diff --git a/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst b/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
index 96fe7ccb2c67..532d65b70500 100644
--- a/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
+++ b/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
@@ -73,7 +73,16 @@ Specific guidelines for the kernel documentation
 
 Here are some specific guidelines for the kernel documentation:
 
-* Please don't go overboard with reStructuredText markup. Keep it simple.
+* Please don't go overboard with reStructuredText markup. Keep it
+  simple. For the most part the documentation should be plain text with
+  just enough consistency in formatting that it can be converted to
+  other formats.
+
+* Please keep the formatting changes minimal when converting existing
+  documentation to reStructuredText.
+
+* Also update the content, not just the formatting, when converting
+  documentation.
 
 * Please stick to this order of heading adornments:
 
@@ -103,6 +112,12 @@ Here are some specific guidelines for the kernel documentation:
   the order as encountered."), having the higher levels the same overall makes
   it easier to follow the documents.
 
+* For inserting fixed width text blocks (for code examples, use case
+  examples, etc.), use ``::`` for anything that doesn't really benefit
+  from syntax highlighting, especially short snippets. Use
+  ``.. code-block:: <language>`` for longer code blocks that benefit
+  from highlighting.
+
 
 the C domain
 ------------