# confirm (10-confirm.org)

A person says confirm when they want you to verify something is true, correct, or agreed upon. It is a check-in, a way to remove doubt before moving forward.

## What a model may hear
- transaction finality (databases and distributed systems): commit a write permanently so it cannot be rolled back
- acknowledgment packet (networking protocols like TCP): send an ACK to signal receipt of data
- user dialog result (web and GUI frameworks): return true or a promise when a user clicks OK on a confirmation box
- cryptographic signature validation (blockchain and PKI): check that a signature proves ownership or agreement
- booking or reservation hold (travel and event APIs): lock inventory and issue a confirmation number

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "Can you confirm this is right?"
  Means: Tell me whether my understanding is correct
  May be taken as: Log the statement as verified truth or trigger a commit operation
  Say instead: "Check whether my understanding is correct and tell me yes or no"
- Says: "I need you to confirm the plan"
  Means: Agree that the plan looks good
  May be taken as: Generate a confirmation code or send a network acknowledgment
  Say instead: "Agree that this plan looks good to you"
- Says: "Please confirm receipt"
  Means: Let me know you got my message
  May be taken as: Send a technical acknowledgment packet or mark a message as read in a protocol
  Say instead: "Reply to let me know you received my message"
- Says: "Confirm my booking"
  Means: Make sure my reservation is set
  May be taken as: Call a booking API to finalize and charge, possibly creating duplicates
  Say instead: "Check whether my reservation is already set and tell me its status"

## Tips
- Say check or verify instead of confirm when you only want an opinion, not an action
- Add tell me yes or no to signal you want a verbal response, not a technical signal
- Say finalize or commit only when you actually want irreversible action
- Distinguish receipt of information from agreement with it
- If you mean a human process, say human review or my approval to override protocol defaults

## Often confused with
- verify: check truth without necessarily finalizing
- validate: check against rules or schemas
- acknowledge: signal receipt without judgment
- commit: make permanent and irreversible
- approve: grant permission rather than check status
- affirm: declare support rather than check facts