Replies to post #347261 on Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

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Military regulations & standards make extensive use of the words shall & shall not.

f. Make a distinction between requirements portions and guidance portions of documents. Careful attention to use of the words “should” (guidance language) and “shall” (requirement language) is important.

http://www.navair.navy.mil/nawctsd/Resources/Library/Acqguide/mil-std-961e.pdf

Shall is being derived from a religious perspective of shalt...such example being thou shalt not kill...in the days that may and may not was used, they both had inferences of must and must not...however the definitions have much mutated since they were first utilized. Many legal books were written based on the old English definition so those who are in the newer generation "may not" comprehend what it's true legal meanings are...