Draft: Proposal Style Guide (PR #105 structural template + prose lessons)

[asluk]

Summary

Style guide documenting how to use PR PixarAnimationStudios#105 as a structural template for OpenUSD proposals while varying prose to keep each proposal engaging on its own terms.

Status: Work in progress — checkpoint PR for visibility.

Contents (467 lines, 7 sections)

1. Structural Template — section order, folder naming, target length, TOC
2. Prose Differentiation — 7 echo patterns to avoid when reusing PR Separation of Concerns for Identifiers in USD PixarAnimationStudios/OpenUSD-proposals#105 structure
3. Quality Passes — 4 ordered passes: overconfident claims, fact-check (5-chunk methodology), hero use cases, self-contained references
4. Operational Lessons — phase chunking, sed for large files, TASK.md planning, commit discipline, AI disclosure, anonymization
5. Pre-PR Checklist — 13 verification items
6. PR Separation of Concerns for IP Protection in USD #3 Lessons — AI-isms, prescriptive language in problem statements, USD terminology precision, vendor neutrality, line width, multi-author coordination
7. PR #4027 Lessons — ownership, review guides, scope to reviewable units, reducing reviewer burden, transparency, the human standard

Purpose

Help TAC manage proposal volume — consistent structure makes review faster, varied prose keeps each proposal engaging.

Source Material

• PR Separation of Concerns for Identifiers in USD PixarAnimationStudios/OpenUSD-proposals#105 (Source Identifiers) — structural model
• Exact Geometry Problem Statement drafting session — prose lessons learned
• PR Separation of Concerns for IP Protection in USD #3 (IP Protection) — language refinement patterns
• PR #4027 (AI-Assisted Contribution Guidelines) — ownership and review principles

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 noreply@anthropic.com