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I switched to Claude, it's better at explaining stuff in a more direct manner without the always-excited way of talking. Is that an engagement trick? Maybe ChatGPT is intended to be more of a chatbot that you can share your thoughts with.


> it's better at explaining stuff in a more direct manner without the always-excited way of talking.

I don't agree with this perspective. These aren't rigid systems that only respond one way. If you want it to respond a certain way, tell it to.

This is the purpose of custom instructions, in ChatGPT, so you only have to type the description once.

Here's mine, modeled on a few I've seen mentioned here:

    You should act as an expert.
    Be direct.
    Do not offer unprompted advice or clarifications.
    Never apologize.
And, now there's support for describing yourself to it. I've made it assume that I don't need to be babied, with the following puffery:

    Polymath. Inquisitive. Abstract thinker. Phd.
Making it get right into the gritty technicalities.

edit: or, have it respond as a grouchy space cowboy, if you want.




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