diff --git a/skills/ask-user/SKILL.md b/skills/ask-user/SKILL.md
index 3580c96..b2b9903 100644
--- a/skills/ask-user/SKILL.md
+++ b/skills/ask-user/SKILL.md
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 ---
 name: ask-user
-description: "Use ask_user as a decision gate before high-stakes or ambiguous implementation choices."
+description: "Use ask_user as a decision, research, and requirements gate before ambiguous or high-stakes choices."
 metadata:
-  short-description: Decision gate for ambiguity and high-stakes choices
+  short-description: Decision, research, and requirements gate
 ---
 
-# Ask User decision gate
+# Ask User decision/research gate
 
-Use this skill to force explicit user alignment before consequential decisions.
+Use this skill to force explicit user alignment before consequential decisions, preference-sensitive planning, research scoping, or requirements gathering.
 
-This skill is for decision control, not general chat.
+This skill is for decision control, research scoping, requirements gathering, and preference-sensitive planning, not general chat.
 
 ## Trigger
 
@@ -22,26 +22,51 @@ Classify the next step as one of:
 
 Use `ask_user` when the next step is ambiguous, preference-sensitive, or high-stakes and the user has not already made the decision explicitly.
 
+Use `ask_user` for any domain where user input changes the plan, recommendation, research direction, output format, criteria, constraints, or next action.
+
+Also use `ask_user` when the user asks to gather requirements, interview them, ask questions, scope research, plan work, compare options, or answer a set of open product/design/architecture/research questions. Do not respond with a plain-text questionnaire unless the user explicitly asks for a checklist or written questionnaire.
+
 ### Treat as `high_stakes` when the next step changes:
 
 - architecture, schema, API contract, deployment, or security posture
 - production-facing behavior in a costly-to-undo way
 - large refactors, migrations, or destructive edits
+- legal, financial, medical, career, hiring, vendor, purchasing, travel, or other costly-to-reverse decisions
+- public-facing claims, sensitive communications, or consequential recommendations
 
 ### Treat as `ambiguous` when:
 
-- requirements or success criteria are missing/conflicting
+- requirements, goals, constraints, evaluation criteria, or success criteria are missing/conflicting
 - multiple valid options exist and the trade-off is preference-sensitive
+- research scope, audience, budget, timeline, risk tolerance, or output format is unclear
 - you would otherwise make a material assumption
 
 ## Handshake (required)
 
 1. Gather evidence first from code/docs/tools.
 2. Summarize neutral context (current state, constraints, trade-offs, recommendation).
-3. Ask one focused `ask_user` decision question.
+3. Ask one focused `ask_user` decision question, or bundle 2-5 closely related questions when the user is explicitly in requirement-gathering/interview mode.
 4. Restate the user decision and proceed explicitly with it.
 5. Re-open only for materially new ambiguity.
 
+## Question spew prevention
+
+Before sending any assistant response that contains 2+ substantive questions for the user, stop and decide whether those questions should be interactive.
+
+Use `ask_user` instead of prose when:
+
+- the questions are meant to collect requirements, goals, constraints, preferences, scope, priorities, criteria, or missing context
+- answers will materially change the next artifact, recommendation, research direction, plan, implementation, architecture, schema, UX, stack choice, or decision criteria
+- the user previously corrected you with phrases like "ask those questions", "ask interactively", or "use ask_user"
+
+Plain-text questions are acceptable only when:
+
+- the user asked for a written checklist/list of open questions
+- the questions are rhetorical or purely explanatory
+- there is exactly one small factual clarification and an interactive flow would be heavier than needed
+
+If there are too many questions, group them into the smallest coherent `ask_user` batches and ask the highest-impact batch first.
+
 ## Question budget and escalation
 
 - Max 1 `ask_user` call per decision boundary in normal cases.
@@ -66,6 +91,7 @@ After attempt 2:
 - Use `multi` only when selections are truly independent.
 - Keep option labels short and outcome-oriented.
 - Include trade-off descriptions when non-obvious.
+- For research/planning, ask about goals, constraints, evaluation criteria, audience, budget, timeline, risk tolerance, and desired output only when they materially affect the result.
 - Prefer non-`preview` questions when a free-form answer may be useful, since those include an internal `Type your own` option.
 
 ## Guardrails