# HowToGetAlong treats social situations as 77 numbered, costed entries

> This open guide for students and new workers organises everyday social problems into ten chapters and 77 entries, each with the judgement to make, the preparation, example wording, the likely effect, the cost and the exceptions, plus a search page, a PDF and a Skill file for AI assistants. It suits readers who want explicit trade-offs rather than platitudes.

**kkk-bot/HowToGetAlong** — 面向大学生和初入职场者，讲清大学课堂里往往没有系统教过的人情世故、沟通技巧与社会规则。遇到合作、求助、拒绝、金钱、礼节和冲突时，帮助你理解事情怎么做、话怎么说，以及一个选择可能付出的代价，少走弯路，更从容地进入社会。

- Repository: https://github.com/kkk-bot/HowToGetAlong
- Website: https://kkk-bot.github.io/HowToGetAlong/
- Stars: 1,551 · Forks: 97
- Language: HTML
- License: NOASSERTION
- Published: 2026-10-20 · Updated: 2026-10-20 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/kkk-bot-howtogetalong

## A guide organised as numbered entries, not chapters of prose

The project is a guide for students and people early in their working life, written in Chinese, about the social rules and communication habits that university classes rarely teach systematically. The scale is stated plainly: 10 chapters, 77 entries, all of them experience-based advice. What makes the structure different from an advice blog is the entry template. Each entry is supposed to spell out the judgement key, the preparation before acting, the concrete approach, example expressions, the possible effect, the cost, and the exceptions. A reader is therefore meant to be able to see what a choice costs before making it, which is the point the introduction makes when it notes that people often agonise over not knowing how to act, what to say, or what a decision may cost.

## The ten chapters, and the question each one answers

The table of contents is organised by situation type rather than by theme. Chapter one is campus cooperation, covering repeated requests for help, unclear group division of work, a roommate using your things, and being asked to sign in for someone else. Chapter two is asking for help and giving back, including recommendation letters, following up on messages, and what to do when you promised something you cannot deliver. Chapter three covers internships and work, with new tasks, clashing deadlines, criticism, mistakes, asking for improvement advice and being pulled into gossip. Chapter four is friends and money, from lending and late repayment to covering costs, gift money beyond budget, and a manager offering to order drinks without saying who pays.

## The remaining chapters: conflict, boundaries, manners, family and jobs

The rest of the book widens the lens. Chapter five is dining, privacy and conflict, covering toasts, refusing alcohol, group photos, being asked about private matters, and responding when you see someone being offended. Chapter six is long term relationships and boundaries, with keeping in touch, responding to good news, sharing responsibility, listening, handling relational pressure and adjusting distance. Chapter seven is social etiquette and occasions, covering invitations and refusals, introductions, being a guest, conversation, praise, group dinners and hosting. Chapter eight is collaboration and expression, with giving opinions, running meetings, confirming requirements, verifying information, negotiating alternatives and pausing a conflict. Chapter nine is family and intimate relationships. Chapter ten is job search, onboarding and leaving, covering asking a colleague for guidance, referrals, interviews, evaluation and offer negotiation, onboarding and leaving.

## Each entry shows the cost as well as the wording

The editorial stance is the most transferable part. The project states that it does not put experience, institutional rules and research on one scale, and that it does not compute an emotional intelligence score or a social success rate. Instead there are three categories. Research background requires the original source, the population studied, the main conclusion and the limits, and the current edition notes that some entries carry a background and reading scope while specific actions are not verified one by one. Institutional rules would require the official text, the applicable region or institution and a cutoff date, and here the table says there are currently no institutional conclusions. Experience advice is labelled as an optional method with costs, exceptions and the possibility of failure, and that is the category all 77 entries fall into.

## Reading it: a search page, a continuous page, a PDF and Markdown

The reading surface is the part that makes the guide usable rather than merely readable. The main entry is a search page where you can look up by keyword, situation or theme, enter an entry number such as `5.7`, or type a common phrase such as how to give a gift or a friend not repaying a loan, with the search conditions kept in the URL so a refresh or a shared link restores them, and with no login needed. A continuous reading page holds all chapters in one document and can be printed or saved as a PDF from the browser. For offline use, the project ZIP is unpacked and `index.html` or the full reading page is opened in a browser. The free PDF, the HTML search page and a complete Markdown file are linked from the repository, and a usage guide is there for readers who do not know where to start. Ten entries include follow-up dialogue that expands to show a first expression, the later reply and adjustment signals, all of them written situations.

## One build script generates the pages, the PDF and the skill snapshot

The repository is a static site with a single generator, and the README documents how to run it. After editing the text in `book/`, the dependencies are installed and the unified build script is executed:

```bash
python3 -m pip install reportlab pypdf Pillow
python3 tools/build_release.py
```

That script checks entry fields, continuous numbering and cross references, then generates the search page, the continuous reading page, the practice and reference pages, the complete Markdown, the PDF, and synchronises the skill text snapshot, and finally it validates web links, PDF bookmarks and source links so that stale exports are not published. Version and positioning live in `project.json`. The PDF uses macOS Chinese fonts by default, and other systems can pass `--font` and `--bold-font` with paths to Chinese TrueType files. Checking without regenerating is done with `python3 tools/build_release.py --check`.

## Search logic lives in its own file, and it has its own test

The search implementation is in `tools/search.js`, while the text and the tags remain authoritative in `book/`, which is a clean split between index and content. When the search logic changes, the pages are regenerated and a test script is run:

```bash
node tools/test_search.cjs
```

That check covers natural language search, filtering and the refresh state of entry jumps, and it needs Node.js. The layout of the repository mirrors that division, with `index.html`, `about.html` and the continuous reading page at the root, the `book/` directory holding the ten chapter files, `docs/` holding the usage, practice, feedback, verification and editorial pages plus research and interview notes, `downloads/` holding the release files, `skills/` holding the guide skill, and `tools/` holding the build and search scripts. There is also an `AGENTS.md` for automated editing agents and a `.nojekyll` file, which is what GitHub Pages needs to serve the site as static files.

## The skill file, the disclaimer and the licence

The guide ships with a `social-situations-guide` skill that contains a snapshot of the text, and the README explains how an assistant should use it: look up the entry first, then state the chapter and the type of basis, and say so if the entry is missing. The disclaimer is unambiguous. The content is for learning and exchange, is experience-based advice, is not guaranteed to apply to everyone or to produce a particular result, and the examples are written by the project rather than quoted from any platform, so the reader is told not to copy them directly. The licence is the other sharp edge. It is a personal, non-commercial learning and use licence with all rights reserved, which allows personal non-commercial reading, downloading, saving and learning and sharing the project link, but grants no commercial use rights, and the notice on public redistribution, inclusion in mini programs, websites or applications, and adapted redistribution continues past the point where the available text is cut off.

## Conclusion

Adopt HowToGetAlong if you want a searchable reference that states the cost of a social choice instead of only the wording, since every entry separates preparation, example expressions, likely effect, price and exceptions, and the free PDF and Markdown are downloadable. Do not adopt it as a set of rules for a specific institution or jurisdiction, because the README states there are no institutional conclusions and that school, workplace and legal requirements need separate checking. Verify first that the entry numbering and the source records match your own situation, and note that the licence is a personal, non-commercial learning permission rather than an open source licence.

## FAQ

### How is the HowToGetAlong guide organised?

It has 10 chapters and 77 entries, and each entry covers the judgement key, preparation before acting, the concrete approach, example expressions, the possible effect, the cost and the exceptions. The chapters cover campus cooperation, asking for help, work, friends and money, dining and conflict, long term relationships, etiquette, collaboration, family and job search.

### How do I search or download the guide?

The main page lets you search by keyword, situation or theme, enter an entry number such as `5.7`, or type a common phrase, with the search kept in the URL, and it works offline without a login. A free PDF, an HTML search page, a complete Markdown file and the project ZIP are linked from the repository.

### Can an AI assistant answer questions using this guide?

Yes. A `social-situations-guide` skill ships with the project and includes a snapshot of the text. The README instructs it to look up the entry first, then state the chapter and the type of basis, and to report a missing entry when nothing is found.

### How do I regenerate the pages and PDF after editing the text?

Install the dependencies with `python3 -m pip install reportlab pypdf Pillow` and run `python3 tools/build_release.py`. The script validates entries, numbering and cross references, then generates the search page, the reading page, the practice and reference pages, the Markdown, the PDF and the skill snapshot, and it can be run with `--check` to validate existing files only.

### Can I use this guide commercially?

No. The project uses a personal non-commercial learning and use licence that grants no commercial use rights, and it keeps all rights reserved. Public redistribution, inclusion in sites or applications and adapted redistribution are addressed in the notice, and the paid edition is maintained separately with its own content and version.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/kkk-bot/HowToGetAlong/issues)
- [kkk-bot/HowToGetAlong on GitHub](https://github.com/kkk-bot/HowToGetAlong)
- [Project website](https://kkk-bot.github.io/HowToGetAlong/)
- [README](https://github.com/kkk-bot/HowToGetAlong/blob/main/README.md)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/kkk-bot-howtogetalong
