Universal
People: when to make contact, and how to protect yourself
Before the "workbench" milestone, contact with other survivors is almost pure risk: you have nothing to offer and both sides are at their limit. After the workbench you have something to trade — and then contact can be worth it.
The ladder of contact
1. Avoidance → 2. Watching from a distance → 3. "Silent trade" — a historical way of exchanging goods between sides that do not trust each other, recorded from Carthage to South-East Asia: you leave your goods at an agreed spot, give a signal and walk away; the other side puts theirs down and also walks away; you either take theirs, which closes the deal, or walk off again, meaning it is not enough — with no meeting and no words at all → 4. Talking at a distance, empty hands visible → 5. Direct exchange of small items on neutral ground → 6. A temporary alliance, sharing watches and information → 7. Merging the groups — the greatest gain and the greatest risk, and only after trust has been confirmed many times over.
Move up the ladder one step at a time, and never start from the middle.
Protection means being noticed early and avoided, not weapons
An alarm line: thin cord 30–40 cm off the ground across the path to your camp, tied to tins with pebbles in them — the noise warns you before anyone arrives, and often scares them off by itself. Your camp: one approach you can watch, your back to an obstacle such as water or rock. Talking your way out is almost always better than winning a fight — an injury with no medicine can cost more than the confrontation would. Never tell an outsider exactly where your camp and your stores are.