I played D&D back in 1978

[Shagman]

8. started in 80

Those were some wild and wooly times. If you wanted a character to try something, you could interpolate from the existing rules, or you could spend hours flipping thru manuals trying to find a rule to cover that specific situation.

Every time I moved (which happened often in that period) I'd look for a gaming circle that acted like adults. At one tryout my character burst thru a door and then tumbled 20 feet down a corridor into a room full of monsters. I pointed out that that didn't make any sense. Instead of doing something (anything!) to make his narrative believable, the DM overruled me. That was his prerogative, so I didn't push it, but I didn't go back.

Similar situation, my character is a thief and finds a trap on a circular stairway. No problem. On our way back out, the DM gleefully tells us we triggered that same trap. Wouldn't you assume that a character has a modicum of common sense? Another one-session tryout.