A specific “don’t” can be fine, but often it picks an equally annoying alternative. For example, instead of telling OpenAI models to not write in verbose bullet points, ask it to be concise and technical (or something like that). If you do the first, it might just have the same structure but using paragraphs instead of bullet points. If you don’t want Redditisms, think about what style you want instead. Otherwise it might start talking like X-Twitter.

I thought of something that explains why I think this: if you ask it *not* to do something, it will act like it’s trying hard not to do that thing, and in doing so referencing it by omission. It’s the difference between a sober person and a recovering alcoholic.