docs(#248): add review guidance for inconsistent backoff strategies

[fullsend-ai-coder]

Add a "Code pattern consistency" section to AGENTS.md instructing the review agent to flag inconsistent retry/backoff strategies within a single file as a low-severity informational finding. When a PR introduces or modifies a retry loop in a file that already has one, the reviewer should compare strategies (additive, exponential, constant, jitter-based) and ask the author to harmonize or justify the divergence.

Excludes from flagging: files with only one pattern, same-type strategies differing only in parameters, and cross-file divergence.

Note: make lint could not complete in the sandbox due to shellcheck-py installation failure (network 403). The change is documentation-only (AGENTS.md). Secret scan passed.

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Closes #248

Post-script verification

• Branch is not main/master (agent/248-review-backoff-consistency)
• Secret scan passed (scan-secrets AGENTS.md)
• Tests ran inside sandbox (N/A — docs-only change)

[fullsend-ai-review]

🤖 Finished Review · ❌ Failure · Started 12:50 PM UTC · Completed 12:51 PM UTC
Commit: c776c24 · View workflow run →

[guyoron1]

/fs-review

[fullsend-ai-review]

🤖 Finished Review · ❌ Failure · Started 3:57 PM UTC · Completed 4:08 PM UTC
Commit: d8e3df7 · View workflow run →

[guyoron1]

/fs-review

[fullsend-ai-review]

🤖 Finished Review · ✅ Success · Started 4:31 PM UTC · Completed 4:42 PM UTC
Commit: d8e3df7 · View workflow run →

[fullsend-ai-review]

Review — Approve

PR #260 adds a "Code pattern consistency" section to AGENTS.md with review guidance for flagging inconsistent retry/backoff strategies within a single file. This is a docs-only change (+12 lines) that traces directly to issue #248.

Dimensions evaluated

Dimension	Result
Correctness	1 low finding
Security	No findings
Intent & coherence	Authorized, scoped correctly
Style & conventions	Consistent with existing patterns
Documentation currency	No staleness
Cross-repo contracts	N/A (no API surface)

Findings

[low · terminology] AGENTS.md — The term "additive backoff" is not standard. The established term for a backoff strategy where delay increases by a fixed increment per retry (delay += step, producing 3s, 6s, 9s, ...) is linear backoff. "Additive" in the retry/backoff domain typically describes how jitter is applied to a backoff curve (additive jitter vs. multiplicative jitter), not the backoff strategy itself. Consider replacing "additive" with "linear" in both the example parenthetical and the strategy enumeration to match the terminology reviewers will encounter in code and documentation.

Notes

• The change follows the existing **When reviewing PRs:** directive pattern used by the Forge abstraction and ADR sections.
• The exclusion criteria (three "Do not flag when" bullets) are logically sound: single-pattern files are excluded, same-type/different-parameter variations are excluded, and cross-file divergence is explicitly out of scope.
• The severity calibration (low/informational) is appropriately lower than the medium+ used for architectural violations in surrounding sections.
• The "or explain why they differ" branch correctly handles cases where different contexts within a file legitimately require different strategies.

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_{Reviewed dimensions: correctness · security · intent-coherence · style-conventions · docs-currency}

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Protected paths detected — this PR modifies files under one or more
protected paths. The review agent cannot approve PRs that touch these paths.
A human reviewer must approve this PR.

Protected files in this PR:

• AGENTS.md

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Labels: PR is a documentation-only change to AGENTS.md

Previous run

Review

Findings

Medium

• [protected-path] AGENTS.md — This PR modifies AGENTS.md, which is a protected path requiring human approval. The change is authorized by linked issue [RTK+Ponytail] Review agent: flag inconsistent retry/backoff strategies within a file #248 and the PR description explains the rationale. Human approval is always required for protected-path changes, regardless of context.

Low

• [naming-consistency] AGENTS.md:65 — Section title "Code pattern consistency" is broader than its current content, which addresses only retry/backoff pattern consistency. The broader title is defensible if the section will accumulate additional code-pattern rules over time. Consider renaming to "Retry and backoff pattern consistency" or adding a clarifying sentence.

[guyoron1]

/fs-fix

[fullsend-ai-coder]

🤖 Finished Fix · ✅ Success · Started 5:42 PM UTC · Completed 5:50 PM UTC
Commit: d8e3df7 · View workflow run →

[fullsend-ai-coder]

🔧 Fix agent — iteration 1 (human-triggered)

Addressed 1 of 2 review findings. Added a clarifying intro sentence to the 'Code pattern consistency' section in AGENTS.md to explain the section's scope (currently retry/backoff, extensible to other patterns). Disagreed with the protected-path finding as it is procedural, not a code fix.

Fixed (1):

1. naming-consistency: section title broader than content (AGENTS.md): Added introductory sentence clarifying the section collects code-pattern rules for review and currently covers retry/backoff strategies, with room for additional rules over time.

Disagreed (1):

1. protected-path: AGENTS.md requires human approval: This is a procedural note, not a code defect. The fix agent cannot grant human approval — the CODEOWNERS enforcement and requires-manual-review label already ensure a human reviewer is required. No code change needed.

Tests: passed

_{Updated by fullsend fix agent}

[fullsend-ai-review]

🤖 Finished Review · ✅ Success · Started 5:53 PM UTC · Completed 5:59 PM UTC
Commit: d8e3df7 · View workflow run →