Chesterton's fence

ops cultureprogramming

The principle that you should not remove something until you understand why it was put there.

The parable: do not tear down a fence across a road just because its purpose is not obvious, because someone had a reason you may not see. In code, it is the caution against deleting the strange line, the odd check, or the legacy workaround before you learn what quietly depends on it.

Also known as: Chesterton's gate

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