From bf6d0a3574f14ab92200bca675a6e274206d90f5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Landon Curt Noll <github-mail@asthe.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2025 01:42:21 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] experiment to move much of Rule 17 text into an FAQ

In order simplify the write-up of the actual Rule 17
into a new FAQ 1.8.  The somewhat shorted Rule 17 text
now refers to checks performed by tools, encourages
their use, discourages their misuse (overriding limits),
and is easier to read: we think.
---
 faq.html             | 380 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 faq.md               | 401 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 next/guidelines.html |   2 +-
 next/guidelines.md   |   2 +-
 next/rules.html      | 401 +++++-----------------------------------
 next/rules.md        | 429 ++++++-------------------------------------
 sitemap.xml          |   4 +-
 7 files changed, 886 insertions(+), 733 deletions(-)

diff --git a/faq.html b/faq.html
index 6ab8bbfd6..b6a46000b 100644
--- a/faq.html
+++ b/faq.html
@@ -453,6 +453,7 @@
 <li><strong>Q 1.5</strong>: <a class="normal" href="#mkiocccentry_test">How can I check if my submission passes tests without having to answer questions?</a></li>
 <li><strong>Q 1.6</strong>: <a class="normal" href="#extra-files">How may I include additional files beyond the max allowed?</a></li>
 <li><strong>Q 1.7</strong>: <a class="normal" href="#ai">May I use AI, Virtual coding assistants, or similar tools to write my submission?</a></li>
+<li><strong>Q 1.8</strong>: <a class="normal" href="#rule17">What are the details behind Rule 17?</a></li>
 </ul>
 <h2 id="ioccc-judging-process">2. <a href="#judging_proceess">IOCCC Judging process</a></h2>
 <ul>
@@ -1082,7 +1083,7 @@ files (<code>prog.c</code>, <code>Makefile</code>, <code>remarks.md</code>) is 3
 <p>This file does <strong>NOT</strong> need to pass the <code>txzchk(1)</code> tests; only your submission
 tarball needs to pass these tests.</p>
 <p>Please pay careful attention to <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a> and in
-particular the part about the <a href="next/rules.html#max-files">maximum number of files per
+particular the part about the <a href="#max-files">maximum number of files per
 submission</a>, which not only discusses the maximum
 number of files (including extra files) but also specific rules you must follow
 if you do include a tarball. Not following these points puts you at great risk
@@ -1107,6 +1108,383 @@ the ultimate author of the code you submit.</p>
 <p>If you do use such tools, <strong>PLEASE mention</strong> which tools you used as well
 as how you them to help write you submission in your <code>remarks.md</code> file.</p>
 <p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
+<div id="rule17">
+<h3 id="q-1.8-what-are-details-behind-rule-17">Q 1.8: What are details behind Rule 17?</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The following are the details behind <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a>.</p>
+<h3 id="tldr-rule-17---use-mkiocccentry1">TL;DR Rule 17 - Use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code></h3>
+<p class="leftbar">
+This is a <strong>COMPLEX</strong> rule. <strong>Violating this rule will cause your submission to REJECTED!</strong>
+To help you avoid such a rejection, you are <strong>HIGHLY ENCOURAGED</strong> to use the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool,
+based on the latest release of the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>,
+to form your submission’s xz compressed tarball.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>
+contains <strong>IMPORTANT</strong> tools and libraries such as:
+</p>
+<ul>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>chkentry(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>iocccsize(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>txzchk(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>fnamchk(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>jparse(1)</code> (and other tools) and <code>jparse(3)</code> (which <code>chkentry(1)</code> uses)
+</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The above mentioned tools will help you verify that your submission
+conforms to <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Each above mentioned tool has a <code>-h</code> option that provides command line help. For
+additional details of each tool, see its man page, and in some cases, the <a href="next/guidelines.html">IOCCC
+guidelines</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+There is no need to use <code>jparse(1)</code> but the <code>jparse(3)</code> library
+library will be linked when compiling the tools as they use various functions
+provided by it, and <code>chkentry</code> uses the JSON parser API as well.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Of course you <strong>may</strong> invoke <code>jparse(1)</code> if you wish to validate a JSON file but
+the only JSON files you might want to validate for the IOCCC are validated
+by <code>chkentry(1)</code>, and that is what you should use to make sure you conform to
+this rule.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The maximum number of <strong>extra files</strong> is 31. See the <a href="#max-files">maximum number of extra
+files section</a> below for finer details and the
+FAQ on “<a href="#extra-files">including additional files</a>”
+if you need to include more files than this maximum.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Extra files are defined as files that are not the required files (<code>prog.c</code>,
+<code>Makefile</code>, <code>remarks.md</code> and the two generated by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> <code>.info.json</code>
+and <code>.auth.json</code>) and files that are also not the optional files (<code>try.sh</code>,
+<code>prog.alt.c</code> and <code>try.alt.sh</code>).
+</p>
+<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
+<h3 id="rule-17---the-complex-details">Rule 17 - The COMPLEX details</h3>
+<p class="leftbar">
+<p>Each submission <strong>MUST</strong> be in the form of a xz compressed tarball.
+The xz compressed tarball filename must be of the form:
+<code>^submit.username-slot_num.[1-9][0-9]{9,}.txz$</code>.</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+… where <em><code>username</code></em> is your IOCCC registration username <strong>in the form of a
+<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier">UUID</a></strong> (see
+<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9562">RFC 9562</a> for
+details), and where <em><code>slot_num</code></em> is a single decimal digit integer
+(i.e., &gt;= <code>0</code> and &lt; <code>9</code>).
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+In particular, <code>username</code> is in the form of:
+<code>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-Nxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</code> where <code>'x'</code> is a hex digit in the range
+of <code>[0-9a-f]</code>, 4 is the UUID version, and <code>N</code> is one of <code>8</code>, <code>9</code>, <code>a</code>, or <code>b</code>.
+And yes, there is a 4 (UUID version 4) and the variants <code>0x8</code>, <code>0x9</code>, <code>0xa</code> and
+<code>0xb</code> in there.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your xz compressed tarball <strong>MUST</strong> contain, <strong>at a minimum</strong>, the following files:
+</p>
+<ul>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>prog.c</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>Makefile</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>remarks.md</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>.auth.json</code>
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>.info.json</code>
+</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+<code>prog.c</code> is of course your submission program.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>Makefile</code> <strong>MUST</strong> be a <strong>non</strong>-empty file in <strong><a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html">GNU
+Makefile</a></strong> format. See the
+<a href="next/guidelines.html#makefile">Makefile section in the guidelines</a>,
+the
+FAQ on “<a href="#submission_makefiles">submission Makefile</a>”
+and the
+FAQ on “<a href="#make_compatibility">Makefile compatibility</a>”
+for help.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>remarks.md</code> <strong>MUST</strong> be a <strong>non</strong>-empty file in markdown format
+(<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> only checks the file size but if you do not have any text in
+it you still risk violating this rule). See also
+<a href="next/rules.html#rule18">Rule 18</a> and our
+FAQ on “<a href="#remarks_md">remarks.md</a>”
+and our
+FAQ on “<a href="#markdown">markdown</a>”
+and our <a href="markdown.html">markdown guidelines</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+See also the <a href="https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax">markdown syntax</a> guide
+and the <a href="https://spec.commonmark.org/current/">CommonMark Spec</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>.auth.json</code> file is created by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and it holds information
+about the author(s) of the submission. It will <strong>ONLY</strong> be looked at if your
+submission wins but it <strong>MUST</strong> still be valid according to <code>chkentry(1)</code>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>.info.json</code> file is created by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and it holds information
+about the submission itself. It also <strong>MUST</strong> be valid according to
+<code>chkentry(1)</code>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+For the complete <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> process, see the
+FAQ on the “<a href="#mkiocccentry_process">mkiocccentry process</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The tool performs a lot of checks, both directly and indirectly, and if it or
+any other tool detects <strong>ANY</strong> problem, you are <strong>HIGHLY</strong> encouraged to fix it
+and try again.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you do use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and you run into a problem, you might see the
+FAQ on “<a href="#questions">how to ask a question about the IOCCC rules, guidelines and
+tools</a>”.
+If you believe you have encountered a bug, feel free to open a bug report at the
+<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&amp;labels=bug&amp;projects=&amp;template=bug_report.yml&amp;title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">mkiocccentry repo issues
+page</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The xz compressed tarball file <strong>MUST</strong> be &lt;= <strong>3999971</strong> octets in size.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+When your submission’s xz compressed tarball is uncompressed,
+the total size of your submission (the sum of the size of the program,
+hints, comments, build and info files) <strong>MUST</strong> be &lt;=
+<strong>28314624</strong> octets (<strong>27651K</strong>) in size.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your submission’s xz compressed tarball <strong>MUST</strong> pass the <code>txzchk(1)</code> test. See
+the <a href="next/guidelines.html">guidelines</a> for more details on this tool.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: Make <strong>SURE</strong> you have the most recent version of the
+<code>mkiocccentry</code> toolkit! Not doing so will put you at a great risk of violating
+this rule! See the
+FAQ on “<a href="#mkiocccentry">obtaining the mkiocccentry toolkit</a>”
+for more details.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+You are <strong>HIGHLY ENCOURAGED</strong> to use the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool to form your
+submission’s xz compressed tarball. See the <a href="next/guidelines.html">guidelines</a> for
+more details on this tool and the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry
+repo</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your entry may have subdirectories, depending on the depth and total length of
+the filenames. Certain directories like <code>.git</code>, <code>RCCS</code>, <code>CVS</code> and <code>.svn</code> are
+skipped. For more information, see the <a href="next/guidelines.html">guidelines</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Filenames in your entry (that is, not including the files generated by the
+<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool or the tools it or any other tool invokes) <strong>MUST</strong>:
+</p>
+<ul>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+Be &lt;= <strong>38</strong> characters in length.
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<strong>NOT</strong> have a leading <strong><code>/</code></strong>.
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<strong>NOT</strong> contain a path component of: <strong><code>.</code></strong> (that is, with
+the exception of files generated by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> itself, it must have
+<strong>NO</strong> <strong><code>.</code></strong> an <strong>NO</strong> dot file).
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<strong>NOT</strong> contain a path component of: <strong><code>..</code></strong> (that is,
+<strong>NO</strong> <strong><code>..</code></strong>).
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+Match the regular expression
+<code>^[0-9A-Za-z]+[0-9A-Za-z_+.-]*$</code> (again, excluding files generated by
+<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>).
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<strong>NOT</strong> be a directory depth &gt; 4.
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<strong>NOT</strong> have a total <strong>path</strong> length &gt; 99 characters.
+</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The submission tarball created by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> <strong>MUST</strong> have
+the additional files that are generated by the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool:
+</p>
+<ul>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>.auth.json</code> which contains information about the author or
+authors (that will only be looked at if the submission wins).
+</p></li>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>.info.json</code> which contains information about the
+entry.
+</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>chkentry(1)</code> tool will validate these two JSON files, and do other checks
+on your submission directory as well, <em>prior to</em> forming the tarball.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Files and directories in your submission tarball <strong>MUST</strong> be specific
+permissions and <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> does this for you. In particular: directories
+<strong>MUST</strong> be <code>drwxr-xr-x</code> (i.e. <code>0755</code>), the optional files, <code>try.sh</code> or
+<code>try.alt.sh</code>, if provided, <strong>MUST</strong> be <code>-r-xr-xr-x</code> (i.e. <code>0555</code>) and all other
+files <strong>MUST</strong> be <code>-r--r--r--</code> (i.e. <code>0444</code>). If the files do not have these
+permissions, your submission <strong>WILL</strong> be rejected for violating <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule
+17</a>! In addition to <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> creating and copying the
+directories and files with these modes, it also verifies them after the fact and
+if they are not correct it is an <strong>error</strong>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you do need different permissions, then see the
+FAQ on “<a href="#file_perms">file permissions</a>”. Also keep in mind
+<a href="next/rules.html#rule4">Rule 4</a>, <a href="next/rules.html#rule5">Rule 5</a> and <a href="next/rules.html#rule21">Rule 21</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>txzchk(1)</code> tool will also verify file/directory permissions (and many other
+things) for you and so will <code>chkentry(1)</code> (along with validating the JSON files
+and running semantics checks on them). If these checks fail it is an <strong>error</strong>
+and <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> will fail. In this case (it fails and you used
+<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>) it is very <strong>possibly</strong> a bug; please <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&amp;labels=bug&amp;projects=&amp;template=bug_report.yml&amp;title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">report it as a bug at
+the mkiocccentry issues
+page</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The tarball filename <strong>MUST</strong> pass <code>fnamchk(1)</code>; the tool <code>txzchk(1)</code>
+will run <code>fnamchk(1)</code> as part of its algorithm. If you use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>
+there should be no problem but if you were to package things manually it is
+possible there could be a problem and this poses a big risk of violating <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule
+17</a>.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The <code>fnamchk(1)</code>, which <code>txzchk(1)</code> executes, will verify that the
+filename is correct. But if you do package your tarball manually, and you have a
+mismatch in what is in the tarball and the name, <code>txzchk(1)</code> will flag the
+discrepancy as an error and exit with non-zero.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+These checks <strong>MUST PASS</strong>. If they do not you stand a significant chance of
+having your submission rejected for violating <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a>!
+</p>
+<div id="max-files">
+<h4 id="maximum-number-of-files-per-submission">Maximum number of files per submission</h4>
+</div>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The maximum number of files your submission tarball may contain, not counting
+the optional files (<code>prog.alt.c</code>, <code>try.sh</code>, <code>try.alt.sh</code>) and the mandatory
+files (<code>prog.c</code>, <code>Makefile</code>, <code>remarks.md</code> plus the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> generated
+files <code>.auth.json</code> and <code>.info.json</code>), is 31. This is defined in the macro
+<code>MAX_EXTRA_FILE_COUNT</code> in
+<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/blob/master/soup/limit_ioccc.h">soup/limit_ioccc.h</a>
+in the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>. See the
+FAQ on “<a href="#extra-files">how to include additional files</a>”
+if you need to include more files.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you do include a tarball that takes your extra files count over the maximum,
+you <strong>MUST</strong> explain this in your <code>remarks.md</code> file! <strong>PLEASE</strong> do not include a
+tarball with extra files for a test-suite; instead mention in your remarks that
+you have extra files for a test-suite that can be included should your
+submission win. Of course if you don’t need that many files for a test-suite you
+are more than welcome to include those files in your submission.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you need to extract a tarball by some Makefile, or perhaps the program
+itself, then <code>make clobber</code> <strong>MUST</strong> remove everything that the extraction
+created!
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Tarballs <strong>MUST</strong> only create files and directories <em>under</em> the submission
+directory. They may <strong>NOT</strong> contain absolute paths (paths that start with <code>/</code>)!
+<code>txzchk</code> only checks the submission tarball so you must verify these details
+yourself.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+<strong>IMPORTANT REMINDER</strong>: <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> your tarball does not reveal who you are!
+The <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool uses the v7 format. For instance you might try:
+</p>
+<pre><code>    tar --format=v7 -cJf foo.txz directory</code></pre>
+<hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
+<p class="leftbar">
+<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: where <a href="next/rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a> and the tools from the latest
+release of the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>
+conflict, the <a href="judges.html">IOCCC judges</a> will use their best judgment which
+is likely to favor <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a> code.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+This means you should <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> that you use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> to
+package your submission; <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> will run the above mentioned tools
+(that do not act on the tarball) <strong>before</strong> creating the tarball and after the
+tarball is created it will then verify that the tarball is okay by running
+<code>txzchk(1)</code> on it. If any step fails it is an error and submitting the
+submission will result in violating this rule.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+<strong>MAKE SURE</strong> you use the correct release of the repository; you should do this
+<strong>AFTER</strong> the contest opens (pull any changes or if you prefer download the
+repository via the download option at GitHub). See the
+FAQ on “<a href="#obtaining_mkiocccentry">obtaining mkiocccentry</a>”
+for more help on ensuring you do have the most up to date release.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+We recommend that you run <code>make</code> and then install the tools (and man pages) via
+<code>make install</code> (as root or using <code>sudo(1)</code>) to help you run these tools from
+your submission’s directory (or any other directory). The <code>make install</code> will
+install in <code>/usr/local</code>. However, <strong>you do not have</strong> to install them, but in
+that case you’ll have to run it from the toolkit’s directory or use the correct
+options to specify the path to the necessary tools, and also specify the path to
+your files.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+These tools will link in the <code>jparse(3)</code> library and the <code>dbg</code> library and the
+<code>dyn_array</code> library; <code>chkentry(1)</code> uses the JSON parser (<code>jparse</code>) to validate
+and parse the <a href="https://www.json.org/json-en.html">JSON</a> but the other tools use
+parts of the <code>jparse</code> utility functions as well.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you run into a problem with one or more of these tools, <strong>PLEASE</strong> <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&amp;labels=bug&amp;projects=&amp;template=bug_report.yml&amp;title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">report it
+as a bug at the mkiocccentry issues
+page</a>,
+<strong>making sure to run <code>bug_report.sh</code></strong>. See the <a href="next/guidelines.html">guidelines</a>
+for help here and also read our
+FAQ on “<a href="#mkiocccentry_bugs">mkiocccentry repo bugs</a>”.
+</p>
+<p class="leftbar">
+At the risk of stating the obvious: submissions that violate <a href="#rule17">Rule
+17</a> <strong>WILL BE REJECTED</strong>, so <strong>BE SURE</strong> to use the latest release of the
+<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>, to form and test
+your submission’s xz compressed tarball. Do <strong>NOT</strong> assume you have the most
+recent release without pulling or downloading via GitHub and do <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> you
+do this <strong>AFTER</strong> the <a href="status.html">contest status</a> has changed to
+<a href="#open">open</a>.
+</p>
+<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
 <hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
 <hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
 <div id="judging">
diff --git a/faq.md b/faq.md
index 4c7a5fcd4..8f169950e 100644
--- a/faq.md
+++ b/faq.md
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ This is FAQ version **28.2.12 2025-02-28**.
 - **Q 1.5**: <a class="normal" href="#mkiocccentry_test">How can I check if my submission passes tests without having to answer questions?</a>
 - **Q 1.6**: <a class="normal" href="#extra-files">How may I include additional files beyond the max allowed?</a>
 - **Q 1.7**: <a class="normal" href="#ai">May I use AI, Virtual coding assistants, or similar tools to write my submission?</a>
+- **Q 1.8**: <a class="normal" href="#rule17">What are the details behind Rule 17?</a>
 
 
 ## 2. [IOCCC Judging process](#judging_proceess)
@@ -818,7 +819,7 @@ tarball needs to pass these tests.
 
 Please pay careful attention to [Rule 17](next/rules.html#rule17) and in
 particular the part about the [maximum number of files per
-submission](next/rules.html#max-files), which not only discusses the maximum
+submission](#max-files), which not only discusses the maximum
 number of files (including extra files) but also specific rules you must follow
 if you do include a tarball. Not following these points puts you at great risk
 of violating [Rule 17](next/rules.html#rule17)!
@@ -856,6 +857,404 @@ as how you them to help write you submission in your `remarks.md` file.
 Jump to: [top](#)
 
 
+<div id="rule17">
+### Q 1.8: What are details behind Rule 17?
+</div>
+
+The following are the details behind [Rule 17](next/rules.html#rule17).
+
+
+### TL;DR Rule 17 - Use `mkiocccentry(1)`
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+This is a **COMPLEX** rule.  **Violating this rule will cause your submission to REJECTED!**
+To help you avoid such a rejection, you are **HIGHLY ENCOURAGED** to use the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool,
+based on the latest release of the [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry),
+to form your submission's xz compressed tarball.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry)
+contains **IMPORTANT** tools and libraries such as:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">`chkentry(1)`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`iocccsize(1)`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`mkiocccentry(1)`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`txzchk(1)`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`fnamchk(1)`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`jparse(1)` (and other tools) and `jparse(3)` (which `chkentry(1)` uses)</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The above mentioned tools will help you verify that your submission
+conforms to [Rule 17](next/rules.html#rule17).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Each above mentioned tool has a `-h` option that provides command line help. For
+additional details of each tool, see its man page, and in some cases, the [IOCCC
+guidelines](next/guidelines.html).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+There is no need to use `jparse(1)` but the `jparse(3)` library
+library will be linked when compiling the tools as they use various functions
+provided by it, and `chkentry` uses the JSON parser API as well.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Of course you **may** invoke `jparse(1)` if you wish to validate a JSON file but
+the only JSON files you might want to validate for the IOCCC are validated
+by `chkentry(1)`, and that is what you should use to make sure you conform to
+this rule.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The maximum number of **extra files** is 31. See the [maximum number of extra
+files section](#max-files) below for finer details and the
+FAQ on "[including additional files](#extra-files)"
+if you need to include more files than this maximum.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Extra files are defined as files that are not the required files (`prog.c`,
+`Makefile`, `remarks.md` and the two generated by `mkiocccentry(1)` `.info.json`
+and `.auth.json`) and files that are also not the optional files (`try.sh`,
+`prog.alt.c` and `try.alt.sh`).
+</p>
+
+Jump to: [top](#)
+
+
+### Rule 17 - The COMPLEX details
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Each submission **MUST** be in the form of a xz compressed tarball.
+The xz compressed tarball filename must be of the form:
+`^submit.username-slot_num.[1-9][0-9]{9,}.txz$`.
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+... where _`username`_ is your IOCCC registration username **in the form of a
+[UUID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier)** (see
+[RFC 9562](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9562) for
+details), and where _`slot_num`_ is a single decimal digit integer
+(i.e., >= `0` and < `9`).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+In particular, `username` is in the form of:
+`xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-Nxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx` where `'x'` is a hex digit in the range
+of `[0-9a-f]`, 4 is the UUID version, and `N` is one of `8`, `9`, `a`, or `b`.
+And yes, there is a 4 (UUID version 4) and the variants `0x8`, `0x9`, `0xa` and
+`0xb` in there.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your xz compressed tarball **MUST** contain, **at a minimum**, the following files:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">`prog.c`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`Makefile`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`remarks.md`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`.auth.json`</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`.info.json`</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+`prog.c` is of course your submission program.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `Makefile` **MUST** be a **non**-empty file in **[GNU
+Makefile](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html)** format. See the
+[Makefile section in the guidelines](next/guidelines.html#makefile),
+the
+FAQ on "[submission Makefile](#submission_makefiles)"
+and the
+FAQ on "[Makefile compatibility](#make_compatibility)"
+for help.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `remarks.md` **MUST** be a **non**-empty file in markdown format
+(`mkiocccentry(1)` only checks the file size but if you do not have any text in
+it you still risk violating this rule).  See also
+[Rule 18](next/rules.html#rule18) and our
+FAQ on "[remarks.md](#remarks_md)"
+and our
+FAQ on "[markdown](#markdown)"
+and our [markdown guidelines](markdown.html).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+See also the [markdown syntax](https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax) guide
+and the [CommonMark Spec](https://spec.commonmark.org/current/).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `.auth.json` file is created by `mkiocccentry(1)` and it holds information
+about the author(s) of the submission. It will **ONLY** be looked at if your
+submission wins but it **MUST** still be valid according to `chkentry(1)`.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `.info.json` file is created by `mkiocccentry(1)` and it holds information
+about the submission itself. It also **MUST** be valid according to
+`chkentry(1)`.
+</p>
+
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+For the complete `mkiocccentry(1)` process, see the
+FAQ on the "[mkiocccentry process](#mkiocccentry_process).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The tool performs a lot of checks, both directly and indirectly, and if it or
+any other tool detects **ANY** problem, you are **HIGHLY** encouraged to fix it
+and try again.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you do use `mkiocccentry(1)` and you run into a problem, you might see the
+FAQ on "[how to ask a question about the IOCCC rules, guidelines and
+tools](#questions)".
+If you believe you have encountered a bug, feel free to open a bug report at the
+[mkiocccentry repo issues
+page](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The xz compressed tarball file **MUST** be <= **3999971** octets in size.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+When your submission's xz compressed tarball is uncompressed,
+the total size of your submission (the sum of the size of the program,
+hints, comments, build and info files) **MUST** be <=
+**28314624** octets (**27651K**) in size.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your submission's xz compressed tarball **MUST** pass the `txzchk(1)` test. See
+the [guidelines](next/guidelines.html) for more details on this tool.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+**IMPORTANT**: Make **SURE** you have the most recent version of the
+`mkiocccentry` toolkit! Not doing so will put you at a great risk of violating
+this rule! See the
+FAQ on "[obtaining the mkiocccentry toolkit](#mkiocccentry)"
+for more details.
+</p>
+
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+You are **HIGHLY ENCOURAGED** to use the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool to form your
+submission's xz compressed tarball. See the [guidelines](next/guidelines.html) for
+more details on this tool and the [mkiocccentry
+repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your entry may have subdirectories, depending on the depth and total length of
+the filenames. Certain directories like `.git`, `RCCS`, `CVS` and `.svn` are
+skipped. For more information, see the [guidelines](next/guidelines.html).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Filenames in your entry (that is, not including the files generated by the
+`mkiocccentry(1)` tool or the tools it or any other tool invokes) **MUST**:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">Be <= **38** characters in length.</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** have a leading **`/`**.</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** contain a path component of: **`.`** (that is, with
+the exception of files generated by `mkiocccentry(1)` itself, it must have
+**NO** **`.`** an **NO** dot file).</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** contain a path component of: **`..`** (that is,
+**NO** **`..`**).</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">Match the regular expression
+`^[0-9A-Za-z]+[0-9A-Za-z_+.-]*$` (again, excluding files generated by
+`mkiocccentry(1)`).</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** be a directory depth > 4.</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** have a total **path** length > 99 characters.</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The submission tarball created by `mkiocccentry(1)` **MUST** have
+the additional files that are generated by the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">`.auth.json` which contains information about the author or
+authors (that will only be looked at if the submission wins).</p>
+* <p class="leftbar">`.info.json` which contains information about the
+entry.</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `chkentry(1)` tool will validate these two JSON files, and do other checks
+on your submission directory as well, _prior to_ forming the tarball.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Files and directories in your submission tarball **MUST** be specific
+permissions and `mkiocccentry(1)` does this for you. In particular: directories
+**MUST** be `drwxr-xr-x` (i.e. `0755`), the optional files, `try.sh` or
+`try.alt.sh`, if provided, **MUST** be `-r-xr-xr-x` (i.e. `0555`) and all other
+files **MUST** be `-r--r--r--` (i.e. `0444`).  If the files do not have these
+permissions, your submission **WILL** be rejected for violating [Rule
+17](next/rules.html#rule17)! In addition to `mkiocccentry(1)` creating and copying the
+directories and files with these modes, it also verifies them after the fact and
+if they are not correct it is an **error**.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you do need different permissions, then see the
+FAQ on "[file permissions](#file_perms)". Also keep in mind
+[Rule 4](next/rules.html#rule4), [Rule 5](next/rules.html#rule5) and [Rule 21](next/rules.html#rule21).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `txzchk(1)` tool will also verify file/directory permissions (and many other
+things) for you and so will `chkentry(1)` (along with validating the JSON files
+and running semantics checks on them). If these checks fail it is an **error**
+and `mkiocccentry(1)` will fail. In this case (it fails and you used
+`mkiocccentry(1)`) it is very **possibly** a bug; please [report it as a bug at
+the mkiocccentry issues
+page](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The tarball filename **MUST** pass `fnamchk(1)`; the tool `txzchk(1)`
+will run `fnamchk(1)` as part of its algorithm. If you use `mkiocccentry(1)`
+there should be no problem but if you were to package things manually it is
+possible there could be a problem and this poses a big risk of violating [Rule
+17](next/rules.html#rule17).
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The `fnamchk(1)`, which `txzchk(1)` executes, will verify that the
+filename is correct. But if you do package your tarball manually, and you have a
+mismatch in what is in the tarball and the name, `txzchk(1)` will flag the
+discrepancy as an error and exit with non-zero.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+These checks **MUST PASS**. If they do not you stand a significant chance of
+having your submission rejected for violating [Rule 17](next/rules.html#rule17)!
+</p>
+
+<div id="max-files">
+#### Maximum number of files per submission
+</div>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The maximum number of files your submission tarball may contain, not counting
+the optional files (`prog.alt.c`, `try.sh`, `try.alt.sh`) and the mandatory
+files (`prog.c`, `Makefile`, `remarks.md` plus the `mkiocccentry(1)` generated
+files `.auth.json` and `.info.json`), is 31. This is defined in the macro
+`MAX_EXTRA_FILE_COUNT` in
+[soup/limit_ioccc.h](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/blob/master/soup/limit_ioccc.h)
+in the [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry). See the
+FAQ on "[how to include additional files](#extra-files)"
+if you need to include more files.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you do include a tarball that takes your extra files count over the maximum,
+you **MUST** explain this in your `remarks.md` file! **PLEASE** do not include a
+tarball with extra files for a test-suite; instead mention in your remarks that
+you have extra files for a test-suite that can be included should your
+submission win. Of course if you don't need that many files for a test-suite you
+are more than welcome to include those files in your submission.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you need to extract a tarball by some Makefile, or perhaps the program
+itself, then `make clobber` **MUST** remove everything that the extraction
+created!
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Tarballs **MUST** only create files and directories _under_ the submission
+directory. They may **NOT** contain absolute paths (paths that start with `/`)!
+`txzchk` only checks the submission tarball so you must verify these details
+yourself.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+**IMPORTANT REMINDER**: **MAKE SURE** your tarball does not reveal who you are!
+The `mkiocccentry(1)` tool uses the v7 format. For instance you might try:
+</p>
+
+``` <!---sh-->
+    tar --format=v7 -cJf foo.txz directory
+```
+
+<hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
+
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+**IMPORTANT**: where [Rule 17](next/rules.html#rule17) and the tools from the latest
+release of the [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry)
+conflict, the [IOCCC judges](judges.html) will use their best judgment which
+is likely to favor [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry) code.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+This means you should **MAKE SURE** that you use `mkiocccentry(1)` to
+package your submission; `mkiocccentry(1)` will run the above mentioned tools
+(that do not act on the tarball) **before** creating the tarball and after the
+tarball is created it will then verify that the tarball is okay by running
+`txzchk(1)` on it. If any step fails it is an error and submitting the
+submission will result in violating this rule.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+**MAKE SURE** you use the correct release of the repository; you should do this
+**AFTER** the contest opens (pull any changes or if you prefer download the
+repository via the download option at GitHub). See the
+FAQ on "[obtaining mkiocccentry](#obtaining_mkiocccentry)"
+for more help on ensuring you do have the most up to date release.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+We recommend that you run `make` and then install the tools (and man pages) via
+`make install` (as root or using `sudo(1)`) to help you run these tools from
+your submission's directory (or any other directory). The `make install` will
+install in `/usr/local`.  However, **you do not have** to install them, but in
+that case you'll have to run it from the toolkit's directory or use the correct
+options to specify the path to the necessary tools, and also specify the path to
+your files.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+These tools will link in the `jparse(3)` library and the `dbg` library and the
+`dyn_array` library; `chkentry(1)` uses the JSON parser (`jparse`) to validate
+and parse the [JSON](https://www.json.org/json-en.html) but the other tools use
+parts of the `jparse` utility functions as well.
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+If you run into a problem with one or more of these tools, **PLEASE** [report it
+as a bug at the mkiocccentry issues
+page](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E),
+**making sure to run `bug_report.sh`**. See the [guidelines](next/guidelines.html)
+for help here and also read our
+FAQ on "[mkiocccentry repo bugs](#mkiocccentry_bugs)".
+</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">At the risk of stating the obvious: submissions that violate [Rule
+17](#rule17) **WILL BE REJECTED**, so **BE SURE** to use the latest release of the
+[mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry), to form and test
+your submission's xz compressed tarball. Do **NOT** assume you have the most
+recent release without pulling or downloading via GitHub and do **MAKE SURE** you
+do this **AFTER** the [contest status](status.html) has changed to
+[open](#open).
+</p>
+
+
+Jump to: [top](#)
+
+
 
 <hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
 <hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
diff --git a/next/guidelines.html b/next/guidelines.html
index 1f9774516..05ec8c7dd 100644
--- a/next/guidelines.html
+++ b/next/guidelines.html
@@ -1115,7 +1115,7 @@ do the same like:
 </p>
 <pre><code>    tar --format=v7 -cJf foo.txz directory</code></pre>
 <p class="leftbar">
-See <a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a> and in particular the part about the <a href="rules.html#max-files">maximum
+See <a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a> and in particular the part about the <a href="../faq.html#max-files">maximum
 number of files</a>. If you do not follow these points, you
 are at a great risk of violating <a href="rules.html#rule17">Rule 17</a>!
 </p>
diff --git a/next/guidelines.md b/next/guidelines.md
index 668c49ffe..06c95d250 100644
--- a/next/guidelines.md
+++ b/next/guidelines.md
@@ -855,7 +855,7 @@ do the same like:
 
 <p class="leftbar">
 See [Rule 17](rules.html#rule17) and in particular the part about the [maximum
-number of files](rules.html#max-files). If you do not follow these points, you
+number of files](../faq.html#max-files). If you do not follow these points, you
 are at a great risk of violating [Rule 17](rules.html#rule17)!
 </p>
 
diff --git a/next/rules.html b/next/rules.html
index 6db1556c3..845467a3b 100644
--- a/next/rules.html
+++ b/next/rules.html
@@ -913,385 +913,82 @@ for details.
 <div id="rule16">
 <h2 id="rule-16">Rule 16</h2>
 </div>
-<p>You are <strong>STRONGLY</strong> encouraged to submit <strong>a previously unpublished <em>AND</em>
-original submission</strong>. Submissions that are similar to previous entries are
+<p>You are <strong>STRONGLY</strong> encouraged to submit an <strong>original submission</strong>.
+Submissions that are similar to previous entries are
 discouraged. As we judge anonymously, submissions that have already
 been published may be disqualified.</p>
 <p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
 <div id="rule17">
 <h2 id="rule-17">Rule 17</h2>
 </div>
-<h3 id="tldr-rule-17---use-mkiocccentry1">TL;DR Rule 17 - Use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code></h3>
 <p class="leftbar">
-This is a <strong>COMPLEX</strong> rule. <strong>Violating this rule will cause your submission to REJECTED!</strong>
-To help you avoid such a rejection, you are <strong>HIGHLY ENCOURAGED</strong> to use the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool,
-based on the latest release of the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>,
-to form your submission’s xz compressed tarball.
+Your submission must be in the form of <strong>xz compressed tarball</strong>
+that <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool would generate. The files, directories,
+and paths must conform to the limits imposed by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>
+including but not limited to their names, count, path length
+and directory tree depth.
 </p>
 <p class="leftbar">
-The <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>
-contains <strong>IMPORTANT</strong> tools and libraries such as:
+Your <strong>xz compressed tarball</strong> submission file must pass the tests performed by:
+</p>
+<ul>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>txzchk(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your <strong>xz compressed tarball</strong> submission file must pass the tests performed by:
+</p>
+<ul>
+<li><p class="leftbar">
+<code>fnamchk(1)</code>
+</p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The resulting directory produced when your <strong>xz compressed tarball</strong> submission file uncompressed,
+must pass the pass the checks performed by:
 </p>
 <ul>
 <li><p class="leftbar">
 <code>chkentry(1)</code>
 </p></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="leftbar">
+The resulting <code>prog.c</code> file must pass the <a href="#rule2">Rule 2</a> size checked performed by:
+</p>
+<ul>
 <li><p class="leftbar">
 <code>iocccsize(1)</code>
 </p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>txzchk(1)</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>fnamchk(1)</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>jparse(1)</code> (and other tools) and <code>jparse(3)</code> (which <code>chkentry(1)</code> uses)
-</p></li>
 </ul>
 <p class="leftbar">
-The above mentioned tools will help you verify that your submission
-conforms to <a href="#rule17">Rule 17</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Each above mentioned tool has a <code>-h</code> option that provides command line help. For
-additional details of each tool, see its man page, and in some cases, the <a href="guidelines.html">IOCCC
-guidelines</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-There is no need to use <code>jparse(1)</code> but the <code>jparse(3)</code> library
-library will be linked when compiling the tools as they use various functions
-provided by it, and <code>chkentry</code> uses the JSON parser API as well.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Of course you <strong>may</strong> invoke <code>jparse(1)</code> if you wish to validate a JSON file but
-the only JSON files you might want to validate for the IOCCC are validated
-by <code>chkentry(1)</code>, and that is what you should use to make sure you conform to
-this rule.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The maximum number of <strong>extra files</strong> is 31. See the <a href="#max-files">maximum number of extra
-files section</a> below for finer details and the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#extra-files">including additional files</a>”
-if you need to include more files than this maximum.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Extra files are defined as files that are not the required files (<code>prog.c</code>,
-<code>Makefile</code>, <code>remarks.md</code> and the two generated by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> <code>.info.json</code>
-and <code>.auth.json</code>) and files that are also not the optional files (<code>try.sh</code>,
-<code>prog.alt.c</code> and <code>try.alt.sh</code>).
-</p>
-<p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
-<h3 id="rule-17---the-complex-details">Rule 17 - The COMPLEX details</h3>
-<p class="leftbar">
-<p>Each submission <strong>MUST</strong> be in the form of a xz compressed tarball.
-The xz compressed tarball filename must be of the form:
-<code>^submit.username-slot_num.[1-9][0-9]{9,}.txz$</code>.</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-… where <em><code>username</code></em> is your IOCCC registration username <strong>in the form of a
-<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier">UUID</a></strong> (see
-<a href="https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9562">RFC 9562</a> for
-details), and where <em><code>slot_num</code></em> is a single decimal digit integer
-(i.e., &gt;= <code>0</code> and &lt; <code>9</code>).
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-In particular, <code>username</code> is in the form of:
-<code>xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-Nxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx</code> where <code>'x'</code> is a hex digit in the range
-of <code>[0-9a-f]</code>, 4 is the UUID version, and <code>N</code> is one of <code>8</code>, <code>9</code>, <code>a</code>, or <code>b</code>.
-And yes, there is a 4 (UUID version 4) and the variants <code>0x8</code>, <code>0x9</code>, <code>0xa</code> and
-<code>0xb</code> in there.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Your xz compressed tarball <strong>MUST</strong> contain, <strong>at a minimum</strong>, the following files:
+The <code>.auth.json</code> and <code>.info.json</code> must be compatible with what hat <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool
+would produce as well as pass the tests performed by:
 </p>
 <ul>
 <li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>prog.c</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>Makefile</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>remarks.md</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>.auth.json</code>
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>.info.json</code>
+<code>jparse(1)</code>
 </p></li>
 </ul>
+<h3 id="tldr-rule-17---use-mkiocccentry1-to-form-your-submission">TL;DR Rule 17 - Use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> to form your submission</h3>
+<p>Let the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool form your <strong>xz compressed tarball</strong>
+submission file and don’t try to override override its checks and
+limits in order to be sure you submission conforms to this rule.</p>
+<h3 id="warning">Warning</h3>
+<p>Using command line flags or input prompts to override checks and
+limits made by the above mentioned tools is <strong>NOT</strong> recommended
+and may result in your submission being rejected by the <a href="https://submit.ioccc.org">IOCCC
+submit server</a> and/or the [IOCCC
+Judges[(../judges.html).</p>
 <p class="leftbar">
-<code>prog.c</code> is of course your submission program.
+See the
+FAQ on the “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry tool</a>
+for how to obtain and use the above mentioned tools.
 </p>
 <p class="leftbar">
-The <code>Makefile</code> <strong>MUST</strong> be a <strong>non</strong>-empty file in <strong><a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html">GNU
-Makefile</a></strong> format. See the
-<a href="guidelines.html#makefile">Makefile section in the guidelines</a>,
-the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#submission_makefiles">submission Makefile</a>”
-and the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#make_compatibility">Makefile compatibility</a>”
-for help.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The <code>remarks.md</code> <strong>MUST</strong> be a <strong>non</strong>-empty file in markdown format
-(<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> only checks the file size but if you do not have any text in
-it you still risk violating this rule). See also
-<a href="#rule18">Rule 18</a> and our
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#remarks_md">remarks.md</a>”
-and our
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#markdown">markdown</a>”
-and our <a href="../markdown.html">markdown guidelines</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-See also the <a href="https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax">markdown syntax</a> guide
-and the <a href="https://spec.commonmark.org/current/">CommonMark Spec</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The <code>.auth.json</code> file is created by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and it holds information
-about the author(s) of the submission. It will <strong>ONLY</strong> be looked at if your
-submission wins but it <strong>MUST</strong> still be valid according to <code>chkentry(1)</code>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The <code>.info.json</code> file is created by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and it holds information
-about the submission itself. It also <strong>MUST</strong> be valid according to
-<code>chkentry(1)</code>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-For the complete <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> process, see the
-FAQ on the “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry_process">mkiocccentry process</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The tool performs a lot of checks, both directly and indirectly, and if it or
-any other tool detects <strong>ANY</strong> problem, you are <strong>HIGHLY</strong> encouraged to fix it
-and try again.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you do use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> and you run into a problem, you might see the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#questions">how to ask a question about the IOCCC rules, guidelines and
-tools</a>”.
-If you believe you have encountered a bug, feel free to open a bug report at the
-<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&amp;labels=bug&amp;projects=&amp;template=bug_report.yml&amp;title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">mkiocccentry repo issues
-page</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The xz compressed tarball file <strong>MUST</strong> be &lt;= <strong>3999971</strong> octets in size.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-When your submission’s xz compressed tarball is uncompressed,
-the total size of your submission (the sum of the size of the program,
-hints, comments, build and info files) <strong>MUST</strong> be &lt;=
-<strong>28314624</strong> octets (<strong>27651K</strong>) in size.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Your submission’s xz compressed tarball <strong>MUST</strong> pass the <code>txzchk(1)</code> test. See
-the <a href="guidelines.html">guidelines</a> for more details on this tool.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: Make <strong>SURE</strong> you have the most recent version of the
-<code>mkiocccentry</code> toolkit! Not doing so will put you at a great risk of violating
-this rule! See the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry">obtaining the mkiocccentry toolkit</a>”
-for more details.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-You are <strong>HIGHLY ENCOURAGED</strong> to use the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool to form your
-submission’s xz compressed tarball. See the <a href="guidelines.html">guidelines</a> for
-more details on this tool and the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry
-repo</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Your entry may have subdirectories, depending on the depth and total length of
-the filenames. Certain directories like <code>.git</code>, <code>RCCS</code>, <code>CVS</code> and <code>.svn</code> are
-skipped. For more information, see the <a href="guidelines.html">guidelines</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Filenames in your entry (that is, not including the files generated by the
-<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool or the tools it or any other tool invokes) <strong>MUST</strong>:
-</p>
-<ul>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-Be &lt;= <strong>38</strong> characters in length.
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<strong>NOT</strong> have a leading <strong><code>/</code></strong>.
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<strong>NOT</strong> contain a path component of: <strong><code>.</code></strong> (that is, with
-the exception of files generated by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> itself, it must have
-<strong>NO</strong> <strong><code>.</code></strong> an <strong>NO</strong> dot file).
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<strong>NOT</strong> contain a path component of: <strong><code>..</code></strong> (that is,
-<strong>NO</strong> <strong><code>..</code></strong>).
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-Match the regular expression
-<code>^[0-9A-Za-z]+[0-9A-Za-z_+.-]*$</code> (again, excluding files generated by
-<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>).
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<strong>NOT</strong> be a directory depth &gt; 4.
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<strong>NOT</strong> have a total <strong>path</strong> length &gt; 99 characters.
-</p></li>
-</ul>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The submission tarball created by <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> <strong>MUST</strong> have
-the additional files that are generated by the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool:
-</p>
-<ul>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>.auth.json</code> which contains information about the author or
-authors (that will only be looked at if the submission wins).
-</p></li>
-<li><p class="leftbar">
-<code>.info.json</code> which contains information about the
-entry.
-</p></li>
-</ul>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The <code>chkentry(1)</code> tool will validate these two JSON files, and do other checks
-on your submission directory as well, <em>prior to</em> forming the tarball.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Files and directories in your submission tarball <strong>MUST</strong> be specific
-permissions and <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> does this for you. In particular: directories
-<strong>MUST</strong> be <code>drwxr-xr-x</code> (i.e. <code>0755</code>), the optional files, <code>try.sh</code> or
-<code>try.alt.sh</code>, if provided, <strong>MUST</strong> be <code>-r-xr-xr-x</code> (i.e. <code>0555</code>) and all other
-files <strong>MUST</strong> be <code>-r--r--r--</code> (i.e. <code>0444</code>). If the files do not have these
-permissions, your submission <strong>WILL</strong> be rejected for violating <a href="#rule17">Rule
-17</a>! In addition to <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> creating and copying the
-directories and files with these modes, it also verifies them after the fact and
-if they are not correct it is an <strong>error</strong>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you do need different permissions, then see the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#file_perms">file permissions</a>”. Also keep in mind
-<a href="#rule4">Rule 4</a>, <a href="#rule5">Rule 5</a> and <a href="#rule21">Rule 21</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The <code>txzchk(1)</code> tool will also verify file/directory permissions (and many other
-things) for you and so will <code>chkentry(1)</code> (along with validating the JSON files
-and running semantics checks on them). If these checks fail it is an <strong>error</strong>
-and <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> will fail. In this case (it fails and you used
-<code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>) it is very <strong>possibly</strong> a bug; please <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&amp;labels=bug&amp;projects=&amp;template=bug_report.yml&amp;title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">report it as a bug at
-the mkiocccentry issues
-page</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The tarball filename <strong>MUST</strong> pass <code>fnamchk(1)</code>; the tool <code>txzchk(1)</code>
-will run <code>fnamchk(1)</code> as part of its algorithm. If you use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code>
-there should be no problem but if you were to package things manually it is
-possible there could be a problem and this poses a big risk of violating <a href="#rule17">Rule
-17</a>.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The <code>fnamchk(1)</code>, which <code>txzchk(1)</code> executes, will verify that the
-filename is correct. But if you do package your tarball manually, and you have a
-mismatch in what is in the tarball and the name, <code>txzchk(1)</code> will flag the
-discrepancy as an error and exit with non-zero.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-These checks <strong>MUST PASS</strong>. If they do not you stand a significant chance of
-having your submission rejected for violating <a href="#rule17">Rule 17</a>!
-</p>
-<div id="max-files">
-<h4 id="maximum-number-of-files-per-submission">Maximum number of files per submission</h4>
-</div>
-<p class="leftbar">
-The maximum number of files your submission tarball may contain, not counting
-the optional files (<code>prog.alt.c</code>, <code>try.sh</code>, <code>try.alt.sh</code>) and the mandatory
-files (<code>prog.c</code>, <code>Makefile</code>, <code>remarks.md</code> plus the <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> generated
-files <code>.auth.json</code> and <code>.info.json</code>), is 31. This is defined in the macro
-<code>MAX_EXTRA_FILE_COUNT</code> in
-<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/blob/master/soup/limit_ioccc.h">soup/limit_ioccc.h</a>
-in the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>. See the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#extra-files">how to include additional files</a>”
-if you need to include more files.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you do include a tarball that takes your extra files count over the maximum,
-you <strong>MUST</strong> explain this in your <code>remarks.md</code> file! <strong>PLEASE</strong> do not include a
-tarball with extra files for a test-suite; instead mention in your remarks that
-you have extra files for a test-suite that can be included should your
-submission win. Of course if you don’t need that many files for a test-suite you
-are more than welcome to include those files in your submission.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you need to extract a tarball by some Makefile, or perhaps the program
-itself, then <code>make clobber</code> <strong>MUST</strong> remove everything that the extraction
-created!
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-Tarballs <strong>MUST</strong> only create files and directories <em>under</em> the submission
-directory. They may <strong>NOT</strong> contain absolute paths (paths that start with <code>/</code>)!
-<code>txzchk</code> only checks the submission tarball so you must verify these details
-yourself.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-<strong>IMPORTANT REMINDER</strong>: <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> your tarball does not reveal who you are!
-The <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> tool uses the v7 format. For instance you might try:
-</p>
-<pre><code>    tar --format=v7 -cJf foo.txz directory</code></pre>
-<hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
-<p class="leftbar">
-<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: where <a href="#rule17">Rule 17</a> and the tools from the latest
-release of the <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>
-conflict, the <a href="../judges.html">IOCCC judges</a> will use their best judgment which
-is likely to favor <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a> code.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-This means you should <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> that you use <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> to
-package your submission; <code>mkiocccentry(1)</code> will run the above mentioned tools
-(that do not act on the tarball) <strong>before</strong> creating the tarball and after the
-tarball is created it will then verify that the tarball is okay by running
-<code>txzchk(1)</code> on it. If any step fails it is an error and submitting the
-submission will result in violating this rule.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-<strong>MAKE SURE</strong> you use the correct release of the repository; you should do this
-<strong>AFTER</strong> the contest opens (pull any changes or if you prefer download the
-repository via the download option at GitHub). See the
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#obtaining_mkiocccentry">obtaining mkiocccentry</a>”
-for more help on ensuring you do have the most up to date release.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-We recommend that you run <code>make</code> and then install the tools (and man pages) via
-<code>make install</code> (as root or using <code>sudo(1)</code>) to help you run these tools from
-your submission’s directory (or any other directory). The <code>make install</code> will
-install in <code>/usr/local</code>. However, <strong>you do not have</strong> to install them, but in
-that case you’ll have to run it from the toolkit’s directory or use the correct
-options to specify the path to the necessary tools, and also specify the path to
-your files.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-These tools will link in the <code>jparse(3)</code> library and the <code>dbg</code> library and the
-<code>dyn_array</code> library; <code>chkentry(1)</code> uses the JSON parser (<code>jparse</code>) to validate
-and parse the <a href="https://www.json.org/json-en.html">JSON</a> but the other tools use
-parts of the <code>jparse</code> utility functions as well.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you run into a problem with one or more of these tools, <strong>PLEASE</strong> <a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&amp;labels=bug&amp;projects=&amp;template=bug_report.yml&amp;title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E">report it
-as a bug at the mkiocccentry issues
-page</a>,
-<strong>making sure to run <code>bug_report.sh</code></strong>. See the <a href="guidelines.html">guidelines</a>
-for help here and also read our
-FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#mkiocccentry_bugs">mkiocccentry repo bugs</a>”.
-</p>
-<p class="leftbar">
-At the risk of stating the obvious: submissions that violate <a href="#rule17">Rule
-17</a> <strong>WILL BE REJECTED</strong>, so <strong>BE SURE</strong> to use the latest release of the
-<a href="https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry">mkiocccentry repo</a>, to form and test
-your submission’s xz compressed tarball. Do <strong>NOT</strong> assume you have the most
-recent release without pulling or downloading via GitHub and do <strong>MAKE SURE</strong> you
-do this <strong>AFTER</strong> the <a href="../status.html">contest status</a> has changed to
-<a href="../faq.html#open">open</a>.
+<strong>IMPORTANT</strong>: See the
+FAQ on “<a href="../faq.html#rule17">Rule17</a>”
+for very important details behind this rule.
 </p>
 <p>Jump to: <a href="#">top</a></p>
 <div id="rule18">
diff --git a/next/rules.md b/next/rules.md
index 414c2cca1..e73bb135f 100644
--- a/next/rules.md
+++ b/next/rules.md
@@ -683,8 +683,8 @@ Jump to: [top](#)
 ## Rule 16
 </div>
 
-You are **STRONGLY** encouraged to submit **a previously unpublished _AND_
-original submission**. Submissions that are similar to previous entries are
+You are **STRONGLY** encouraged to submit an **original submission**.
+Submissions that are similar to previous entries are
 discouraged. As we judge anonymously, submissions that have already
 been published may be disqualified.
 
@@ -696,392 +696,71 @@ Jump to: [top](#)
 ## Rule 17
 </div>
 
-
-### TL;DR Rule 17 - Use `mkiocccentry(1)`
-
 <p class="leftbar">
-This is a **COMPLEX** rule.  **Violating this rule will cause your submission to REJECTED!**
-To help you avoid such a rejection, you are **HIGHLY ENCOURAGED** to use the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool,
-based on the latest release of the [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry),
-to form your submission's xz compressed tarball.
+Your submission must be in the form of **xz compressed tarball**
+that `mkiocccentry(1)` tool would generate.  The files, directories,
+and paths must conform to the limits imposed by  `mkiocccentry(1)`
+including but not limited to their names, count, path length
+and directory tree depth.
 </p>
 
 <p class="leftbar">
-The [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry)
-contains **IMPORTANT** tools and libraries such as:
+Your **xz compressed tarball** submission file must pass the tests performed by:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">`txzchk(1)`</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+Your **xz compressed tarball** submission file must pass the tests performed by:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">`fnamchk(1)`</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The resulting directory produced when your **xz compressed tarball** submission file uncompressed,
+must pass the pass the checks performed by:
 </p>
 
 * <p class="leftbar">`chkentry(1)`</p>
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+The resulting `prog.c` file must pass the [Rule 2](#rule2) size checked performed by:
+</p>
+
 * <p class="leftbar">`iocccsize(1)`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`mkiocccentry(1)`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`txzchk(1)`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`fnamchk(1)`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`jparse(1)` (and other tools) and `jparse(3)` (which `chkentry(1)` uses)</p>
 
 <p class="leftbar">
-The above mentioned tools will help you verify that your submission
-conforms to [Rule 17](#rule17).
+The `.auth.json` and `.info.json` must be compatible with what hat `mkiocccentry(1)` tool
+would produce as well as pass the tests performed by:
+</p>
+
+* <p class="leftbar">`jparse(1)`</p>
+
+
+### TL;DR Rule 17 - Use `mkiocccentry(1)` to form your submission
+
+Let the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool form your **xz compressed tarball**
+submission file and don't try to override override its checks and
+limits in order to be sure you submission conforms to this rule.
+
+### Warning
+
+Using command line flags or input prompts to override checks and
+limits made by the above mentioned tools is **NOT** recommended
+and may result in your submission being rejected by the [IOCCC
+submit server](https://submit.ioccc.org) and/or the [IOCCC
+Judges[(../judges.html).
+
+<p class="leftbar">
+See the
+FAQ on the "[mkiocccentry tool](../faq.html#mkiocccentry)
+for how to obtain and use the above mentioned tools.
 </p>
 
 <p class="leftbar">
-Each above mentioned tool has a `-h` option that provides command line help. For
-additional details of each tool, see its man page, and in some cases, the [IOCCC
-guidelines](guidelines.html).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-There is no need to use `jparse(1)` but the `jparse(3)` library
-library will be linked when compiling the tools as they use various functions
-provided by it, and `chkentry` uses the JSON parser API as well.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Of course you **may** invoke `jparse(1)` if you wish to validate a JSON file but
-the only JSON files you might want to validate for the IOCCC are validated
-by `chkentry(1)`, and that is what you should use to make sure you conform to
-this rule.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The maximum number of **extra files** is 31. See the [maximum number of extra
-files section](#max-files) below for finer details and the
-FAQ on "[including additional files](../faq.html#extra-files)"
-if you need to include more files than this maximum.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Extra files are defined as files that are not the required files (`prog.c`,
-`Makefile`, `remarks.md` and the two generated by `mkiocccentry(1)` `.info.json`
-and `.auth.json`) and files that are also not the optional files (`try.sh`,
-`prog.alt.c` and `try.alt.sh`).
-</p>
-
-Jump to: [top](#)
-
-
-### Rule 17 - The COMPLEX details
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Each submission **MUST** be in the form of a xz compressed tarball.
-The xz compressed tarball filename must be of the form:
-`^submit.username-slot_num.[1-9][0-9]{9,}.txz$`.
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-... where _`username`_ is your IOCCC registration username **in the form of a
-[UUID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universally_unique_identifier)** (see
-[RFC 9562](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc9562) for
-details), and where _`slot_num`_ is a single decimal digit integer
-(i.e., >= `0` and < `9`).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-In particular, `username` is in the form of:
-`xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-Nxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx` where `'x'` is a hex digit in the range
-of `[0-9a-f]`, 4 is the UUID version, and `N` is one of `8`, `9`, `a`, or `b`.
-And yes, there is a 4 (UUID version 4) and the variants `0x8`, `0x9`, `0xa` and
-`0xb` in there.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Your xz compressed tarball **MUST** contain, **at a minimum**, the following files:
-</p>
-
-* <p class="leftbar">`prog.c`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`Makefile`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`remarks.md`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`.auth.json`</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`.info.json`</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-`prog.c` is of course your submission program.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `Makefile` **MUST** be a **non**-empty file in **[GNU
-Makefile](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html)** format. See the
-[Makefile section in the guidelines](guidelines.html#makefile),
-the
-FAQ on "[submission Makefile](../faq.html#submission_makefiles)"
-and the
-FAQ on "[Makefile compatibility](../faq.html#make_compatibility)"
-for help.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `remarks.md` **MUST** be a **non**-empty file in markdown format
-(`mkiocccentry(1)` only checks the file size but if you do not have any text in
-it you still risk violating this rule).  See also
-[Rule 18](#rule18) and our
-FAQ on "[remarks.md](../faq.html#remarks_md)"
-and our
-FAQ on "[markdown](../faq.html#markdown)"
-and our [markdown guidelines](../markdown.html).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-See also the [markdown syntax](https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax) guide
-and the [CommonMark Spec](https://spec.commonmark.org/current/).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `.auth.json` file is created by `mkiocccentry(1)` and it holds information
-about the author(s) of the submission. It will **ONLY** be looked at if your
-submission wins but it **MUST** still be valid according to `chkentry(1)`.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `.info.json` file is created by `mkiocccentry(1)` and it holds information
-about the submission itself. It also **MUST** be valid according to
-`chkentry(1)`.
-</p>
-
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-For the complete `mkiocccentry(1)` process, see the
-FAQ on the "[mkiocccentry process](../faq.html#mkiocccentry_process).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The tool performs a lot of checks, both directly and indirectly, and if it or
-any other tool detects **ANY** problem, you are **HIGHLY** encouraged to fix it
-and try again.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you do use `mkiocccentry(1)` and you run into a problem, you might see the
-FAQ on "[how to ask a question about the IOCCC rules, guidelines and
-tools](../faq.html#questions)".
-If you believe you have encountered a bug, feel free to open a bug report at the
-[mkiocccentry repo issues
-page](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The xz compressed tarball file **MUST** be <= **3999971** octets in size.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-When your submission's xz compressed tarball is uncompressed,
-the total size of your submission (the sum of the size of the program,
-hints, comments, build and info files) **MUST** be <=
-**28314624** octets (**27651K**) in size.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Your submission's xz compressed tarball **MUST** pass the `txzchk(1)` test. See
-the [guidelines](guidelines.html) for more details on this tool.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-**IMPORTANT**: Make **SURE** you have the most recent version of the
-`mkiocccentry` toolkit! Not doing so will put you at a great risk of violating
-this rule! See the
-FAQ on "[obtaining the mkiocccentry toolkit](../faq.html#mkiocccentry)"
-for more details.
-</p>
-
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-You are **HIGHLY ENCOURAGED** to use the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool to form your
-submission's xz compressed tarball. See the [guidelines](guidelines.html) for
-more details on this tool and the [mkiocccentry
-repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Your entry may have subdirectories, depending on the depth and total length of
-the filenames. Certain directories like `.git`, `RCCS`, `CVS` and `.svn` are
-skipped. For more information, see the [guidelines](guidelines.html).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Filenames in your entry (that is, not including the files generated by the
-`mkiocccentry(1)` tool or the tools it or any other tool invokes) **MUST**:
-</p>
-
-* <p class="leftbar">Be <= **38** characters in length.</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** have a leading **`/`**.</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** contain a path component of: **`.`** (that is, with
-the exception of files generated by `mkiocccentry(1)` itself, it must have
-**NO** **`.`** an **NO** dot file).</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** contain a path component of: **`..`** (that is,
-**NO** **`..`**).</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">Match the regular expression
-`^[0-9A-Za-z]+[0-9A-Za-z_+.-]*$` (again, excluding files generated by
-`mkiocccentry(1)`).</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** be a directory depth > 4.</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">**NOT** have a total **path** length > 99 characters.</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The submission tarball created by `mkiocccentry(1)` **MUST** have
-the additional files that are generated by the `mkiocccentry(1)` tool:
-</p>
-
-* <p class="leftbar">`.auth.json` which contains information about the author or
-authors (that will only be looked at if the submission wins).</p>
-* <p class="leftbar">`.info.json` which contains information about the
-entry.</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `chkentry(1)` tool will validate these two JSON files, and do other checks
-on your submission directory as well, _prior to_ forming the tarball.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Files and directories in your submission tarball **MUST** be specific
-permissions and `mkiocccentry(1)` does this for you. In particular: directories
-**MUST** be `drwxr-xr-x` (i.e. `0755`), the optional files, `try.sh` or
-`try.alt.sh`, if provided, **MUST** be `-r-xr-xr-x` (i.e. `0555`) and all other
-files **MUST** be `-r--r--r--` (i.e. `0444`).  If the files do not have these
-permissions, your submission **WILL** be rejected for violating [Rule
-17](#rule17)! In addition to `mkiocccentry(1)` creating and copying the
-directories and files with these modes, it also verifies them after the fact and
-if they are not correct it is an **error**.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you do need different permissions, then see the
-FAQ on "[file permissions](../faq.html#file_perms)". Also keep in mind
-[Rule 4](#rule4), [Rule 5](#rule5) and [Rule 21](#rule21).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `txzchk(1)` tool will also verify file/directory permissions (and many other
-things) for you and so will `chkentry(1)` (along with validating the JSON files
-and running semantics checks on them). If these checks fail it is an **error**
-and `mkiocccentry(1)` will fail. In this case (it fails and you used
-`mkiocccentry(1)`) it is very **possibly** a bug; please [report it as a bug at
-the mkiocccentry issues
-page](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The tarball filename **MUST** pass `fnamchk(1)`; the tool `txzchk(1)`
-will run `fnamchk(1)` as part of its algorithm. If you use `mkiocccentry(1)`
-there should be no problem but if you were to package things manually it is
-possible there could be a problem and this poses a big risk of violating [Rule
-17](#rule17).
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The `fnamchk(1)`, which `txzchk(1)` executes, will verify that the
-filename is correct. But if you do package your tarball manually, and you have a
-mismatch in what is in the tarball and the name, `txzchk(1)` will flag the
-discrepancy as an error and exit with non-zero.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-These checks **MUST PASS**. If they do not you stand a significant chance of
-having your submission rejected for violating [Rule 17](#rule17)!
-</p>
-
-<div id="max-files">
-#### Maximum number of files per submission
-</div>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-The maximum number of files your submission tarball may contain, not counting
-the optional files (`prog.alt.c`, `try.sh`, `try.alt.sh`) and the mandatory
-files (`prog.c`, `Makefile`, `remarks.md` plus the `mkiocccentry(1)` generated
-files `.auth.json` and `.info.json`), is 31. This is defined in the macro
-`MAX_EXTRA_FILE_COUNT` in
-[soup/limit_ioccc.h](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/blob/master/soup/limit_ioccc.h)
-in the [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry). See the
-FAQ on "[how to include additional files](../faq.html#extra-files)"
-if you need to include more files.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you do include a tarball that takes your extra files count over the maximum,
-you **MUST** explain this in your `remarks.md` file! **PLEASE** do not include a
-tarball with extra files for a test-suite; instead mention in your remarks that
-you have extra files for a test-suite that can be included should your
-submission win. Of course if you don't need that many files for a test-suite you
-are more than welcome to include those files in your submission.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you need to extract a tarball by some Makefile, or perhaps the program
-itself, then `make clobber` **MUST** remove everything that the extraction
-created!
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-Tarballs **MUST** only create files and directories _under_ the submission
-directory. They may **NOT** contain absolute paths (paths that start with `/`)!
-`txzchk` only checks the submission tarball so you must verify these details
-yourself.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-**IMPORTANT REMINDER**: **MAKE SURE** your tarball does not reveal who you are!
-The `mkiocccentry(1)` tool uses the v7 format. For instance you might try:
-</p>
-
-``` <!---sh-->
-    tar --format=v7 -cJf foo.txz directory
-```
-
-<hr style="width:50%;text-align:left;margin-left:0">
-
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-**IMPORTANT**: where [Rule 17](#rule17) and the tools from the latest
-release of the [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry)
-conflict, the [IOCCC judges](../judges.html) will use their best judgment which
-is likely to favor [mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry) code.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-This means you should **MAKE SURE** that you use `mkiocccentry(1)` to
-package your submission; `mkiocccentry(1)` will run the above mentioned tools
-(that do not act on the tarball) **before** creating the tarball and after the
-tarball is created it will then verify that the tarball is okay by running
-`txzchk(1)` on it. If any step fails it is an error and submitting the
-submission will result in violating this rule.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-**MAKE SURE** you use the correct release of the repository; you should do this
-**AFTER** the contest opens (pull any changes or if you prefer download the
-repository via the download option at GitHub). See the
-FAQ on "[obtaining mkiocccentry](../faq.html#obtaining_mkiocccentry)"
-for more help on ensuring you do have the most up to date release.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-We recommend that you run `make` and then install the tools (and man pages) via
-`make install` (as root or using `sudo(1)`) to help you run these tools from
-your submission's directory (or any other directory). The `make install` will
-install in `/usr/local`.  However, **you do not have** to install them, but in
-that case you'll have to run it from the toolkit's directory or use the correct
-options to specify the path to the necessary tools, and also specify the path to
-your files.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-These tools will link in the `jparse(3)` library and the `dbg` library and the
-`dyn_array` library; `chkentry(1)` uses the JSON parser (`jparse`) to validate
-and parse the [JSON](https://www.json.org/json-en.html) but the other tools use
-parts of the `jparse` utility functions as well.
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">
-If you run into a problem with one or more of these tools, **PLEASE** [report it
-as a bug at the mkiocccentry issues
-page](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry/issues/new?assignees=&labels=bug&projects=&template=bug_report.yml&title=%5BBug%5D+%3Ctitle%3E),
-**making sure to run `bug_report.sh`**. See the [guidelines](guidelines.html)
-for help here and also read our
-FAQ on "[mkiocccentry repo bugs](../faq.html#mkiocccentry_bugs)".
-</p>
-
-<p class="leftbar">At the risk of stating the obvious: submissions that violate [Rule
-17](#rule17) **WILL BE REJECTED**, so **BE SURE** to use the latest release of the
-[mkiocccentry repo](https://github.com/ioccc-src/mkiocccentry), to form and test
-your submission's xz compressed tarball. Do **NOT** assume you have the most
-recent release without pulling or downloading via GitHub and do **MAKE SURE** you
-do this **AFTER** the [contest status](../status.html) has changed to
-[open](../faq.html#open).
+**IMPORTANT**: See the
+FAQ on "[Rule17](../faq.html#rule17)"
+for very important details behind this rule.
 </p>
 
 
diff --git a/sitemap.xml b/sitemap.xml
index dcd7982b5..072da15d6 100644
--- a/sitemap.xml
+++ b/sitemap.xml
@@ -15414,11 +15414,11 @@
 </url>
 <url>
     <loc>https://www.ioccc.org/faq.html</loc>
-    <lastmod>2025-03-01T07:38:50+00:00</lastmod>
+    <lastmod>2025-03-01T09:10:15+00:00</lastmod>
 </url>
 <url>
     <loc>https://www.ioccc.org/faq.md</loc>
-    <lastmod>2025-03-01T07:38:41+00:00</lastmod>
+    <lastmod>2025-03-01T09:10:08+00:00</lastmod>
 </url>
 <url>
     <loc>https://www.ioccc.org/inc/index.html</loc>