Markdownlint: Confusing or contradictory rule - expects empty line 1 vs MD041 requiring H1 #547

Description

I'm experiencing a contradictory markdown linting issue when using Codacy's markdownlint engine on a GitHub pull request.

The Problem

Codacy is reporting an issue on a markdown file:

• File: FEATURE_COMPARISON.md
• Line: 1
• Error: "Expected: {None}; Actual: # Feature Comparison"
• Category: Best practice

However, this contradicts standard markdown best practice:

• MD041 (first-line-heading) requires files to start with an H1 heading
• All other markdown files in the same repository start with H1 headings and pass Codacy checks

Expected Behavior

Either:

1. Codacy should accept H1 headings on line 1 (consistent with MD041)
2. Or provide clear documentation about why line 1 should be empty

Repository Context

• Repository: https://github.com/linksplatform/Protocols.Lino
• Pull Request: Add feature comparison: YAML vs XML vs JSON vs LINO link-foundation/links-notation#82
• Affected File: FEATURE_COMPARISON.md

All other .md files in the repository (README.md, README.ru.md, etc.) start with H1 headings on line 1 and pass Codacy checks without issues.

Request

Please clarify:

1. Is this expected behavior?
2. Why does this rule differ from standard markdownlint MD041?
3. Should all markdown files have an empty first line, or is this a false positive?

Thank you!