diff --git a/lib/outlaw.rb b/lib/outlaw.rb
index e1406e5..d99c840 100644
--- a/lib/outlaw.rb
+++ b/lib/outlaw.rb
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 module Outlaw
   extend self
-  attr_accessor :ignore_types
+  attr_accessor :ignore_types, :param_types
 
   def outlaw(pattern, message)
     rule = Rule.new(pattern, message)
@@ -17,11 +17,13 @@ def outlaw(pattern, message)
   def enforce(dir=".")
     Outlaw::Enforcement.process_directory(dir)
   end
-  PARAM_TYPES       = [:on_const, :on_ident, :on_ivar, :on_cvar]
-  self.ignore_types = [:on_sp, :on_nl, :on_ignored_nl, :on_rparen, :on_lparen]
-  WHITESPACE        = [:on_sp, :on_nl, :on_ignored_nl]
-  SPECIAL_CASES     = [:whitespace_sensitive]
   #these come from ripper's Lexer
-  CORE_CLASSES_FILE = File.expand_path("../../data/core_classes.txt", __FILE__)
-  CORE_CLASS        = File.readlines(CORE_CLASSES_FILE).map &:chomp
+  self.param_types    = [:on_const, :on_ident, :on_ivar, :on_cvar]
+  self.ignore_types   = [:on_sp, :on_nl, :on_ignored_nl, :on_rparen, :on_lparen]
+  WHITESPACE          = [:on_sp, :on_nl, :on_ignored_nl]
+  VERTICAL_WHITESPACE = [:on_nl, :on_ignored_nl]
+  SPECIAL_CASES       = [:whitespace_sensitive, :vertical_whitespace_sensitive]
+
+  CORE_CLASSES_FILE   = File.expand_path("../../data/core_classes.txt", __FILE__)
+  CORE_CLASS          = File.readlines(CORE_CLASSES_FILE).map &:chomp
 end
diff --git a/lib/outlaw/law_parser.rb b/lib/outlaw/law_parser.rb
index 419157e..c651ffa 100644
--- a/lib/outlaw/law_parser.rb
+++ b/lib/outlaw/law_parser.rb
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ def parse(restriction, rule)
       parsed_restriction = []
       tokens.each do |token|
         case
-        when special_case?(token)
+        when special_case?(string_to_sym(token))
           handle_special(token, rule)
         when multipart?(token)  #this handles multi-token literals, Const.new etc
           parsed_restriction += Ripper.lex(token)
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ def parse(restriction, rule)
 
     def handle_special(token, rule)
       rule.modifications ||= []
-      rule.modifications << token
+      rule.modifications << string_to_sym(token)
     end
 
     def special_case?(token)
diff --git a/lib/outlaw/rule.rb b/lib/outlaw/rule.rb
index 14cdee3..54fc0c8 100644
--- a/lib/outlaw/rule.rb
+++ b/lib/outlaw/rule.rb
@@ -23,16 +23,27 @@ def detect_violation(code)
     end
 
     def apply_modifications(restore=nil)
-      return nil if restore.nil?
-      defaults = Outlaw.ignore_types
-      Outlaw.ignore_types.delete(WHITESPACE) if modifications
-                                                .include?(:whitespace_sensitive)
-      Outlaw.ignore_types = restore if restore
-      defaults
+      return nil if modifications.nil? && restore.nil?
+      default_ignores = Outlaw.ignore_types.clone
+      default_params  = Outlaw.param_types.clone
+      if modifications.include?(:whitespace_sensitive)
+        WHITESPACE.each do |ws|
+          Outlaw.ignore_types.delete(ws)
+          Outlaw.param_types << ws
+        end
+      end
+      if modifications.include?(:vertical_whitespace_sensitive)
+        VERTICAL_WHITESPACE.each do |ws|
+          Outlaw.ignore_types.delete(ws)
+          Outlaw.param_types << ws
+        end
+      end
+      Outlaw.ignore_types = restore.first if restore
+      Outlaw.param_types  = restore.last  if restore
+      [default_ignores, default_params]
     end
 
-
-
+    public
 
     class << self
       def test(program, start_index, pattern)
@@ -41,8 +52,8 @@ def test(program, start_index, pattern)
         start_index.upto(program.length) do |index|
           code = program[index]
           part = pattern[pattern_index]
-
-          next if Outlaw.ignore_types.include? token_type(code)
+          return false if code.nil?
+          next if Outlaw.ignore_types.include?(token_type(code))
           return false unless match_token?(code, part, params[part])
           pattern_index +=1
           return true if pattern_index >= pattern.length
@@ -85,7 +96,7 @@ def match_token?(code, part, parameter)
 
       def param_type_equal(lex, param)
         #for now just check if it's a variable type, not kw, ws or other token
-        PARAM_TYPES.include? lex
+        Outlaw.param_types.include? lex
       end
 
       def token_type(code)
diff --git a/test/outlaw_test.rb b/test/outlaw_test.rb
index 9f5250c..f121f1a 100644
--- a/test/outlaw_test.rb
+++ b/test/outlaw_test.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 module Outlaw
   describe LawParser do
-    it "returns a Rule which is violation?ed on code and returns true or false" do
+    it "returns a Rule which is called on code and returns true or false" do
   end
 
   before do
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ module WithContent
             def sumthin
               class_eval('1 + 1')
             end
+
+            def okishthing
+            end
           end
         }
   end
@@ -142,6 +145,28 @@ class MyClass < Struct.new("Customer", :name, :address)
       result8a.must_equal false
     end
 
+    it "correctly builds whitespace sensitive rule" do
+      code9 = ":vertical_whitespace_sensitive end\ndef"
+      rule9 = Rule.new(code9)
+
+      def_file = %{
+      class Mine
+        def method
+          true
+        end
+        def method2
+          false
+        end
+      end
+      }
+
+      def_result    = rule9.violation?(def_file)
+      result9a      = rule9.violation?(@okay_file)
+
+      def_result.must_equal true
+      result9a.must_equal false
+    end
+
     it "returns a hash with key counts and nil placeholders" do
       params = Rule.send(:params_count_hash, [/module/, :token1, :token2, :token1, /class/, :token3, /end/])
       params.keys.size.must_equal 3