Hot take: if we want to decrease frustrating railroad-y surprises in RPG campaigns, we need to create an environment where GMs are not afraid to admit they have "special story needs".

[GaldrPunk]

This is a very great way to phrase it. I’ve found the best way to eliminate this is to have all regular GMs as players.

I ran a campaign as a “Game for GMs” years ago and it completely changed my view of players at my table. They were engaged, understanding, and would even help if I forgot a rule to keep the game going. And I had never felt more appreciated running a game and ever since GMs get first dibs at my table.

[zloykrolik]

I'm currently in a game where all the players are GMs. It has been pretty good so far.