GL6 Conformance Policy -- a new twist

The example below may give new insights into the value of a guideline
and checkpoints on Conformance Policy. Today, a spec editor responded
to a request for clarification/erratum by saying that the meaning of
the current spec could be discerned by applying a principle that the
more specific rule takes precedence over the more general rule. But
the spec in question never says that such a principle is in force!

Checkpoints are a way to draw out hidden policies and interpretations,
even legalistic ones like the above. The above may also reflect a view
that is not shared among all cultures in the world, so ascribing the
principle to "common understanding" is unwise.
.................David Marston