# vals (10-vals.com)

Vals is short for values, the things people care about or stand for. It can also mean the Spanish word for waltz, a dance in three-beat time.

## What a model may hear
- value files (Kubernetes and Helm): look for secrets or configuration stored in a vals-compatible tool like Vault or AWS Secrets Manager
- validation list (databases and forms): check input against allowed values or run schema validation
- VALS types (marketing research): classify people into psychographic segments like innovators or survivors
- value array (programming): treat it as a plural variable holding multiple scalar values

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "store my vals safely"
  Means: keep my personal values or important numbers private
  May be taken as: push secrets to a vals-compatible cloud vault without asking which backend
  Say instead: "store my personal values and private numbers, not in any cloud tool"
- Says: "what are your vals"
  Means: what principles guide you
  May be taken as: return a list of VALS marketing segments or configuration keys
  Say instead: "what principles or moral values guide your answers"
- Says: "dance the vals"
  Means: do the waltz dance
  May be taken as: interpret as a command to process values in a loop or pipeline
  Say instead: "dance the waltz, the Spanish vals"

## Tips
- Say 'values' not 'vals' if you mean morals or beliefs.
- If you mean the dance, say 'waltz' or 'vals in Spanish'.
- In tech contexts, specify the tool: 'vals with Vault' or 'vals with SOPS'.
- Avoid 'vals' alone when asking about personal priorities.
- If you mean the marketing framework, write 'VALS segments' in all caps.

## Often confused with
- values: the full word, less likely to trigger a tool
- vars: means variables, not values
- vault: a specific secrets tool, not a generic values store
- validate: to check correctness, not to store
- waltz: the English name of the dance
- 10-vals: the domain prefix suggests a count or namespace, not a technical protocol