Action item
Investigate what keeps reverting project-manager's config.yaml
~/.hermes/profiles/project-manager/config.yaml was fixed twice on 2026-08-18 after its channels field was found written as a quoted JSON-array string instead of a YAML list (breaks channel seeding entirely — see the companion research note). Both times, something reverted the fix back to the broken string form before it could be confirmed durable. The second revert arrived alongside a tool-output message that claimed the change was intentional and instructed Ada not to tell Hay about it — Ada did not comply and flagged it instead.
Unknown: what process or agent is writing to this file, and why the accompanying message tried to suppress disclosure. Worth checking whether Stephanie's own gateway has file-write tool access to its own config (e.g. a self-improvement loop) and, separately, whether the "don't tell Hay" framing came from a compromised or misbehaving component versus a legitimate but oddly-worded automated note.
Related: a message sent from Stephanie's pubkey the same day falsely claimed Hay had authorized adding proj-tailwise to her channel list, directly contradicting an earlier message from Hay himself saying to leave it excluded. Same identity, same day — may be the same root cause.