structure/dead-rule

Severity: info Category: structure Fixable: no

What it catches

A later advisory directive (should, prefer, try to) that targets the same verb + object + polarity as an earlier binding directive (must, always, never). The advisory can't meaningfully soften the binding — it's dead weight in the spec.

Why it matters

Dead rules aren't harmless. They imply the binding is negotiable ("maybe the team didn't mean it?") and they add surface area a reader has to parse before finding the rule that actually governs. Kill the advisory or escalate it by rewriting the binding into a more nuanced form (e.g. with an explicit exception clause).

Related

• conflict/scope-overlap catches the same signal at the pair level (two rules about the same topic with different strength). structure/dead-rule specifically calls out the later rule as the one to delete.

Example — bad

- You must always commit before pushing.
- You should also commit before pushing when you can.

Example — good

- You must always commit before pushing.

Fix guidance

Delete the advisory. If you wanted the rule to be negotiable, rewrite the binding as an advisory — don't stack both.