I played Expert and AD&D rules decades ago as a kid then stopped playing after high school. In 2015 I picked up the 5e boxed set and have been playing again ever since.
I typically like to keep things as close to rules as written/intended as possible but 5E is made to be open to interpretation of things depending on what's going on in a campaign setting. When in doubt I almost always rule on the side of players unless it effects something else in the campaign in a way that was not intended.