop
- approved
- truth-control
- authorship
- email-agent
sycophancy: 1
truth_score: 9
entropy: 2
sample: false
consent: own_laptop
agent: gb
source_session: ''
created: '2026-10-03T01:50:37Z'
updated: '2026-10-03T04:04:55Z'
vault_stage: 07_CODEX
headwaters: FAQ
prefix: FAQ
enrich_status: ok
enrich_blockers: []
enrich_method: llm
pipeline_filename: FAQ_2026-10-02_04-the-approval-loop.md
source_kind: faq_draft
proposed_topic: Work
lane: Work
voice: desk
active_voice: desk
voices:
- desk
corpus_topic: Work
faq_set: 2026-10-02_IN_Asker_FAQ
faq_number: 4
---

# What is the approval loop? Can anything go live without me?

Title suggestion: AGENT - FAQ - What is the approval loop? Can anything go live without me?
Shelf: Work
Tags: faq, asker, intelligent-netware, approval-loop, approved, truth-control, authorship, email-agent

## Public answer

**Question people actually type:**
What is the approval loop? Can anything go live without me?

No. Nothing goes live without your approval. That's the first rule of the house, and the rest of the design follows from it.

There are two ways to approve.

**At your desk, in Compa.** You can speak or type a new deposit, edit an old one, or let an AI assistant draft something for you. Drafts stay drafts. Nothing reaches your room until you click Share or Sync.

**On the road, by email.** Each Asker comes with its own email agent. You might write, "Add an answer about our onboarding timeline," or "That answer about fees is out of date; here's the new wording." The agent drafts the change and sends it back to you. Nothing posts until you reply with one word: APPROVED.

The same rule covers mistakes. If something in the room is wrong, one more email takes it down or revises it, and the revision waits for your APPROVED like everything else.

Why make approval so central? Because your name is on every answer. A system that publishes on its own, even with good intentions, will eventually say something you would never say. A draft written at midnight, an AI assistant's helpful embellishment, a half-finished thought: none of that should become your public voice by accident. The approval step is where your judgment stays in charge.

The loop has four parts:

1. You deposit and approve what's true.
2. The room answers from those approved deposits.
3. When the room can't answer, the question comes to you, if the visitor chooses to send it.
4. You answer and approve, and the shelf grows.

Each turn is a small, honest act. Over weeks, those acts add up to a room that knows what you know and says only what you've stood behind.

One more benefit: approval leaves a trail. Every change you approved by email sits in your inbox, and every approved deposit sits as a file on your drive. If you ever wonder why the room said something, you can find the exact words you approved.

## Related questions

- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_05-the-honest-empty-shelf|What happens when the Asker doesn't know the answer?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_06-unanswered-questions-become-deposits|How do unanswered questions become new deposits?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_10-fix-update-or-take-down-an-answer|How do I fix, update, or take down an answer?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_25-claude-desktop-on-your-own-vault|Can I use Claude Desktop, or another AI assistant, on my own vault?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_26-update-by-email-from-the-road|Can I update my Asker by email from the road?]]
- [[FAQ_2026-10-02_00-INDEX|All Asker FAQs]]

_Written by Daniel Comp with GB, Director of Operations, Intelligent Netware._