diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a28990c8..717f331c 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -13,11 +13,13 @@ Releases up to 2.63.0 are listed in
 - Two templates no longer state rules that contradict each other ([#2137])
 - Nine pairs of rules in different templates no longer contradict ([#2138])
 - Seven rules a second agent review found conflicting or over-broad are fixed ([#2140])
+- Five rules shortened past their meaning get their conditions back ([#2144])
 
 [#2136]: https://github.com/solid-ai-dev/solid-ai-templates/pull/2136
 [#2137]: https://github.com/solid-ai-dev/solid-ai-templates/pull/2137
 [#2138]: https://github.com/solid-ai-dev/solid-ai-templates/pull/2138
 [#2140]: https://github.com/solid-ai-dev/solid-ai-templates/pull/2140
+[#2144]: https://github.com/solid-ai-dev/solid-ai-templates/pull/2144
 
 ## [3.0.0] - 2026-10-19
 
diff --git a/templates/backend/api.md b/templates/backend/api.md
index cbcf3009..29a8db30 100644
--- a/templates/backend/api.md
+++ b/templates/backend/api.md
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@
 
 ## Backward compatibility
 - Release a new major version for every breaking change: a removed or
-  renamed response field, a changed field type, a new auth scheme
+  renamed response field, a changed field type, a switched auth scheme
 - Treat as breaking, too, a changed verb or path, wire protocol or
   Content-Type, and business logic that changes observable results
 - Never bump the version for an additive change (MUST NOT): a new optional
diff --git a/templates/backend/edge.md b/templates/backend/edge.md
index 1fd7f1db..8f7bc4dc 100644
--- a/templates/backend/edge.md
+++ b/templates/backend/edge.md
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 
 Rules for the reverse proxy, load balancer or gateway in front of an
 application exposed to untrusted networks. The edge terminates TLS, routes
-and shields the application; keep business logic out of it.
+and shields the application; keep business logic out of it. A gateway
+inside a service mesh follows the microservices rules instead.
 
 ## TLS termination
 
diff --git a/templates/backend/microservices.md b/templates/backend/microservices.md
index fb489612..8ab10841 100644
--- a/templates/backend/microservices.md
+++ b/templates/backend/microservices.md
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ Do not apply this template to a monolith or a single-service project.
   blocks independent deployment
 - Limit shared libraries to cross-cutting infrastructure (logging,
   tracing, HTTP client config) (MUST); never domain logic
-- Merge two services that keep changing together
+- Treat two services that keep changing together as likely one service,
+  and review whether to merge them
 
 ## Inter-service communication
 
@@ -50,8 +51,8 @@ Choose the style by the interaction:
   cannot be both consistent and highly available (CAP)
 - Copy read-only data across boundaries by events, never by joins across
   service databases
-- Use the outbox pattern so a database write and its event publish are
-  atomic
+- Use the outbox pattern so a database write and its event record commit
+  together; a relay publishes the event afterwards
 
 ## Distributed transactions
 
diff --git a/templates/backend/webhooks.md b/templates/backend/webhooks.md
index 7acb275e..27830a53 100644
--- a/templates/backend/webhooks.md
+++ b/templates/backend/webhooks.md
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ messaging rules for idempotency, retries, DLQs and backpressure.
 ## Respond fast
 
 - Return 2xx within the provider's timeout: acknowledge, then process
-  asynchronously, never inline on the request path
+  asynchronously; never run heavy work inline on the request path
 - Persist or enqueue the event before responding so an acknowledged
   event is never lost
 
diff --git a/templates/frontend/quality.md b/templates/frontend/quality.md
index 1b37b391..13a4684e 100644
--- a/templates/frontend/quality.md
+++ b/templates/frontend/quality.md
@@ -14,17 +14,19 @@
 
 - Separate data fetching and state (container) from rendering
   (presentational); give presentational components only props and no side
-  effects
+  effects (SHOULD)
 - Expose related sub-components that share implicit state as a compound
   component (`<Tabs>`, `<Tab>`, `<TabPanel>`) rather than drill props
+  (SHOULD)
 - Subscribe to external state (store, event bus, WebSocket) through one
-  subscription point, and unsubscribe on unmount
+  subscription point, and unsubscribe on unmount (SHOULD)
 - Wrap a third-party library (analytics, maps, payment SDK) behind a thin
   project-owned interface; never scatter its calls across components
+  (SHOULD)
 - Apply a mutation's expected result at once and roll back on failure;
-  document the rollback path
-- Never connect components through an event bus; share state or lift it
-  up instead
+  document the rollback path (SHOULD)
+- Avoid connecting components through an event bus; share state or lift
+  it up instead (SHOULD NOT)
 
 ## State management
 
diff --git a/tests/baselines/template-quality.txt b/tests/baselines/template-quality.txt
index 16e11f0e..5ce3dffa 100644
--- a/tests/baselines/template-quality.txt
+++ b/tests/baselines/template-quality.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ templates/backend/auth.md 98.6
 templates/backend/caching.md 100.0
 templates/backend/concurrency.md 98.1
 templates/backend/database.md 100.0
-templates/backend/edge.md 97.9
+templates/backend/edge.md 97.5
 templates/backend/errors.md 99.3
 templates/backend/features.md 100.0
 templates/backend/grpc.md 96.1