diff --git a/proxy/README.md b/proxy/README.md
index fa80a9d..9a1e46d 100644
--- a/proxy/README.md
+++ b/proxy/README.md
@@ -72,23 +72,41 @@ logs to this proxy over TCP so a jail here can act on them.
 
 | File | Purpose |
 |------|---------|
-| `/etc/rsyslog.d/10-remote-receiver.conf` | Generic `imtcp` listener, port `RSYSLOG_PORT` (default `5514`). Anything not claimed by a more specific routing file lands in `/var/log/remote/<sender-hostname>.log`. |
-| `/etc/rsyslog.d/50-<service>.conf` | One per exposed service. Routes by tag/programname into that service's own logfile for its dedicated fail2ban jail. |
+| `/etc/rsyslog.d/10-remote-receiver.conf` | Generic `imtcp` listener only (`module`/`input`), port `RSYSLOG_PORT` (default `5514`). No rules here — see why below. |
+| `/etc/rsyslog.d/50-<service>.conf` | One per exposed service. Routes by tag/programname into that service's own logfile for its dedicated fail2ban jail, then `stop`s so the message doesn't also fall through to the catch-all. |
+| `/etc/rsyslog.d/90-remote-fallback.conf` | Catch-all: anything a `50-<service>.conf` didn't claim (or before one exists yet) lands in `/var/log/remote/<sender-hostname>.log`. |
 | `/etc/logrotate.d/remote-logs` | Rotation for everything under `/var/log/remote/` (`copytruncate`, so fail2ban never loses its file descriptor across a rotation). |
 
+rsyslog loads `/etc/rsyslog.d/*.conf` in filename order, and rules within a
+ruleset run in the order they were loaded — a catch-all in `10-` would fire
+on *every* message before a `50-<service>.conf` ever got a look, doubling
+every claimed message into both files. Keeping the listener in `10-`, routing
+in `50-`, and the catch-all in `90-` puts them in the right order without
+depending on load-order accidents.
+
 Adding a new exposed service is a matter of dropping its `50-<service>.conf`
 here — nothing else in this list needs to change. A minimal example that
-routes messages tagged `myservice` into their own file, in addition to the
+routes messages tagged `myservice` into their own file instead of the
 generic catch-all:
 
 ```
 $RuleSet remoteLogs
 if $programname == 'myservice' then {
     action(type="omfile" file="/var/log/myservice/myservice.log")
+    stop
 }
 $RuleSet RSYSLOG_DefaultRuleset
 ```
 
+Deliberately on the legacy `$RuleSet <name>` directive rather than the
+modern `ruleset(name="...") { ... }` object syntax: rsyslog rejects a named
+ruleset declared with that object syntax more than once ("ruleset ...
+specified more than once"), which breaks the moment a second
+`50-<service>.conf` (or `90-remote-fallback.conf`) tries to add its own
+rules to the same `remoteLogs` ruleset. `$RuleSet <name>` is a context
+selector, not a one-shot declaration — any number of files can reopen it to
+append rules, which is the entire point of this pattern.
+
 `RSYSLOG_PORT` and `RSYSLOG_BIND_ADDR` (default `0.0.0.0`) are overridable
 via environment. The default bind is safe as-is: UFW's default-deny only
 opens `80/tcp` and `443/tcp` publicly, so port `5514` is reachable
diff --git a/proxy/install.sh b/proxy/install.sh
index b2b498a..b5c73a3 100644
--- a/proxy/install.sh
+++ b/proxy/install.sh
@@ -190,16 +190,36 @@ EOF
     # their logs to this receiver over TCP; adding a new one is a matter of
     # dropping a 50-<service>.conf here (see proxy/README.md) — nothing else
     # to touch.
+    #
+    # 10- carries only the listener (module/input): rsyslog loads
+    # /etc/rsyslog.d/*.conf in filename order, and rules within a ruleset
+    # execute in the order they were loaded. A catch-all defined here would
+    # run *before* any 50-<service>.conf's rules ever get a chance — every
+    # message would double up into both the generic file and the
+    # service-specific one. The catch-all instead lives in
+    # 90-remote-fallback.conf (below, written after this block) so it loads
+    # last, and a service's `stop` actually prevents fallthrough into it.
     sudo mkdir -p /var/log/remote
     sudo tee /etc/rsyslog.d/10-remote-receiver.conf > /dev/null << EOF
 module(load="imtcp")
 
-\$RuleSet remoteLogs
-\$template RemoteLogPath,"/var/log/remote/%HOSTNAME%.log"
-*.* ?RemoteLogPath
-\$RuleSet RSYSLOG_DefaultRuleset
-
 input(type="imtcp" port="${RSYSLOG_PORT}" address="${RSYSLOG_BIND_ADDR}" ruleset="remoteLogs")
+EOF
+
+    # Catch-all for anything a 50-<service>.conf doesn't claim (or before one
+    # exists yet). Kept on the legacy $RuleSet/$template directives rather
+    # than the modern ruleset(name=...){...} object: rsyslog rejects a named
+    # ruleset declared via that object syntax more than once ("ruleset ...
+    # specified more than once"), which would break the moment a
+    # 50-<service>.conf tries to add its own rules to the same "remoteLogs"
+    # ruleset — the entire point of this split. $RuleSet <name> is a context
+    # selector, not a one-shot declaration, so any number of files can
+    # reopen it to append rules.
+    sudo tee /etc/rsyslog.d/90-remote-fallback.conf > /dev/null << 'EOF'
+$RuleSet remoteLogs
+$template RemoteLogPath,"/var/log/remote/%HOSTNAME%.log"
+*.* ?RemoteLogPath
+$RuleSet RSYSLOG_DefaultRuleset
 EOF
 
     sudo tee /etc/logrotate.d/remote-logs > /dev/null << 'EOF'