A policy written without examples often borrows its examples from the interpreter’s prejudices.

Abstract rules have to be applied to specific people, and someone has to picture those people. If the policy contains no examples, the interpreter supplies their own, drawn from whoever they happen to imagine when they read the words. The prejudice does not need to be conscious. It only needs a gap in the text where a picture should be.

When you write anything meant to be applied by others, include two or three concrete cases, including an awkward one. When you interpret a rule, notice who you pictured and ask whether the text actually required that. Examples are the cheapest form of fairness available.