What does Bernard fix on his own?
A website collects small faults over time: a copyright year nobody remembered to change, a photo with no description for people who cannot see it and for search engines, a page with no search description. None of it is urgent, but all of it adds up.
The prompt
“Which routine fixes could Bernard make on [my site] on his own, and which of them are waiting for my yes right now?”
Signed in, Get my prompt fills in your site for you. Otherwise press Copy and fill in the [bracketed] parts. First time? Connect your AI to bernard once: Use your own AI (opens in a new tab).
The routine fixes
Once you let Bernard do the routine things, and once he has earned it, he can make these fixes on his own:
- your own copyright year, where it has fallen behind (a map or stock-photo credit that carries someone else’s year is left alone)
- a description for any photo that has none, taken from the photo’s file name
They are routine because a program can check that the result is exactly right, and either of them is easy to put back. He takes one on only when a single fix covers the whole problem, up to ten pages at a time; a bigger job waits for your yes.
A missing search description needs words written for that page, so Bernard prepares it and waits for your approval rather than adding it on his own.
For courses, two more fixes are routine:
- printing again a certificate that failed to print, with the same number and check link (he checks it printed, that nothing on it changed and that no new certificate appeared)
- hiding a forum post that at least two members reported as spam (hidden, never deleted, so you can put it back)
What does Bernard do for my students on his own? explains these and the rest of his course work.
How each fix runs
- He looks again first. Before he changes anything, Bernard re-reads your live site. If the problem has already gone, he does not touch the page and records that he was wrong about it. See What happens when Bernard gets something wrong?.
- He waits for a quiet moment. If you have unpublished changes of your own, or someone is editing the site, or a publish is already running, he leaves the fix for later rather than mix his work with yours.
- He makes the fix and puts it live, through the same draft and history as every other change, marked as his.
- He checks the live site. The fix must be there, and nothing else may have changed. Only then is it counted as done.
Earning it
A kind of fix cannot move to “just done” because your level is high. Bernard first prepares it for your approval. Once you have said yes to a set number of them, and hardly any were undone, that kind of fix has earned the right to happen without asking. If fixes of that kind start failing their checks, it goes back to asking you first.
For how he keeps this safe, see Is it safe to let Bernard do things on his own?. To put one of his fixes back, see How do I undo something Bernard did on his own?.
Questions people ask
- Which fixes count as routine?
- Two on your site: bringing your own copyright year up to date, and adding a description to photos that have none. Two for courses: printing again a certificate that failed to print, and hiding a forum post that members reported as spam. Each has one clear right answer and a program can check the result.
- Does Bernard start doing these as soon as I let him?
- No. A kind of fix has to earn it first. Until you have said yes to a set number of them yourself, with few of them undone, Bernard only prepares the fix and waits for your approval. He never skips that step because your level is high.
- Does he fix things on every site?
- Not yet. While his background work is being introduced it is switched on for a small number of sites at a time, so on most sites every change still waits for your approval as it always has.
- Does Bernard ever change the words on my pages without asking?
- No. Even a missing search description is prepared for your approval, because it needs words written for that page. Editing what a page says to your visitors is never a routine fix.