diff --git a/runrole b/runrole
index cb8189a60..4edc63f6a 100755
--- a/runrole
+++ b/runrole
@@ -34,10 +34,21 @@ fi
 #    exit 1
 #fi
 
+# 2020-08-05: yes /etc/iiab/iiab_state.yml is necessary, but we DON'T
+# want to encourage sloppy operators to delete/touch this file.
+#
+# (The iiab_state.yml file should always be created by ./iiab-install,
+# for IIAB's Ansible roles that then auto-populate this file.)
+#
+# FYI iiab-network and iiab-configure likewise warn operators (IN RED!)
+# if they try to run without the existence of /etc/iiab/iiab_state.yml :
+#
+# ERROR! vars file /etc/iiab/iiab_state.yml was not found
+#
 # Needed for Stages 1-3 if not installed yet
-if [ ! -f $IIAB_STATE_FILE ]; then
-    touch $IIAB_STATE_FILE
-fi
+#if [ ! -f $IIAB_STATE_FILE ]; then
+#    touch $IIAB_STATE_FILE
+#fi
 
 #if ! grep -q $1_install $LOCAL_VARS_FILE; then
 #    echo " $1_install: not found in $VARS"