diff --git a/construct/construct.cc b/construct/construct.cc
index fa6507e5a..77ae2ea56 100644
--- a/construct/construct.cc
+++ b/construct/construct.cc
@@ -38,7 +38,6 @@ bool yes6;
 bool norun;
 bool nomain;
 bool read_only;
-bool write_avoid;
 bool slave;
 std::array<bool, 6> smoketest;
 bool megatest;
@@ -76,7 +75,6 @@ lgetopt opts[]
 	{ "norun",      &norun,         lgetopt::BOOL,    "[debug] Initialize but never run the event loop" },
 	{ "nomain",     &nomain,        lgetopt::BOOL,    "[debug] Initialize and run without entering ircd::main()" },
 	{ "ro",         &read_only,     lgetopt::BOOL,    "Read-only mode. No writes to database allowed" },
-	{ "wa",         &write_avoid,   lgetopt::BOOL,    "Like read-only mode, but writes permitted if triggered" },
 	{ "slave",      &slave,         lgetopt::BOOL,    "Like read-only mode; allows multiple instances of server" },
 	{ "smoketest",  &smoketest[0],  lgetopt::BOOL,    "Starts and stops the daemon to return success" },
 	{ "megatest",   &megatest,      lgetopt::BOOL,    "Trap execution every millionth tick for diagnostic and statistics." },
@@ -558,10 +556,11 @@ applyargs()
 		ircd::db::auto_deletion.set("false");
 	}
 
-	if(single && !bootstrap)
+	if(single)
 	{
-		ircd::write_avoid.set("true");
+		ircd::maintenance.set("true");
 		cmdline = !debugmode;
+		nobackfill = true;
 	}
 
 	if(bootstrap)
@@ -577,16 +576,7 @@ applyargs()
 	}
 
 	if(read_only)
-	{
 		ircd::read_only.set("true");
-		write_avoid = true; // read_only implies write_avoid.
-	}
-
-	if(write_avoid)
-	{
-		ircd::write_avoid.set("true");
-		nobackfill = true;
-	}
 
 	if(debugmode)
 		ircd::debugmode.set("true");
diff --git a/include/ircd/ircd.h b/include/ircd/ircd.h
index b25520d52..50fbb2d4a 100644
--- a/include/ircd/ircd.h
+++ b/include/ircd/ircd.h
@@ -131,7 +131,6 @@ namespace ircd
 	extern conf::item<bool> debugmode;
 	extern conf::item<bool> maintenance;
 	extern conf::item<bool> soft_assert;
-	extern conf::item<bool> write_avoid;     // implies maintenance
 	extern conf::item<bool> read_only;       // implies write_avoid
 	extern conf::item<bool> defaults;
 }
diff --git a/ircd/db.cc b/ircd/db.cc
index dad79f5d8..7a17ab8d0 100644
--- a/ircd/db.cc
+++ b/ircd/db.cc
@@ -179,10 +179,10 @@ try
 		fs::base::db
 	};
 
-	if(!fs::is_dir(dbdir) && (ircd::read_only || ircd::write_avoid))
+	if(!fs::is_dir(dbdir) && (ircd::read_only || ircd::maintenance))
 		log::warning
 		{
-			log, "Not creating database directory `%s' in read-only/write-avoid mode.", dbdir
+			log, "Not creating database directory `%s' in read-only/maintenance mode.", dbdir
 		};
 	else if(fs::mkdir(dbdir))
 		log::notice
diff --git a/ircd/db_database.cc b/ircd/db_database.cc
index 5095e8fa7..266fafb69 100644
--- a/ircd/db_database.cc
+++ b/ircd/db_database.cc
@@ -1297,7 +1297,7 @@ try
 
 	// If the directory does not exist, though rocksdb will create it, we can
 	// avoid scaring the user with an error log message if we just do that..
-	if(opts->create_if_missing && !fs::is_dir(path) && !ircd::write_avoid)
+	if(opts->create_if_missing && !fs::is_dir(path) && !ircd::maintenance && !ircd::read_only)
 		fs::mkdir(path);
 
 	// Announce attempt before usual point where exceptions are thrown
diff --git a/ircd/ircd.cc b/ircd/ircd.cc
index 31bc36d6f..482383df4 100644
--- a/ircd/ircd.cc
+++ b/ircd/ircd.cc
@@ -107,26 +107,6 @@ ircd::maintenance
 	}
 };
 
-/// Coarse mode indicator for degraded operation known as "write-avoid" which
-/// is similar to read_only but not hard-enforced. Writes may still occur,
-/// such as those manually triggered by an admin. All subsystems and background
-/// tasks otherwise depart from normal operation to avoid writes.
-decltype(ircd::write_avoid)
-ircd::write_avoid
-{
-	{
-		{ "name",     "ircd.write_avoid"   },
-		{ "default",  false                },
-		{ "persist",  false                },
-	},
-	[](conf::item<void> &)
-	{
-		if(!write_avoid)
-			return;
-
-		maintenance.set("true");
-	}
-};
 
 /// Coarse mode declaration for read-only behavior. All subsystems and feature
 /// modules respect this indicator by preventing any writes and persistence
@@ -145,7 +125,7 @@ ircd::read_only
 		if(!read_only)
 			return;
 
-		write_avoid.set("true");
+		maintenance.set("true");
 	}
 };
 
diff --git a/ircd/logger.cc b/ircd/logger.cc
index de84386eb..78065c485 100644
--- a/ircd/logger.cc
+++ b/ircd/logger.cc
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ ircd::log::init()
 		console_disable(level::DWARNING);
 	}
 
-	if(!ircd::write_avoid)
+	if(!ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance)
 	{
 		mkdir();
 		open();
diff --git a/matrix/app.cc b/matrix/app.cc
index 10f36c00f..b69fe0fdb 100644
--- a/matrix/app.cc
+++ b/matrix/app.cc
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ ircd::m::app::handle_stdout()
 
 	const auto message_id
 	{
-		!ircd::write_avoid?
+		!ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance?
 			m::msghtml(room_id, user_id, content, string_view{alt}, "m.notice"):
 			m::event::id::buf{}
 	};
diff --git a/matrix/homeserver.cc b/matrix/homeserver.cc
index 7262ba192..f8df465c9 100644
--- a/matrix/homeserver.cc
+++ b/matrix/homeserver.cc
@@ -283,17 +283,17 @@ try
 	if(ircd::mods::autoload)
 		mods::imports.emplace("net_dns_cache"s, "net_dns_cache");
 
-	if(!ircd::write_avoid)
+	if(!ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance)
 		if(key && !key->verify_keys.empty())
 			m::keys::cache::set(key->verify_keys);
 
 	if(opts->autoapps)
 		m::app::init();
 
-	if(!ircd::maintenance)
+	if(!ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance)
 		signon(*this);
 
-	if(!ircd::maintenance && opts->backfill)
+	if(!ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance && opts->backfill)
 		m::init::backfill::init();
 }
 catch(const std::exception &e)
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ noexcept try
 	server::wait();
 	m::sync::pool.join();
 
-	if(!ircd::maintenance && _vm)
+	if(!ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance && _vm)
 		signoff(*this);
 
 	///TODO: XXX primary
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ ircd::m::homeserver::key::key(const struct opts &opts)
 		})
 	};
 
-	if(!fs::exists(sk_file) && !ircd::write_avoid)
+	if(!fs::exists(sk_file) && !ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance)
 		log::notice
 		{
 			m::log, "Creating ed25519 secret key @ `%s'", sk_file
@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ ircd::m::homeserver::key::key(const struct opts &opts)
 }()}
 ,secret_key
 {
-	secret_key_path, &public_key, !ircd::write_avoid
+	secret_key_path, &public_key, !ircd::read_only && !ircd::maintenance
 }
 ,public_key_b64
 {
diff --git a/modules/m_bridge.cc b/modules/m_bridge.cc
index 0b95f702a..c631b707d 100644
--- a/modules/m_bridge.cc
+++ b/modules/m_bridge.cc
@@ -52,8 +52,8 @@ IRCD_MODULE
 decltype(ircd::m::bridge::enable)
 ircd::m::bridge::enable
 {
-	{ "name",      "ircd.m.bridge.enable"  },
-	{ "default",   true                    },
+	{ "name",      "ircd.m.bridge.enable"      },
+	{ "default",   true && !ircd::maintenance  },
 };
 
 decltype(ircd::m::bridge::backoff)
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ ircd::m::bridge::init()
 			string_view{event.event_id},
 		};
 
-		if(!enable)
+		if(!enable || ircd::read_only)
 			return true;
 
 		start(event, config);
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ ircd::m::bridge::handle_config(const m::event &event,
                                vm::eval &eval)
 try
 {
-	if(!enable)
+	if(!enable || ircd::read_only)
 		return;
 
 	const config config