>My package really does depend on the latest patch release!

> Even in the event that your packages code is only correct with a specific patch release, I still think its wrong to put that version in the go directive unless it cannot be compiled with any other version.

I'm not a go user, but this strikes me as an over-reaction. If your code is only correct with a specific patch release, then it really is your business to make that so. If someone downstream wants to use library_method_broadly_correct and not library_method_correct_only_with_latest, then downstream should patch your source to allow them to do something unsupported. That becomes their problem. If this is likely to be a significant problem that will affect many users, then this is a codesmell warning you that you've probably got two libraries which you're just jumbling together into one: the solution isn't to falsely gate a safe function behind a high dependency version, nor to falsely release a function to people who can't use it safely, but to publish each with its own requirements expressly stated.