diff --git a/semver.md b/semver.md
index 22c9573..b617838 100644
--- a/semver.md
+++ b/semver.md
@@ -86,9 +86,10 @@ within the private code. It MAY include patch level changes. Patch version
 MUST be reset to 0 when minor version is incremented.
 
 1. Major version X (X.y.z | X > 0) MUST be incremented if any backward
-incompatible changes are introduced to the public API. It MAY also include minor
-and patch level changes. Patch and minor versions MUST be reset to 0 when major
-version is incremented.
+incompatible changes are introduced to the public API. It SHOULD NOT be
+incremented unless backward incompatible changes are introduced to the public
+API. It MAY also include minor and patch level changes. Patch and minor versions
+MUST be reset to 0 when major version is incremented.
 
 1. A pre-release version MAY be denoted by appending a hyphen and a
 series of dot separated identifiers immediately following the patch