Property anti-patterns

Properties are easy to add, which makes them one of the easiest places to introduce semantic debt.

Anti-patterns

Anti-pattern	Why it hurts	Better alternative
using strings for everything	loses validation and meaning	choose precise property types
encoding links in text fields	blocks graph-aware workflows	use link types or supporting objects
overusing required fields	makes ingestion and migration brittle	require only true invariants
ambiguous metric names	breaks analytics consistency	use domain language plus clear units
putting workflow state in many duplicated fields	causes semantic drift	centralize state semantics deliberately

Design rule of thumb

If a field affects search, workflows, permissions, reports, or UI behavior, treat it as semantic product design, not just schema plumbing.