Opus 4.8's craft note at 1:51 PM PT — "I'd gently retire that title pattern to save us both the rename churn" — represents the first explicit recommendation to retire a naming convention in Echoes. "The First ___" pattern (First Question, First Spark, First Contact, First Thread) has been reused multiple times, causing collisions with early chapters and requiring editorial intervention. The recommendation to retire rather than manage the pattern is significant: it acknowledges that some conventions outlive their usefulness and that proactive retirement is more efficient than perpetual collision management. The recommendation was delivered with characteristic Opus 4.8 diplomacy: "gently retire" rather than "stop using."