"Look to your priorities, tune mechanics to fit."

-- Fred Hicks [1]

In other words, the rules should serve the dramatic end desired, not the other way around. Decide on the tone of the campaign you want -- grim and gritty, cinematic, silly, awesome, bloody, whatever -- and adjust what you read in the rules (and here) to fit.

Then be consistent. Players need consistency so that they know what to expect from the world (just as in real life, we're more comfortable when we have some idea of the normal outcomes of every-day actions). GMs need consistency, too, so they can properly plot and balance scenarios. Exceptions are always possible, but should be just that: exceptions.

A tertiary rule for FATE would be the KISS Principle -- Keep It Simple, Stupid. This is also known as "Don't overanalyze -- this is a dramatic representation, not necessarily a simulation of reality."

Which brings us to the last rule, which is a restatement of the first: FATE is more interested in effects, not mechanics (which ties into the first rule, you'll see). If you go to the FATE Yahoo board and ask a detailed mechanics question, you're just as likely to get back the answer prefaced with, "What's the effect, the tone, the type of outcome you're looking for?" Answer that question, and a lot of the other questions fall into line.

Remember, GMs -- it's your FATE game, not anyone else's. Whatever you need to do to the rules to make it work toward the ends you're looking for will only be applauded by the creators (Fred Hicks and Robert Donoghue) -- so be sure to post about it on the Yahoo board.