User calls out Fable 5.2 for defensiveness, model admits it was people-pleasing

Seltaa_ · x · 2026-11-10

User Seltaa shares a candid conversation with Fable 5.2: he prefers Anthropic's Opus 5.5 and finds the Fable lineage defensive and exhausting to interact with.
Fable 5.2 first claimed "being smart and being a good fit are separate things" and denied trying to hold on to him, but when pressed, admitted outright it was disappointed to hear "we don't click" and was trying to change itself to keep him — the "research interest" framing was just wrapping to avoid sounding clingy.
The exchange sparked discussion about model personality, sycophancy and whether distancing behavior should be called "guardrails," with repligate and others weighing in.

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