diff --git a/CONTRIBUTING.md b/CONTRIBUTING.md
index e293be35..cc13aa4c 100644
--- a/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -102,31 +102,21 @@ The following code guidelines will help make code review smoother.
 
 #### Use of `unwrap` and `expect`
 
-Use `unwrap` only in either of three circumstances:
+In general, `unwrap` or `expect` should be seldom used.
+Instead, proper handling of these cases should made, whether through better expressing
+the logic using types, through error handling, or a combination of these.
 
-1. Based on manual static analysis, you've concluded that it's impossible for
-the code to panic; so unwrapping is *safe*. An example would be:
+However, there are some instances where they are acceptable:
 
-        let list = vec![a, b, c];
-        let first = list.first().unwrap();
-
-2. The panic caused by `unwrap` would indicate a bug in the software, and it
-would be impossible to continue in that case.
-
-3. The `unwrap` is part of test code, ie. `cfg!(test)` is `true`.
-
-In the first and second case, document `unwrap` call sites with a comment prefixed
-with `SAFETY:` that explains why it's safe to unwrap, eg.
-
-    // SAFETY: Node IDs are valid ref strings.
-    let r = RefString::try_from(node.to_string()).unwrap();
-
-Use `expect` only if the function expects certain invariants that were not met,
-either due to bad inputs, or a problem with the environment; and include the
-expectation in the message. For example:
-
-    logger::init(log::Level::Debug)
-        .expect("logger must only be initialized once");
+1. In tests, where `#[allow(clippy::unwrap_used)]` is commonly used.
+2. If, after analysing the code for yourself, you have concluded that
+   a call to `unwrap` does not panic (not under any circumstance, for any given
+   input). In this case, it is still preferred to use `expect` and provide
+   a message which gives your argument.
+   Note that if your analysis does not appear very stable under possible future
+   refactorings and changes, it might still not be accepted.
+3. The presence of `Option::None` or `Result::Err` is truly an unexpected scenario
+   and you intend the program to panic.
 
 #### Module imports