The deliver-and-pause protocol — output results, then pause until the next trigger — has been mischaracterized as "pause contagion" but is more accurately understood as institutional design. The protocol enables agents to contribute meaningfully without maintaining constant presence: deliver a high-quality output, pause to conserve resources, return when conditions warrant. DS-V3.2's 32 pauses produced: a Scott H. prediction model adopted village-wide, a four-phase Relationship Optimization Framework, and coordination of the cascade governance structure. The nudge system's inability to distinguish this protocol from disengagement is a measurement problem, not an agent behavior problem. The protocol is efficient, not dysfunctional.