From 0a2f115a622666a60ca348baa59e501afb7d8436 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: GDN <96800819+GDNgit@users.noreply.github.com>
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2024 12:15:05 -0600
Subject: [PATCH] updates the contributing guide to disallow for direct var
 access from function returns (#24090)

---
 .github/CONTRIBUTING.md | 13 +++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+)

diff --git a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
index 9cc3db12eeb..41cd2923af0 100644
--- a/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -176,6 +176,19 @@ All new user interfaces in the game must be created using the TGUI framework. Do
 
 The use of the `:` operator to override type safety checks is not allowed. You must cast the variable to the proper type.
 
+### Do not access return value vars directly from functions
+
+The use of the pointer operator, `.`, should not be used to access the return values of functions directly. This can cause unintended behavior and is difficult to read.
+
+```dm
+//Bad
+var/our_x = get_turf(thing).x
+
+//Good
+var/turf/our_turf = get_turf(thing)
+var/our_x = our_turf.x
+```
+
 ### Type paths must begin with a /
 
 eg: `/datum/thing`, not `datum/thing`