Race Resources, welcome to the Forum!
"valuable exercise of a perennial revue of what we do". Well, right there you are rocking the boat. 
Change comes slowly to a process that seems to have worked well for decades. But, I am happy to have served on the Council, and to have been part of the discussion for some changes that occurred, and others that were denied. I know there are discussions that take place, and many on the Forum don't see anything about the discussion, so they are not aware that change has been considered.
One of the changes I believe I had a part in, is color maps being posted. I started making and submitting them when I started measuring, and that set off a years-long discussion regarding if they should be allowed, or not. Happily (in my opinion) we found a way to accommodate color maps. Now, there are many measurers who are talented at making color maps, and many maps are now easier to follow.
I have not felt that very many posts have been scornful, but I do agree that, taken the wrong way, some may initially seem scornful. Some of us are not good at communicating in a diplomatic manner, so some of our replies may seem a bit rough. Knowing many of the members on this Forum, I know they don't intend to be rough, but, due to time constraints for a reply, perhaps, they compose the message in an abrupt manner. I just look at the message, and not the delivery. Anyway, I hope no one fails to post, based on fear of a response. All questions are good questions, so they should be asked.
Now, back to the question I raised in my initial comment in this thread - Intermediate Splits. In more research, I found that we are to put each intermediate split at the bottom of the certificate, with the length of the split, the separation (distance and %), and the drop, from the start of the course to the split location. This is not a problem if one is only adding one or two intermediate splits, but it will be cumbersome to do if one wants to certify every split. However, as I typed this, it occurred to me that if one is certifying every split, I believe we simply note that each split is certified, meaning that the split location is between the two locations identified in each of the two measuring rides. Drop and Separation are not a concern in this situation.
The Drop and Separation needs are for courses (say, a marathon) where someone may set a record for a distance shorter than the main event, or the event wants to have a shorter distance also certified for some reason. I have measured a half-marathon where they also wanted the 25k location certified, as they anticipated a record being set for 25k, but the runner also was going to finish the Half (which is a requirement for a record set in this manner). In this case, indicating the distance, drop, separation, etc. at the bottom of the cert for the 20k location is the proper method. (Thanks, Race Resources, for the correction!)
I hope this explanation helps anyone else that had the same question as me.
Happy New Year!