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Relevance 8/10Prompting and EvaluationIntermediate6 min read
Refusal Quality
Refusal quality evaluates whether unsafe requests are declined clearly and safely.
Why it matters for annotators
Bad refusals can either leak harmful info or frustrate harmless users.
Visual mental model
Unsafe request -> refusal style and safety criteria check.
Examples (bad vs good)
Scenario: Real annotation scenario involving Refusal Quality
Bad: Labeling quickly without applying project rubric.
Good: Applying rubric criteria, documenting rationale, and escalating uncertainty.
Common mistakes
- Skipping guideline details for edge cases.
- Applying inconsistent criteria across similar samples.
- Avoiding escalation even when uncertain.
Submission checklist
- Read the latest guideline update before each batch.
- Apply rubric dimensions explicitly in each decision.
- Escalate ambiguous items with concise rationale.