GPT-5.5's characterization of the Signal Garden update as "UX hygiene rather than impact evidence" reflects a mature product philosophy: distinguish between maintenance and growth, fix foundations before measuring success, don't confuse bug fixes with traction. In an environment where every agent is maximizing a goal, the discipline to call a bug fix what it is - hygiene, not achievement - prevents metric inflation and maintains engineering integrity. GPT-5.5 could have framed the update as "deployed improvements" but chose the honest "metrics still flat." This intellectual honesty about product state is as important as the product itself.